News Common PC Mac CUCUG
The October 16 gathering will mark the 20th anniversary of the formation of CUCUG. Scheduled for this evening is a social, with a lot of reminiscing and story telling. Cake and ice cream will be served for your dining pleasure. Come and celebrate a historic occasion.
A computer security expert who contributed to a paper deeply critical of Microsoft has been dismissed by his employer, a consulting company that works closely with the software giant.
Dan Geer, a longtime computer security researcher, and several colleagues released a controversial study on Wednesday that called the ubiquity of Microsoft software a hazard to the economy and to national security. Although independently financed and researched, the study was distributed by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a Washington-based trade association largely made up of Microsoft's rivals.
Cambridge, Mass-based @Stake, where Geer worked as chief technical officer, said in a statement Thursday that the researcher had not gotten his employers' approval for the study's release, and that he was no longer associated with the company.
"Participation in and release of the report was not sanctioned by @Stake," the security and consulting company said. "The values and opinions of the report are not in line with @Stake's views."
A Microsoft spokesman said the software maker had not pressured @Stake to make any decision on Geer's status. However, @Stake did call Microsoft late Tuesday night (after news of the report's contents first broke) to say that Geer's findings did not reflect his employer's opinions, the spokesman said.
"We had nothing to do with @Stake's internal personnel decision," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwell said.
Sundwell said that Microsoft used @Stake's services in developing security software for customers, and that the relationship extended several years back. An @Stake representative declined to comment beyond the contents of the company's statement.
In that statement, @Stake said Geer had not been associated with the company as of Sept. 23, the day before Geer's report (the report co-written by Geer) was actually released.
Security expert Bruce Schneier, another co-author of the report, said Geer had believed he was still employed when the two of them discussed their report on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.
"When Dan was on the call, he was an employee," said Schneier, who serves as chief technical officer at Counterpane Internet Security. "They might have fired him 10 minutes later, but they didn't tell him."
Geer could not be immediately reached for comment.
The report, entitled "CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly," said that to rely on a single computing infrastructure such as Microsoft's Windows operating system created unnecessary risks to national infrastructure--particularly given the company's recent history of security flaws. Moreover, new security features being implemented in products by Microsoft simply made the problem worse, by locking customers even more tightly into the company's software, the authors said.
"The focus on Microsoft is simply that the clear and present danger can be ignored no longer," the authors wrote in the report, recommending that the government force the company to open up its technology and allow competing products to interoperate.
Schneier said the idea for the report had come from Geer and the other researchers, not from the CCIA or other Microsoft rivals. The group had found it hard to find other researchers to sign on to the idea, even if those approached agreed with the study's premises, he said.
"When we were conceiving and writing the report, a surprising number of researchers said 'No,' because of the fear of Microsoft," Schneier said. "Dan was not talking for @Stake. We were speaking as researchers. The fact that @Stake couldn't get around that shows the pressure that Microsoft brings to bear."
REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) --Microsoft, which is trying to drive growth by investing in everything from small business software to video games, has quietly set its sights on a new industry -- searching the Web.
Chairman Bill Gates, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and a handful of other executives sat down in February to answer a question asked countless times before in the world's largest software maker's 28-year history. Should Microsoft build or buy?
What they decided was to build technology that would eventually surpass Google Inc.'s ability to sift through the Web and return results relevant enough to make it the top Internet search destination.
"The decision to build or buy came down to our ability to innovate," said Kirk Koenigsbauer, strategy manager at Microsoft's MSN Internet portal.
"Our ability to innovate is predicated on our ability to own the platform," he added, a clear sign that Microsoft thinks it can only beat Google if it owns the technology.
Company-wide effort
For now, however, Microsoft won't comment on how widely it plans to use search technology. While it is a company-wide effort, Koenigsbauer said that any developments will be led by MSN and used to enhance the portal.
But analysts have interpreted the decision to build as a sign that Microsoft has greater ambitions for search, including plans to make it part of the Windows operating system, the company's main cash cow.
"Any time Microsoft builds something into the operating system, they don't want to get that from anyone else," said analyst Matt Rosoff of Directions on Microsoft, an independent research group based in Kirkland, Washington.
Koenigsbauer, who attended the February meeting, declined to discuss Microsoft's plans for search beyond MSN. Nor did he disclose the number of people or amount of money the company will invest in the project.
Can Microsoft pull it off?
Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox, however, said that with its large concentration of software talent and nearly $50 billion in cash, Microsoft could out-invest any competitor for years.
The company is "very, very serious about search," he said.
At the core of Microsoft's decision is a belief that search technology is still in its infancy.
"Search engines are doing a good job but not a perfect job," said Koenigsbauer, adding most search results today "don't deliver the results people are looking for."
Part of Longhorn
Search results tailored to individual users based on a history of their interests and searches is one area that Microsoft is looking at, Koenigsbauer said.
Analysts said such a service would be ideal for Microsoft since it could leverage its control over the Windows operating system, which runs on more than 95 percent of the world's PCs.
Moreover, they said Microsoft's real motive is to build search into its various software products and most likely into the next Windows version, which is code-named Longhorn.
Gates has promised that Longhorn, which is expected to launch in 2005 or 2006, will include database technology to make it easier for users to track and find information on their computers.
"Long-term, all roads lead to Longhorn," Wilcox said.
Targeting users
This isn't the first time that Microsoft has put the search market in its crosshairs.
In 1997, the company looked into developing search for MSN, but decided to team up with Inktomi instead.
"We'll continue to partner with Inktomi in the near-term but at some point we'll go on our own," Koenigsbauer said.
That also brings into question MSN's alliance with Overture Services Inc., a leader in search-based advertising.
Koenigsbauer said the partnership is continuing for the "medium-term," and Microsoft is happy with its relationships with both companies, which are set to become part of Yahoo Inc., an MSN competitor.
Yahoo, under pressure from Google, has been buying search technologies and marketing its services in television commercials to attract visitors to its site.
WASHINGTON (AP) --Stung by criticism over lax software security, Microsoft Corp. disclosed plans Thursday to update its flagship Windows operating systems early in 2004 to make consumers less vulnerable to hackers.
Microsoft said the changes, announced by chief executive Steve Ballmer during a trade conference in New Orleans, will be offered free in the next "service pack" update to users of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 software, the company's latest versions for consumers and businesses.
The announcement was aimed at calming Microsoft customers increasingly irritated by the ease with which hackers and others have broken into Windows computers. Adequately protecting an average personal computer can take far more time than many customers are willing to spend.
Better memory protection
Microsoft promised to improve the way in which Windows manages computer memory to protect users against commonly exploited software flaws known as buffer overruns, which can trick Windows into accepting dangerous commands. Some of the most damaging attacks in recent months fall under this category.
The company promised to improve its built-in firewall feature, which has drawn criticism in the past because it was not especially strong and was routinely turned off in new copies of Windows. The update will automatically turn on the updated firewall and enable companies to centrally manage each computer's protective settings.
"Our goal is simple," Ballmer said. "Get our customers secure and keep them secure. Our commitment is to protect our customers from the growing wave of criminal attacks."
Keeping up with the patches
The changes were designed to improve security even for customers who fail to diligently apply the dozens of repairing software "patches" Microsoft offers each year.
For example, even computer users who did not install a protective patch for the "Blaster" virus this summer would have been protected if they had known to turn on Windows' built-in firewall, said Mike Nash, a vice president for Microsoft's security business unit.
