Saturday, December 06, 2003
Yahoo proposes new Internet anti-spam structure
Internet services company Yahoo Friday said it is working on technology to combat e-mail spam by changing the way the Internet works to require authentication of a message's sender.
Yahoo said its "Domain Keys" software, which it hopes to launch in 2004, will be made available freely to the developers of the Web's major open-source e-mail software and systems.
Spam — unwanted Internet e-mail, direct advertising, body part enlargement, and other commercial endeavors on the Web — has quickly become Web surfers' Public Enemy No. 1 as inboxes around the globe are clogged with hundreds of such messages daily.
Governments around the world are working on legislation to reduce spam, but in the interim a number of companies have stepped in with technology proposals designed to filter and block the electronic detritus. Full Article>>>
Yahoo said its "Domain Keys" software, which it hopes to launch in 2004, will be made available freely to the developers of the Web's major open-source e-mail software and systems.
Spam — unwanted Internet e-mail, direct advertising, body part enlargement, and other commercial endeavors on the Web — has quickly become Web surfers' Public Enemy No. 1 as inboxes around the globe are clogged with hundreds of such messages daily.
Governments around the world are working on legislation to reduce spam, but in the interim a number of companies have stepped in with technology proposals designed to filter and block the electronic detritus. Full Article>>>
Wi-Fi Improvements in the Works
New wireless standards intended to enhance security and support high-bandwidth applications are in the works and will appear in products by the end of next year, say industry analysts at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference and Expo here this week.
The new 802.11e standard is designed to improve quality of service for voice calls, high-resolution video, and other demanding applications. The 802.11i security specification is based on the Advanced Encryption Standard. Both are scheduled to be finalized and published by next summer, say IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance officials here.
The new protocols differ from existing wireless protocols, including the 802.11a, 11b, and 11g standards, because they enhance their predecessors rather than specify a transmission speed and radio frequency. The new specifications will be implemented in chip sets and could appear in products as soon as the 2004 holiday season, says Stuart Kerry, who chairs the IEEE 802.11 Working Group and who moderated a "State of the Standards" session at Wi-Fi Planet. Full Article>>>
The new 802.11e standard is designed to improve quality of service for voice calls, high-resolution video, and other demanding applications. The 802.11i security specification is based on the Advanced Encryption Standard. Both are scheduled to be finalized and published by next summer, say IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance officials here.
The new protocols differ from existing wireless protocols, including the 802.11a, 11b, and 11g standards, because they enhance their predecessors rather than specify a transmission speed and radio frequency. The new specifications will be implemented in chip sets and could appear in products as soon as the 2004 holiday season, says Stuart Kerry, who chairs the IEEE 802.11 Working Group and who moderated a "State of the Standards" session at Wi-Fi Planet. Full Article>>>
Flight Testing Begins on Boeing Canard Rotor/Wing Aircraft
During the flight test, the CRW advanced technology demonstrator known as the X-50A Dragonfly flew for about 80 seconds at 8:10 a.m. MST. It lifted off vertically from the launch site to an altitude of 12 feet above the ground, hovered and then vertically landed, commencing the flight test program.
Under joint development by Boeing and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the CRW is a revolutionary aircraft that combines the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft with the flexibility of rotary-wing flight. This is because the CRW's rotor is designed not only to spin during vertical takeoffs and landings but also to stop turning during flight and convert to a fixed wing for high-speed cruise.
Under joint development by Boeing and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the CRW is a revolutionary aircraft that combines the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft with the flexibility of rotary-wing flight. This is because the CRW's rotor is designed not only to spin during vertical takeoffs and landings but also to stop turning during flight and convert to a fixed wing for high-speed cruise.
"Todays successful hover flight was an exciting first step toward meeting the goal of this flight test program, said Gary Gallagher, CRW Systems senior manager for the Boeing Phantom Works advanced research and development unit. The ultimate objective is demonstrating the Dragonflys ability to convert from rotary-wing to fixed-wing and back to rotary-wing flight."Full Article>>>
Phones get smarter and smaller, but what do you need?