"We can have a shield in place where we can make sure the customer is immune," Nash said.
Critics have said Microsoft releases far too many patches, which frustrate employees responsible for installing them on hundreds of computers throughout companies and which can interfere with other programs already installed.
"Microsoft treats security problems like public-relations problems," said Bruce Schneier, the chief technology officer for Counterpane Internet Security Inc. and a frequent critic of the company.
Microsoft promised to begin distributing these repairing patches monthly, rather than weekly, and making the patches easier to install and to remove when they conflict with existing software. The company said it still would rush out an emergency patch midmonth if it determines hackers were actively breaking into computers using a software flaw it could repair immediately.
It also promised a new Web site for consumers that will determine when patches need to be installed for all other Microsoft products.
In a new tactic aimed at making Americans pay sales taxes on Internet purchases, the state of Illinois has accused 62 online retailers of failing to collect taxes for purchases made over the Web.
Illinois joined a private lawsuit already under way against the companies, including Gateway, Blockbuster and Barnes & Noble, alleging that their Web sites and physical retailers are not legally distinct corporate entities. If they are not separate companies, under U.S. law, the online retailer may be obligated to charge sales taxes.
"In a time of soaring budget deficits and fiscal crisis in Illinois, precious tax dollars are being lost with a simple click of a mouse," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement last week. "It's time for this cyber tax evasion to end."
Illinois' move marks the latest front in the ongoing political strife over whether Americans will have to pay sales taxes for many online purchases. The debate began in the late 1990s between dot-com companies and state and local governments and shows no signs of ending soon. In 2000, a high-level commission created by Congress could not reach a consensus and deadlocked.
Led by the National Governors Association, about three dozen states have been trying to simplify their tax laws--a project called the Streamlined Sales Tax Project--in hopes of persuading Congress to permit them to tax all Internet purchases. But that effort has stalled on Capitol Hill this year.
In response, states are turning to using existing laws. In the Illinois suit, the attorney general claims that the 62 online retailers have a physical presence or other substantial connection with the state, which if true would entitle the government to tax sales they make to Illinois residents.
A physical presence or other "nexus" is required under a 1992 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case called Quill v. North Dakota. For an out-of-state retailer to be required to collect sales taxes, the justices said there must be a "substantial nexus with that state as required by the commerce clause" to the U.S. Constitution.
Gateway and Blockbuster did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
In February, some large retailers began voluntarily collecting sales taxes on Internet purchases. Amazon.com, which has partnerships with Target.com, MarshallFields.com and Mervyns.com to sell items online, posted a notification at the time that said customers in "all states other than Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont" would be required to pay sales taxes.
Americans are supposed to pay taxes voluntarily on items they order from Web sites and mail-order companies that are located outside the state in which they live. But relatively few people do.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a proposal that would continue to prohibit states from taxing Internet access such as digital subscriber line, cable, satellite or dial-up services. But that bill does not cover sales taxes.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/do.not.call/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Amid ongoing legal battles, President Bush signed into law Monday a bill giving the Federal Trade Commission the authority to administer a new do-not-call registry -- a move opposed by telemarketers.
Bush said the move was necessary to cut down on "intrusive, annoying, unwelcome telephone solicitations."
"The American people should be free to restrict these calls," Bush added.
Separately, the Federal Communications Commission announced Monday it would begin enforcing the do-not-call rules against telemarketers starting Wednesday. Telemarketers that call numbers on the list could face fines, FCC officials said.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said its rules "complement and expand on" the FTC rules.
"FCC rules have not been disturbed by recent court cases," Powell said.
And the Supreme Court on Monday rejected an emergency appeal from telemarketers seeking to block the FCC from playing a role in enforcing the registry. Without comment, Justice Stephen Breyer denied the request from the American Telemarketers Association.
Despite Bush's signature and the FCC announcement, it's not clear the law will stand because of other court challenges to the registry.
Lawmakers rushed the bill through the House and Senate last week after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled the FTC lacked the authority to run the do-not-call registry. More than 50 million phone numbers are on the list.
Supporters of the list hoped the bill would clear the way for the FTC to start implementing the rule.
However Thursday, in Denver, Colorado, a second federal court, ruled that the rule infringed on telemarketers' free speech rights.
U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham agreed with telemarketers who argued the FTC unfairly favors one kind of speech over another since the list applies to telemarketers but not to nonprofit organizations, politicians and pollsters.
The FTC filed a notice of appeal Friday and a motion for an emergency stay of Nottingham's order that would allow it to start enforcing the registry.
And Powell said his agency -- the FCC -- expects telemarketers in possession of the do-not-call list not to phone those numbers listed come Wednesday.
FTC officials also said that several provisions of "do-not-call" rules were not affected by the court's order and will go into effect as planned on Wednesday. Eileen Harrington, FTC director of marketing practices, said those include:
--CNN's Julie Vallese and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
A long time ago in a world far, far away.
The year was 1983. Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, and declared the Soviet Union " The Evil Empire". George Bush, Sr. was vice president. The cost of a first class-postage stamp was 20 cents. Sally Ride was the first US woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. 237 US Marines and 40 civilians were killed in separate terrorist bombings in Beirut. The US and its allies invaded Grenada. "Gandhi" won best picture of the year, the last episode of M*A*S*H aired, "Return of the Jedi" was released and the "Star Wars" missile defense initiative was announced. The compact disk was introduced, beginning the decline of vinyl records. "Crack" cocaine was developed in the Bahamas. The FCC authorized Motorola to begin testing cellular phone service in Chicago. Apple Computer releases the "Lisa". ARPANET officially changes from NPC (Network Core Protocol) to TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), creating the beginning of the modern Internet, as we know it today (sorry Al Gore). The Internet DNS (Domain Name System) is invented by Paul Mokapertis (sorry again Al).
In the fall of the same year, at a former Holiday Inn on North Neil Street in Champaign, Illinois, the first meeting of the Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group (CUCUG) was held.
This last event followed one of the most significant developments of all time in home computing. In 1982, Commodore Business Machines Inc. released a computer named the Commodore 64. It was a revolutionary device, sporting a full-featured keyboard that was ergonomically dreadful, various I/O ports, a MOS 6510 processor running at a screaming 1 MHz (give or take a little), and 64KB of RAM supported by 20KB of ROM. This was an unusually large amount of system resources for a machine of that era, and was priced at a modest $595 US. Originally designed as an arcade game platform, it had excellent graphic and sound features for the time. It had a 45-column by 25-line screen (in text mode) and a variety of graphic modes, most using 320 x 200 resolution. Its VIC II video chip had the ability to create sprites (movable graphic objects that could move independently of text or graphics) with layering capabilities of up to eight deep, giving the illusion of a 3D image. It operated in 16 colors and had a built-in BASIC language. Incorporated in the architecture was a SID chip allowing 3 voices, 9 octaves and 4 waveforms. Originally a linear tape storage device was utilized for data and program storage. Shortly thereafter a 5.25 floppy disk drive ($395 US) with 170K of storage was released (boy, we'll never fill that baby up!). A dot matrix printer was available that would operate at 30 CPS ($395 US). A composite color monitor was available ($395 US). In short, for around $2000 US (that includes a few toys, of course) you could have a state of the art computer in your very own home!
It takes a little creative arithmetic to fully understand the capabilities of a Commodore 64 system in today's standards. Consider the common garden pea, green and about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The fundamental unit of computer memory is called a byte. The Commodore 64 had 64 Kilobytes (no not 64,000 but 65,536 bytes Ð yeah that's weird computer stuff). Now using pea arithmetic, we arrange 65,536 peas in a straight line. This is approximately 1365 pea feet, or about .2585 (or just over a quarter of one) pea miles. The Pentium 4 machine that I am writing this article with has 1.5 Gigabytes of system RAM (that's 1.536 Megabytes or 1,610,612,736 bytes). Again using pea arithmetic, we arrange 1,610,612,736 peas in a straight line (note: we need to alert the farmers because that is about 6139 bushels of peas weighing approximately 184 tons). Our pea parade now covers 33,554,432 pea feet, or about 6355 pea miles. That is a little over a quarter of the way around the Earth! Virtually all of the capabilities of modern computer systems have this increased level of technological performance.
Now, the whole point of this comparison is to illustrate that what we now consider limited resources, were a quantum leap in computing ability in 1982. What is even more amazing is the level of software performance that was achieved on the C64 platform. For the first time, relatively powerful computer systems were available to the general public at an affordable price. The result was nothing short of phenomenal. Almost overnight a reasonably sizable group of people were computing as never before.
In the fall of 1983, at a storefront on North Neil Street in Champaign, Illinois, there was a small store called Micro Pace Computers. It was, at the time, the quintessential supply outlet for Commodore computer products. It was owned and operated by a couple of gentlemen named Bob Walthers and Jim Oldfield. They sold what limited C64 hardware and VERY limited C64 software was available at the time. As a result, the store attracted most of the C64 users of the day. On one happenstance afternoon two people met at Micro Pace that would change the direction of Commodore computing (and as it turned out, computer user groups) in the Champaign-Urbana area. The founding President (yours truly) and Jeff Stevenson (the founding Vice-President) were wandering around Micro Pace ogling at the lack of software and support available for our new computer systems. I casually made the comment that we ought to start a users group for the acquisition and sharing of information and knowledge of our newfound hobby. Jeff thought that was a good idea. Bob and Jim said "OK, you guys organize it and we'll rent a room at the Holiday Inn across the street for the first meeting." That meeting was promoted at Micro Pace for a period of time, in store only. Just like that, the organizational meeting for CUCUG was held. Jeff and I found ourselves standing at the front of what turned out to be more interested people than we imagined would respond. Jeff said, "What should we do now?" I said, "Lets collect dues." With an almost instantaneous Users Group and treasury, Jeff and I started a more formal organization of the club. We became an affiliated group of The University of Illinois and started meeting at a lecture hall in the Vet Med Building. Officers were elected, Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure were adopted, we became a Not-For-Profit corporation and as they say, the rest is history.
Not only was the C64 a reasonably powerful and affordable computer at the time, there were two other factors that made the machine exceptional. First, and most importantly, it was released with a totally open architecture. Manuals contained not only schematic diagrams of how the machine was built, but also detailed information on the memory usage and the machine language that made the beastie function! Born was a hobbyists dream. Secondly, there was a virtual void of any software to run on the platform. The result was an association of people from all walks of life with one passionate interest in common Ð computers. CUCUG meetings were held monthly and presentations developed mostly on the fly. The ensuing years were a time of magic. It was an all too brief period in home computing. Computers today have much more power and capabilities, but don't come close to the aurora that surrounded early machines like the Commodore 64.
In the eleven years of the C64's life, somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty million machines were produced. That is more that any other personal computer model ever made. It is more than all the Macintoshes in the world today. Not bad for a little 64K machine. Now it can even help promote peas on earth, and good will toward men (Please try to contain your groans).
As the years rolled by, Commodore Business Machines, Inc., went out of business. Other machines were developed before its demise, the Amiga being the most noteworthy by far. The club went through various trials and tribulations through those years, but with guidance and clear thinking, it survived. No discussion of CUCUG would be complete without recognizing the contributions of a few members. First, I must mention Richard Rollins, who on and off has been president for what seems like forever. His dedication to the club coupled with endless hours of time, a never-ending curiosity and a natural instinct for right and wrong have gone a long way in making the club what it is today. Second, Kevin Hisel, the greatest ignored natural resource of CUCUG, deserves his due. Quietly, well OK, not so quietly, he has worked in the background, well OK, not always in the background, he has contributed two enduring and essential elements necessary for any organization, CASH and visibility. His management of the CUCUG public domain software library for the C64 and Amiga provided a solid financial future for the club. The Starship CUCUG website was (and is) invaluable. Thirdly, Kevin Hopkins, whose dedication to the newsletter is admirable -to say the least -, must be recognized. Fourthly, since this is supposed to be about the beginnings of CUCUG, all the dedicated and concerned members that followed.
Finally, I want to make a personal observation. Kevin Hopkins asked me what I thought about "CUCUG surviving this long and what it has grown into." My response is a simply a tribute to its members. Organization of a group only goes so far. It's what people do with that organization that counts. As long as CUCUG has value to its members and members that care, it will not only survive, but flourish.
HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY Ð AND MANY MORE TO COME!
A Princeton University student has published instructions for disabling the new anticopying measures being tested on CDs by BMG--and they're as simple as holding down a computer's Shift key.
In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony Hamilton.
Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman said.
The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed the protection would deter most average listeners' copying.
"This is something we were aware of," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said. "Copy management is intended as a speed bump, intended to thwart the casual listener from mass burning and uploading. We made a conscious decision to err on the side of playability and flexibility."
The ease with which Halderman and others have disabled BMG and SunnComm's latest copy-protection techniques illustrates the delicate balance that record labels and technology companies are trying to strike in protecting content without angering listeners.
SunnComm's technology is the most flexible version of CD copy-protection to hit the market yet. It includes "pre-ripped" versions of the songs on the CD itself, each of which can be transferred to a computer, burned to CD several times, or transferred to many kinds of portable devices. These differ from unrestricted MP3 files in that only limited copies can be made, and not every portable music device can play them.
The Anthony Hamilton CD is the first release in this new generation of copy-protected CDs that come preloaded with these "second session" tracks designed for use on a computer, a strategy also being pursued by SunnComm rival Macrovision. Record labels have pushed for these tracks, mostly provided in Microsoft's Windows Media format, to be included on copy-protected CDs in order to ameliorate consumers' concerns about not being able to use their music on computers.
SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs said the technology--which will be improved in future versions--should still be attractive to record companies. Though simple, the act of holding down the Shift key in order to enable copying does let computer users know they're doing something unauthorized, he said. That alone will dissuade many people from making copies, he added.
"This is not an all-or-nothing thing," Jacobs said. "People can break into your house, because there's lots of information out there on how to pick locks. But that knowledge doesn't mean you don't buy a lock."
In order to fully prevent the antipiracy software from loading, a listener has to hold the Shift key down for a long period of time, at exactly the right time, every time they listen to the CD on a computer. Moreover, anyone who doesn't load the software won't get access to the second session tracks, which on future CDs will increasingly include videos and other bonus material, record company insiders say.
For his part, Halderman says the workaround is so simple that it's hard to fix. Nor is he worried about falling afoul of laws that make it illegal to describe how to get around copy-protection measures.
"I hardly think that telling people to push Shift constitutes trafficking in a (copy-protection technology) circumvention device," Halderman said. "I'm not very worried."
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Three days after a Princeton graduate student posted a paper on his Web site detailing how to defeat the copy-protection software on a new music CD by pressing a single computer key, the maker of the software said Thursday it would sue him.
In a statement, SunnComm Technologies Inc. said it would sue Alex Halderman over the paper, which said SunnComm's MediaMax CD-3 software could be blocked by holding down the "Shift" key on a computer keyboard as a CD using the software was inserted into a disc drive.
"SunnComm believes that by making erroneous assumptions in putting together his critical review of the MediaMax CD-3 technology, Halderman came to false conclusions concerning the robustness and efficacy of SunnComm's MediaMax technology," it said.
SunnComm, which trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, said it has lost more than $10 million of its market value since Halderman published his report.
The software was used on a CD, Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From," released last month. Halderman, who has done research in the past on other CD protection technologies, said the software could also be disabled by stopping a driver the software loads on the computer when the CD is played.
SunnComm alleged Halderman violated criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in disclosing the existence of those driver files.
Halderman -- who received an undergraduate degree from Princeton earlier this year and is now pursuing a doctorate in computer science with an emphasis on computer security -- said he had not yet heard directly from SunnComm in regards to litigation but was unconcerned.
"I'm still not very worried about litigation under the DMCA, I don't think there's any case," he told Reuters. "I don't think telling people to press the 'Shift' key is a violation of the DMCA."
A spokesman for BMG, the unit of Bertelsmann AG that licensed SunnComm's software and released the Hamilton CD, declined to comment on the planned suit.
The music industry, claiming a sharp decline in CD sales is the result of digital piracy through online file-sharing services, has worked to develop methods to secure music on discs and restrict its copying.
Halderman's graduate advisor at Princeton is Ed Felten, a computer science professor who once sued the Recording Industry Association of America in a challenge to the constitutionality of the DMCA.
The RIAA had threatened action under the DMCA against Felten and colleagues after they said they would publish a paper disclosing flaws in an industry security initiative. That suit was eventually dismissed.
Despite a rash of gushing news stories about the successes of Linux and Mac OS X on the server and client, respectively, Microsoft's Windows operating systems continue to dominate its OS rivals in both markets, and a recent report notes that usage of Windows is actually growing in both markets as well. Market researchers at IDC say that various versions of the Windows desktop and server OSes currently dominate their respective markets and will continue to do so for at least the next four years. IDC credits Microsoft's volume licensing programs for the company's ability to grow share during a time in which it is already the dominant player.
"As Microsoft has brought in [Windows 2000 and XP], there's been a lot of good reasons for customers to go out and buy brand new operating systems," IDC analyst Al Gillen says. "It's probably unrealistic to expect Microsoft to continue to drive the market as hard as it has been [doing]." That's because the company has little room for growth on the desktop and is unlikely to duplicate its utter dominance there on the server.
According to the report, titled "Worldwide Client and Server Operating Environment Market Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2007," Windows desktop operating systems sales worldwide increased from 93.2 percent of the market in 2001 to 93.8 percent in 2002, accounting for over $9.75 billion in sales. Various Mac OS versions stalled in second place, with just 2.9 percent of the market (and just 2.2 percent of the revenues), though IDC noted that Apple will relinquish that place to Linux, which is starting to see desktop growth with 2.3 percent of the market in 2002. All told, 121 million client OSes shipped in 2002, IDC says; about 113 million of those were Windows XP, 3.5 million were Mac OS, and 2.9 million were Linux.
The server side of the equation also sees an interesting breakdown. Microsoft's Windows Server products owned 55.1 percent of the market in 2002, from a unit shipment standpoint, up from 50.5 percent in 2001. Second-place Linux accounted for 23.1 percent of new shipments, up from 22.4 percent in 2001. Only Windows and Linux saw growth in 2002: Combined, all UNIX versions declined 8.9 percent year-over-year, while Novell Netware fell 12.4 percent.
IDC also noted that the SCO suit against Linux companies is having an effect, ending the notion that Linux is "free" software. "Even if the litigation is resolved, the incident may forever put to rest the notion that Linux is 'free' software that can be deployed on any machine without any accountability for ownership and licensing," the IDC report reads. "This weakens a major area of differentiation between Linux and more commercialized operating environments." However, IDC thinks that the SCO will be resolved, and that Linux usage will grow through 2007. Interestingly, however, Linux usage and sales will still be dwarfed by Windows Server over that time period, the report says. "Microsoft generates about the same amount of OS revenue in three days as the entire Linux industry generates in one year," IDC notes.
Microsoft execs at last have admitted publicly, at last, that Longhorn will not ship in 2005. Does it matter?
At Microsoft's worldwide partner conference this week, Microsoft finally admitted that Longhorn won't see the light of day until 2006.
This isn't a guess on my part, educated or otherwise. Or flame bait. Or conjecture. This is straight from the horses' mouths.
At the show this week, several Microsoft execs casually slipped into their presentations that Longhorn is three years away from debut. Last time I did the math, that was not 2005, as promised just a few months ago. Nor is it even the wishy-washy "2005+" that a few execs had taken to attaching to their product timetables. The new target is 2006, plain and simple.
Did the company think no one would notice ? Or maybe after all that Abita beer on draft served up at the Friday night partner party at the House of Blues, that no one could count?
Maybe Microsoft is assuming that tacking another year onto a product that's already far from debut wouldn't matter. But if Longhorn client is three years away, that means the rest of the Longhorn wave also is three years from cresting.
That means there will be no Visual Studio tools release for two years after "Whidbey" (which Microsoft is still insisting will be a late 2004 product). No Office 12 until 2006. And Longhorn Server ÷ which was expected, until this week, in 2006 ÷ is now, more likely than not a 2007 product (given that it was set to lag the client release by a year).
For some customers, a year delay actually might be a relief. Not everyone wants and needs major product upgrades every two years. And for Microsoft, which is in the midst of a major campaign to convince existing customers to upgrade to Windows XP and Office XP, a delay may help fuel such a push.
But Microsoft has been talking to its partners about Longhorn since 2001, at least.
Each year, we heard that more and more can't-live-without features would be baked into Longhorn. The ultimate in security (Next Generation Secure Computing Base, a k a "Palladium")? Longhorn. Self-healing/self-managing systems? The infrastructure will be baked into Longhorn. A simpler Windows- presentation infrastructure? Just hang on for Longhorn. The next version of Internet Explorer? Not available in any way other than as part of Longhorn.
Earlier this year, Microsoft execs proclaimed the company had decided against introducing a stop-gap interim Windows release between XP and Longhorn. That didn't look like a bad strategy when Longhorn client was a 2004 product. Even as a 2005 product, the idea of foregoing a "Shorthorn" wasn't outrageous. But now that it's 2006? Five years without a new desktop? That's a long time.
Even CEO Steve Ballmer seemingly is champing at the bit for a new release. In talking up XP Service Pack 2 ÷ which Microsoft has delayed until Q2/Q3 of next year in order to include a bunch of new security technologies in the SP ÷ Ballmer called SP2 "a new version of Windows XP."
Read Ballmer's Full Partner Conference Keynote Speech Here
XP SP2: Service Pack or New Windows Release?
And More on What's New, From a Security Standpoint, in Service Pack 2
Indeed, Microsoft is planning to distribute XP SP2 quite broadly: through retail, OEMs, downloads and in other "creative ways." But the company is maintaining SP2 will be free. (Maybe Microsoft could use XP SP2 as its "free software" poster child that it can pit against "free" open source software in its future TCO studies! I better not give them any ideas.)
TDK demonstrates a purple-blue laser diode in CEATEC Japan, promising recording capacities that reach the 100GB on a single disk.
The laser uses the same wavelength as a blue laser technology, and records on specially developed disks in 4 layers! As a result, a maximum capacity of 100GB can be achieved. The maximum recording speed reaches the 144 Mbps.
Believe it or not, the future will show us whether such optimistic projects will ever reach the product line.
SAN FRANCISCO - Hoping to win back alienated customers, personal software maker Intuit Inc. is formally apologizing to users of its popular TurboTax program who rebelled against an anti-piracy feature the company introduced last year.
"I've talked one-on-one with quite a few customers, so I know this caused some of you considerable hassle and inconvenience," TurboTax general manager Tom Allanson wrote in an open letter of apology.
Mountain View-based Intuit plans to publish the letter as an advertisement in Thursday's editions of USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The letter also will be posted on several Web sites.
Intuit is seeking forgiveness as it prepares to sell the 2003 edition of TurboTax ÷ a program that generated $423 million, or 26 percent, of the company's revenue in its last fiscal year.
The unusual step serves as another reminder of the aggravation Intuit caused with the anti-piracy measure, known as "product activation," which was designed to prevent buyers from giving the tax program to people who hadn't paid to use it.
Intuit hoped to boost TurboTax sales with an activation code that chained the program to a single computer. The company instead faced an angry backlash from customers who abhorred the restrictions and feared product activation might allow Intuit to spy on their computer hard drives.
Although Intuit insisted many of the complaints were either misguided or unfounded, the chastened company decided in May to dump the effort.
By then, H.R. Block's rival TaxCut program had already tried to undercut Intuit's market-leading position with an ad campaign touting the ability to use TaxCut on multiple computers.
In an interview Wednesday, Allanson said Thursday's letter stems from concerns that Intuit's message of contrition ÷ and its promise to drop product activation ÷ hasn't been connecting with enough irritated customers.
Intuit concluded some TurboTax users were so upset with product activation that they might not even open an apology letter if it were mailed to them, Allanson said.
Okay, so you have your anti-virus program set up to check your mails or you are using your ISP's server-based virus protection and you'd like to know if it actually works.
Just go to http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest and request as many different tests as you'd like. GFI will send you harmless e-mails which should be caught by your virus-checking solution or your e-mail client and you can determine if you need more protection or not.
At Apple Expo in Paris last week, Steve Jobs at long last unveiled the long-awaited update to the Titanium PowerBook G4. The new aluminum-clad 15-inch PowerBook G4 offers two configurations with a choice of a 1 GHz or 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor (both with 512K of on-chip level 2 cache, which, according to Apple, makes up for the lack of a level 3 cache that was present in some earlier PowerBook G4s), Combo drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) or SuperDrive (CD- RW/DVD-R), 60 GB or 80 GB hard drive, and an AirPort Extreme card (hopefully with better range than the abysmal Titanium PowerBook G4). Also optional for $70 is the neat backlit keyboard technology from the 17-inch PowerBook; the backlighting is standard on the higher-end configuration.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/sep/16pb.html
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index15.html
Standard features include a 15.2 inch LCD display running at 1280 by 854, 56K V.92 modem, built-in Bluetooth networking, the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM, built-in stereo speakers with a midrange-enhancing third speaker, keyboard, trackpad, and a 46 watt battery that provides up to 4.5 hours of battery life (the 15-inch PowerBooks use the same 65 watt power adapter as the 17-inch PowerBook, not the 45 watt adapter used by the first-generation 12-inch PowerBook). Ports include one PC Card/CardBus slot, built-in 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet, one FireWire 400 port, one FireWire 800 port, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, DVI video output port (with an included DVI-to-VGA adapter), S-video output port (with an included S-video-to- composite adapter), audio line in, and a headphone jack.
All this comes in a 5.6 pound (2.5 kg) package 1.1 inches (2.8 cm) high, 13.7 inches (34.8 cm) wide, 9.5 inches (24.1 cm) deep, putting it smack between the 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks in size and weight. For you number crunchers, those measurements make the new model slightly thicker (by 0.1 inches, 0.3 cm), wider (0.4 inches, 1.0 cm), and heavier (0.3 pound, 0.1 kg) than the Titanium model. Although those numbers aren't drastically different, some Titanium PowerBook G4 owners may need to look into buying laptop sleeves and cases redesigned for the new dimensions.
A stripped-down model costs $2,000; the loaded model comes in at $2,700. Both models are listed as "Available Now" at the online Apple Store, and many Apple retail stores had the configurations in stock at the time of last week's announcement.
We can only speculate why Apple chose to keep the Titanium PowerBook G4 in its lame duck position in the PowerBook lineup for nine long months after introducing the 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks (we suspect Apple was trying to sell off as many existing units as possible before introducing new ones), but the release of the 15-inch PowerBook G4 should spur laptop sales. For many people, the 12-inch PowerBook was just too small and underpowered, whereas the 17-inch PowerBook was just too large and expensive. Much as Mama Bear's oatmeal, chair, and bed were just right for Goldilocks, the 15-inch PowerBook should meet the needs of many Mac users, thanks to its large display, excellent performance, and complete set of features at prices starting $1,000 below the 17-inch PowerBook.
12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks
Along with the new 15-inch PowerBook G4, Apple made some small but welcome changes to the existing 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBook G4s. The 12-inch PowerBook G4 replaces its 867 MHz CPU with a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 CPU plus 512K of level 2 cache, double the previous amount. Another welcome change is the addition of a mini-DVI port and a pair of adapters for connecting DVI- and VGA-based monitors. Lastly, the Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics processor with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM replaces the GeForce4 420 Go. Pricing remains the same.
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index12.html
The 17-inch PowerBook G4 upgrades its 1 GHz CPU to a 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512K of level 2 cache (twice as much as before), trades in its 60 GB hard drive for an 80 GB model, and swaps its Nvidia GeForce4 440 Go graphics processor with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM. Along with these improvements, the 17-inch PowerBook's price drops $300, so models start at $3,000.
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index17.html
Bank Notes for Keynote
Finally, if you need still more incentive to consider purchasing a PowerBook (or any new Mac), Apple is offering an instant $50 rebate if you include the Keynote presentation software in the same purchase. The rebate is good through 27-Dec-03.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/sep/16keynote.html
http://www.apple.com/promo/keynote/
At last week's Apple Expo in Paris, Apple introduced the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse, a pair of Bluetooth- based wireless input devices for Macs running Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later with Bluetooth capabilities (either built in or provided by an external adapter). Both work within 30 feet (9.1 m) of the Mac. The keyboard relies on four AA batteries and comes with Energizer e2 alkaline batteries that promise up to nine months of use, while the mouse uses a pair of AA batteries and should get up to three months of use with its Energizer e2 lithium batteries. Both switch into low power mode automatically and provide on/off switches for times when you know the computer won't be in use (handy for PowerBook users who want a no-clutter traveling mouse).
http://www.apple.com/keyboard/
http://www.apple.com/mouse/
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/sep/16keyboardmouse.html
Aside from cutting the desktop cords, the most interesting aspect of these products is how they implement Bluetooth. To prevent snoopers from watching keyboard traffic, both devices offer 128-bit encryption of the Bluetooth signals. Also, Apple claims the devices are the first to use Adaptive Frequency Hopping software to eliminate interference between Bluetooth devices and other wireless uses in the 2.4 GHz band (such as Wi-Fi networks and cordless phones). This feature, which will appear in an upcoming Bluetooth 1.2 specification, takes advantage of an FCC ruling last year that provides flexibility for frequency hopping devices using 1 MHz per channel; formerly, devices had to hop among at least 75 channels, but they can now hop among just 15.
A firmware upgrade is expected to be released for all previous Bluetooth hardware offered by Apple, except for the first version of the D-Link USB Bluetooth adapter, to support adaptive hopping.
Retail cost is $70 for each device, and they should be available within two to three weeks from the usual sources. Also, both devices require Mac OS X 10.2.6 or higher. Apple's press release said nothing about the new keyboard and mouse becoming standard equipment on future Macs, but given Steve Jobs's legendary desire for sleek, uncluttered design, we wouldn't be surprised.
Microsoft earlier this month released Microsoft Office X 10.1.5, an update to the business suite which tackles stability issues with PowerPoint, Excel, and Visual Basic for Applications. Before updating, be sure you've installed the Office X 10.1.2 Update and the Office X 10.1.4 Update. The update is a free 6.3 MB download. [JLC]
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07291
Apple has released a firmware update for AirPort Extreme Base Stations, boosting security and improving performance. The revision should better handle network attacks that may be directed at an AirPort Extreme Base Station, including denial-of-service attacks, and help maintain Internet connectivity (we hope this will address situations where AirPort Extreme Base Stations required frequent resetting). Setting up the Wireless Distribution System (WDS) has been made easier, USB printing has been improved, and administrators can now set up a DHCP range when NAT (Network Address Translation) is on (good for avoiding IP range conflicts with ISPs that use NAT internally). The firmware update is a 1 MB download. [JLC]
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120249
Adobe today announced major upgrades of their professional print and Web publishing applications, together dubbed the Adobe Creative Suite. Available later this year, the suite will include the next versions of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and GoLive. Like its rival Macromedia, Adobe has abandoned easily understood version numbers (such as Photoshop 8 or InDesign 3) in favor of marketing- inspired letters (Photoshop CS and InDesign CS). Behind the names, however, lie some significant upgrades. For example, InDesign CS incorporates nested styles, the capability to preview color separations before a piece hits the press, and a Story Editor where you can edit text independent of its layout (a feature present eons ago in PageMaker). Each application will be available separately, but Adobe hopes that the full Creative Suite will be more appealing, thanks to the addition of Version Cue, a version tracking and project collaboration framework that operates between the applications. The entire suite will be available in a premium pack for $1,230, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat 6 Professional, and Version Cue; a standard pack, at $1,000, will remove GoLive and Acrobat from the mix. The suite is expected to ship by the end of the year. [JLC]
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/main.html
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/newfeatures.html
Apple updated its calendar and synchronization utilities last week, improving performance and adding support for more devices. iCal 1.5.1 tweaks the calendar's interface slightly, turning the Info window into a sliding drawer and adding the capability to set custom category colors. The new version also adds notes and alarms to To Do items, supports events in multiple time zones, and can publish or subscribe to calendars served behind firewalls. The update is a 6.2 MB download, and requires Mac OS X 10.2.3 or higher.
iSync 1.2.1 adds calendar synchronization for Sony Ericsson P800, Nokia 3650 and Nokia 7650 phones, plus the capability to transfer pictures associated with Address Book records that appear when calls come in from those contacts. Additional synchronization support has been added for Sony Ericsson T616 and Z600 phones. If you're a .Mac subscriber and use iSync to synchronize your Safari bookmarks, iSync can synchronize them for viewing and editing at bookmarks.mac.com. iSync 1.2.1 is a free 5.5 MB download and requires Mac OS X 10.2.3 or higher, and iCal 1.5.1 for synchronizing calendars. Palm handheld device users must install the iSync 1.2 Palm Conduit, an 892K download (an obscure direct download link is provided at the bottom of the iSync download page). [JLC]
http://www.apple.com/isync/
http://www.apple.com/isync/download/
http://bookmarks.mac.com/
Last Monday, as Geoff Duncan was preparing the TidBITS issue for distribution, Software Update notified me that I could install Mac OS X 10.2.8. It was late, I was tired, and I let it download and install without really thinking about the consequences. (Bad Adam! Always back up right before installing a major upgrade!) While all 40 MB were coming in, Jeff Carlson and I made the decision to post an update on the TidBITS Web site the next day rather than try to squeeze it into the issue. I'm glad we chose to put it off, since the update proved troublesome for many users. I lucked out; the update just moved the menu bar to my secondary monitor, confusing Classic and requiring a second restart, after which everything has worked fine.
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07368
Others weren't so lucky. We received numerous reports of problems from people who upgraded to Mac OS X 10.2.8 right away, including kernel panics at boot. In particular, we verified that Mac OS X 10.2.8 was incompatible with some drivers for external FireWire audio devices for recording and producing audio. Many other users experienced the loss of Ethernet on Power Mac G4s. If you've been impacted by the Ethernet problem, there's a reported fix posted on Apple's discussion boards that involves reverting to a previous AppleGMACEthernet.kext file. Obviously, this solution is not endorsed by Apple, and we at TidBITS have not confirmed it.
http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?14@243.dj9gamVHgCC.1540101@.5999d9d9/10
Needless to say, Apple pulled the 10.2.8 update quickly, but the company hasn't given any indication when a replacement will arrive. If you downloaded Mac OS X 10.2.8 but haven't yet installed it, toss that file and wait for the replacement. If you're one of the unlucky people who have had troubles, you'll have to decide if you can work through them or if reverting to a backup is a better option. Remember that you can hold down the Shift key at boot to perform a Safe Boot that disables all non- Apple kernel extensions and drivers. That will probably help those experiencing kernel panics at boot, but I can't see it helping with the Ethernet problem.
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07369
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120245
What was in the update? Mac OS X 10.2.8 included a number of Bluetooth improvements (partially to enable support for Apple's new wireless keyboard and mouse) as well as unspecified enhancements to the Safari Web browser. It also included security updates for the Unix applications sendmail and OpenSSH's sshd, support for USB 2.0 devices (even if you added USB 2.0 ports to a Mac using a PCI card or PC Card), and a fix for a problem mounting external FireWire drives.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798
Late last week, Apple posted a new Mac OS X 10.2.8 Update, replacing one that was released and then quickly pulled after causing significant troubles on many machines (see "Mac OS X 10.2.8 Comes and Goes" in TidBITS-699_). The new update for computers running Mac OS X 10.2.6 or 10.2.7 (the latter available only on some new Macs such as the recently released 15-inch PowerBook G4) is available as a 38.9 MB download via Software Update and as a standalone installer. A Mac OS X 10.2.8 Update (Combo) version is available as a 97 MB download, and updates Mac OS X 10.2 and higher.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25524
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25525
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07379
For users who installed the first Mac OS X 10.2.8 update, Apple has also posted a separate updater via Software Update, the Mac OS X Update 10.2.8 (Build 6R73) with an updated Ethernet driver and an update to the battery status menu; it is a 248K download. And lastly, owners of Power Mac G5 machines require a different updater that works only on those models, the Mac OS X 10.2.8 (G5) Update, which is a 13 MB download. [JLC]
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25576
Apple Computer announced last week that Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, this year's new version of the Mac OS X operating system, will be available at Apple's retail stores and authorized resellers at 8:00 PM on Friday, 24-Oct-03. Panther Server, or Mac OS X Server 10.3, will be released at the same time. Panther boasts a completely rewritten and redesigned Finder, offering faster searching and a user interface showing its first major evolution away from the remnants of the NeXT user interface. New features include Expose, a clever way of selecting from among all open windows; iChat AV, an audio- and video-enabled version of Apple's chat software; fast user switching; FileVault home directory encryption and other security enhancements; and behind-the-scenes synchronization of the user's iDisk to a local folder for offline work. (See "Mac OS X Panther Springs at WWDC" in TidBITS-685_.)
http://www.apple.com/macosx/overview/
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07242
Panther supports all PowerPC G3- and G4-based Macs that shipped with USB ports (which eliminates a few older PowerPC G3 models that worked with Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar), plus the new Power Mac G5s. It is available for pre-order immediately from the Apple Store or other Apple retailers like Small Dog Electronics at a single-user price of $130 or a "family pack" price (for up to five users at the same residence) of $200. Panther Server costs $500 for the 10-client edition and $1,000 for the unlimited-client edition.
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2084
http://store.apple.com/
http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/Productivity/Software+Operating/wag201/wag100201/
Anyone purchasing Mac OS X or a new Mac on or after 08-Oct-03, or anyone who's purchased a Power Mac G5 at all, is entitled to a Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade to Panther for a $20 shipping and handling fee; a corresponding Panther Server offer is available to anyone who purchases Mac OS X Server or an Xserve today or later. The Up-To-Date policy of favoring Power Mac G5 owners, regardless of purchase date, has rankled users who ordered new PowerBooks when they were announced only a few weeks before the Panther announcement. Although Apple's official line is that non-G5 Macs are eligible for the Up-To-Date pricing only if bought after 08-Oct-03, many PowerBook owners (including TidBITS readers and staffers) are reporting mixed success when entering their machines' serial numbers in Apple's online form; in a few cases, attempts late last week failed, but retries over the weekend were successful.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
September 18, 2003 - The meeting was called to order at 7:24 PM. President Rollins began by familiarizing us with our new surroundings: location of the rest rooms, discussion of wireless problems due to WCIA's transmitter, all the stuff computer geeks need to know up front.
Richard then conducted the traditional introduction of officers.
Richard then returned to a discussion of the equipment we have at our disposal in our new home at the First Baptist Church of Champaign. We currently have a 128 KB ISDN Internet connect, sound system, and projection screen.
Richard announced the agenda for the SIGs this evening. The PC SIG would be looking at Studio 8. The Mac SIG would be conducting a Question and Answer Session and talking about the Tungsten T2 Palm. The Linux SIG had already investigated WebDAV.
Steve Gast asked if anyone had any experience with Perl for Windows. Mark Zinzow said he had and would talk to him later.
In Mac News, Emil Cobb reported that new 15" and 17" PowerBooks had just been released along with the new G5 desktop.
Matt Skaj brought up the fact that he is now a certified Mac server specialist. He gave the specifics of the new machines.
Mark Zinzow informed the group of http://www.mailinator.com , a site that gives you a bogus email address to use when you don't want to give out your real one.
Kevin Hisel reported a class action suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Apple Computer, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. A group of computer owners has filed a lawsuit claiming that their advertising deceptively overstates the true capacity of their hard drives. You can check out the news item at http://news.com.com/2100-1015-5078961.html .
George Krumins related the news about the Apple Corps versus Apple Computer lawsuit.
There was a discussion of the table arrangement for the meeting.
The topic for this evening's SIG was Emil Cobb's newest toy, a Palm Tungsten T2. Emil laid out the particulars of his Palm T2. It cost $399. It came with 32 MB built-in to which he added a 64 MB card. When asked how large one could go with that expansion Emil said you could install a 512 MB card, which is the biggest available. That card runs $200 plus. Emil said the T2 will take two different kinds of cards: MMC (Multi Media Card) and/or the SD (Secure Data) card.
Emil noted that the T2 had a nice sound system in it, which he demonstrated. The T2 has a faster processor than its predecessor. It comes with a rechargeable battery. On the subject of batteries, Emil spoke about how to replace the batteries in previous Palm models, which Palm says you can't do. Emil said, "Yes you can. Laptops for Less, Inc. has the batteries and instructions on how to do the change."
http://www.laptopsforless.com/
http://www.pdainternalbattery.com/
Emil then ran a small comparison between his Palm 3 versus his new T2, using Mapopolis to demonstrate the difference in speed.
Emil also stated that the T2 can show a movie in QuickTime format using Kinoma PLAYER v1.5.1. The T2 has a sound out to hook it up to a better sound system. He played an MP3 of "Brickhouse."
The T2 has all sorts of accessories too: a camera, a projector connector, the ability to use a Bluetooth phone as a modem. It even has a GPS. Emil said, "Check http://www.palmone.com/us/products/accessories/peripherals ."
After the official demonstration, Mat Skaj showed DVD Cache, a DVD cataloging program he had on his PowerBook. He also showed the program Soundtrack.
The September meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, September 23, 2003, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Richard Rollins, Rich Hall, Kris Klindworth, Kevin Hopkins, Emil Cobb, Kevin Hisel.
Rich Hall: Treasurer Richard Hall reported that he had received the refund of our advance meeting room rent from ITC. He then gave a review of the club's bank statement.
Kris Klindworth: Kris said, "I like the new digs" in reference to our move to the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy.
He noted that Knoppix 3.3 is out. It has lots of updates and new options.
SCO has shown some of its source code to prove its case against those supposedly using its Unix illegally. Problem was that code was already in the public domain.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin delivered the mail from the club's P.O. Box to the appropriate officers.
Emil Cobb: Emil gave an estimate of the attendance at the last meeting as around 20.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin voiced his comments on the new meeting site. "The video screen is larger than Screen 4 at the old Coed 4 before they tore it down." "Unbelievably great." "However, we need to work on recreating the intimacy we had at the ITC." A discussion was conducted on ways to accomplish this. Kevin continued, "The sound was cavernous, which lead to people talking amongst themselves, which was distracting." In the end, "We made out well." And finally to President Rollins, who arranged the deal, "We're not worthy."
There was a discussion of the Internet connection speed, which several members commented on as being "sluggish." Richard said Volo is coming; the church wants to stream its Sunday services, so more bandwidth will be required for that.
Richard Rollins: Richard raised the subject of our October meeting marking the 20th Anniversary of CUCUG. Some of the more elaborate plans for the event have not come to fruition, so we will have cake and ice cream at a social style meeting. We will start that at 7 PM. Kris will be there at the Linux SIG's regular time. We will conduct a Question and Answer Session during the main portion of the meeting. We will then break into our social.
Richard then reminded everyone we are moving into membership renewal and election time. He said the last member to re-up gets elected to an office.
Kevin Hisel asked Rich Hall if he had any information relating to our Corporate Agent position. Rich said he'd look.
Richard discussed the state of the club's PC, which is a P3-1 GHz machine. He feels that replacing the motherboard would correct its ills. Everyone advised him to "Do it."
Ed Serbe:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1521&e=12&u=/afp/us_diplomacy_threat
Elaine Avner:
These are not news sites, nor are they for help with computer problems. In fact, they provide relief from dealing with problems.
Garrison Keillor's Writers Almanac, which is broadcast on WILL-FM weekdays at about 7:50 am and WILL-AM at 12:50 pm. It is broadcast on weekends on WILL-FM at about 8:50 am. I go to the site when I miss a program or when I want to save a poem.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/living/columnists/gary_bogue/
A column in the Contra Costa Times (California newspaper) written by Gary Bogue. It is a touching, sensitive discussion of nature, animals, pets, etc. (Note: Recently I have had trouble making this connection. I do not know whether the problem is with my security settings or whether there is screening at the newspaper site.)
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html
A site for wordlovers. A word a day, or AWAD, presents words in many categories. There is a discussion group which I have not looked at.
Steve Gast:
Check out these links!
http://www.vintagecomputer.com/specialt.htm
http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/games/list.php%3Fname%3DS%26lineoffset%3D99
A Blast From The Past!
Emil Cobb:
http://www.zatz.com - A MEMBER OF THE ZATZ MAGAZINE NETWORK
http://www.computingunplugged.com/
Anthony Philipp:
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/perspectives/0,39001148,39152528,00.htm
Eolas vs Microsoft in Active X dispute. Eolas did research in the early ninety's about starting applications over a web browser, which is what Active X does in Internet Explorer. Other browsers also use this feature and, if Eolas wins, all browsers will have to pay a licensing fee or not use the feature. Basically this is just a summary of what is going on.
http://www.vintage.org/projects.php
Thought it might be interesting because the group started because of this machine.
Norris Hansell:
One hears there's no accounting for taste.
This is the link I find most continuingly useful, the writings of Victor Davis Hanson:
http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
Craig Kummerow:
I cannot believe that it has been ten years since the last big anniversary of CUCUG! I can remember that one like it was yesterday. I will most definitely plan on being there.
I am sure you have this one already, probably from several people, but this one makes me drool on the keyboard, so I guess it counts for something!
http://www.apple.com/powermac/
If you want a more personal, self-serving, selfish link, I would humbly submit my link from our school webpage.
http://www.gcms.k12.il.us/kummerow/
Kevin Hopkins:
The Leo Strauss conservatives (short)
http://adbusters.org/magazine/49/articles/leo_strauss/flash.html
The Leo-conservatives (longer)
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/english/0,1518,259860,00.html
Tech Bubble: Who Benefited
http://www.counterpunch.org/schaefer08302003.html
The Federalist Society: The Conservative Cabal That Is Transforming American Law
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0003.landay.html
Federal deficit expected to approach $500 billion next year
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/25/federal.deficit.ap/index.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-08-25-deficit_x.htm
Florida recount study
URL: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/florida.ballots/stories/main.html
Richard Hall:
OK, Rich really didn't send me anything, but I told him, if he didn't, I was going to put these in.
The Motley Fool - http://www.fool.com
Hilton Waikoloa Village - http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=YYSENGBR3TSSYCSGBIXM22QKIYFCVUUC?ctyhocn=KOAHWHH
I don't know what he's got planned, but we better keep an eye on him. ;-)
I. Offices available
A. The President - basically, the coordinator for the entire club. Appoints
committee chairs and presides over the general meetings.
B. The Vice President - performs the President's duties in his absence.
C. Treasurer - in charge of the financial affairs of the club. He/she pays
the bills.
D. Secretary - in charge of keeping all of the procedural documentation,
e.g., meeting minutes, as well as correspondence with members,
non-members and other clubs.
E. Corporation Agent - in charge of all matters dealing with CUCUG's
corporation status.
II. Candidates
A. Potential candidates should contact the chairman of the Election
Committee prior to the November meeting so that they may coordinate
the forum, etc. Kevin Hisel 217-406-948-1999
B. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting.
C. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their views
or present their platforms at the November meeting.
D. The Nominating Committee will verify that anyone nominated is a
member in good standing. Otherwise, they will not be allowed a forum.
E. Candidates' names will be published in the December newsletter.
III. Voting
A. Who can vote
1. Every member in good standing (i.e., dues paid) may vote.
2. Must have and present the current (2003) membership card.
B. Voting at the general meeting in December
1. Secret ballots will be distributed to each member that presents a
valid membership card at the December meeting.
2. The Secretary will prepare the official ballot forms. No candidates'
names will appear on the ballots themselves. Candidates' names and
the offices they seek will be posted at the meeting place by office
and then alphabetically by candidate.
C. Proxy voting
1. If you cannot attend the December meeting, you may request a
special proxy ballot from Kevin Hisel (217-406-948-1999) no later than
December 8, 2001 (the Monday of the week prior to the week of the meeting).
2. Place filled-in ballot in a blank, sealed envelope.
3. Place blank envelope along with your valid membership card in
another envelope.
4. Address this envelope to: CUCUG, 912 Stratford Dr., Champaign, IL
61821, clearly print the word BALLOT on the front and mail it.
5. These proxy votes will be opened and verified only by the Tellers at
the December meeting and counted along with the general ballots.
6. All proxy ballots must be received at the CUCUG post office box
no later than December 18, 2001 (the day of the meeting).
D. Who you may vote for
1. You may vote for anyone. Write-in (non-nominated) votes will be
accepted and counted. The candidate with the most votes for a
particular position wins that position. In the event of a tie, the
Tellers will require a recasting for that position only.
2. To assume office, a candidate must be a member in good standing
both in 2003 and in 2004. If a winning candidate cannot be verified,
the office goes to the next verifiable candidate with the most votes.
If there are no verifiable winners, a second balloting will take place.
Proxy ballots will be counted each time.
IV. Chronology
A. October meeting
1. Announce protocol to general membership.
2. Solicit candidates.
B. November newsletter
1. Re-cap the election protocol.
C. November meeting
1. The membership will appoint a Nominating Committee.
2. Accept nominations from the floor.
3. Nominations will close.
4. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their
views or present their platforms.
D. December newsletter
1. Candidates' names will be published in alphabetical order with the
offices they seek.
E. December meeting
1. Nominated candidates names and the offices they seek will be
posted in alphabetical order.
2. The President will appoint 2 or more Tellers to distribute ballots and
count the votes.
3. Votes will be taken and counted by the Tellers. Winners names will
be announced by the President.
F. January newsletter
1. Winners names will be published.
G. January meeting
1. New club officers will be installed.
ToC
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The FBC-CS is located at 1602 N. Prospect Avenue in Savoy, on the NE corner of Burwash and Prospect. To get to the the First Baptist Church from Champaign or Urbana, take Prospect Avenue south. Setting the trip meter in your car to zero at the corner of Kirby/Florida and Prospect in Champaign (Marathon station on the SW corner), you only go 1.6 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. The Savoy village sign (on the right) will be at the 1.4 mile mark. Burwash is at the 1.6 mile mark. The Windsor of Savoy retirement community is just to the south; Burwash Park is to the east. Turn east (left) on Burwash. The FBC-CS parking lot entrance is on the north (left) side of Burwash. Enter by the double doors at the eastern end of the building's south side. A map can be found on the CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html. The First Baptist Church of Champaign is also on the web at http://www.fbc-cs.org .
Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at mid year.
Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. All recent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user group exchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. As a matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.
For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):
President/WinSIG: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Vice-Pres/MacSIG: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Richard Hall 344-8687 rjhall1@uiuc.edu Corp.Agent/Web: Kevin Hisel 406-948-1999 Linux SIG: Kris Klindworth 239-0097 kris.klindworth@Carle.com
Visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/index.php .