As a publicity stunt, the launch of the Treo 600 cell phone-organizer was reminiscent of the silliest dot-com events: a swank Wall Street eatery staffed by "secret agents," dressed in all black with wool caps, dispensing multicolored martinis.
Not since Sony unveiled the Clie organizer with a troop of undulating interpretive dancers have I seen such an absurd display on behalf of a machine.
But compared with that unfortunate day, the theme of the Treo launch, "Mission Impossible," was somewhat apt to the monumental task that HandSpring, now part of PalmOne, tackled in engineering the latest all-in-one mobile phone.
These devices, likely to sit high on the holiday wish list for many gadget lovers, pack an ever-growing array of features into an ever-shrinking package: color touch screens, stylus, e-mail, Web access, games, digital cameras, USB and infrared ports, memory card slot to play music and store large files, and countless applications suited to individual needs and distractions.
On top of all that, some manage to squeeze in a full "QWERTY" keyboard for thumb-typing.
The Palm-powered Treo 600 — presumably not named for its $600 list price before discounts with two-year contracts from Sprint, Cingular and AT&T Wireless — sits squarely at the top of the heap, cramming every last one of those features into a device only a little bulkier than many cell phones. Full Article>>>
Not since Sony unveiled the Clie organizer with a troop of undulating interpretive dancers have I seen such an absurd display on behalf of a machine.
But compared with that unfortunate day, the theme of the Treo launch, "Mission Impossible," was somewhat apt to the monumental task that HandSpring, now part of PalmOne, tackled in engineering the latest all-in-one mobile phone.
These devices, likely to sit high on the holiday wish list for many gadget lovers, pack an ever-growing array of features into an ever-shrinking package: color touch screens, stylus, e-mail, Web access, games, digital cameras, USB and infrared ports, memory card slot to play music and store large files, and countless applications suited to individual needs and distractions.
On top of all that, some manage to squeeze in a full "QWERTY" keyboard for thumb-typing.
The Palm-powered Treo 600 — presumably not named for its $600 list price before discounts with two-year contracts from Sprint, Cingular and AT&T Wireless — sits squarely at the top of the heap, cramming every last one of those features into a device only a little bulkier than many cell phones. Full Article>>>
Intel and AMD face nastiest competitor of all
MAKE NO MISTAKE, the top brass at AMD and Intel are going to need to live by Andy Groves' famous "only the paranoid survive" counsel. The two firms, along with VIA and Transmeta, are facing the biggest threat to their processor businesses ever: Microsoft is moving in.
The announcement that Microsoft has chosen IBM to make a processor for Xbox 2 should be sending shivers down the spines of the execs of every x86 chip firm. Just about every newswire has concentrated on trying to figure out what type of chip is going to be used in the Xbox 2. Will it be a PowerPC derivative? A licensed version of AMD64? A modified Cell processor? It really only matters to gamers exactly which chip Microsoft has chosen, everyone is looking at the finger when it's pointing to the moon. Full Article>>>
The announcement that Microsoft has chosen IBM to make a processor for Xbox 2 should be sending shivers down the spines of the execs of every x86 chip firm. Just about every newswire has concentrated on trying to figure out what type of chip is going to be used in the Xbox 2. Will it be a PowerPC derivative? A licensed version of AMD64? A modified Cell processor? It really only matters to gamers exactly which chip Microsoft has chosen, everyone is looking at the finger when it's pointing to the moon. Full Article>>>
Judge orders SCO to show Linux infringement
IBM won a tactical victory Friday in a legal battle with SCO Group when a judge ordered SCO to show within 30 days the Linux software to which it believes it has rights and to point out where it believes IBM is infringing.
But SCO also said it will open a new copyright infringement claim in its legal attack.
In a hearing in Salt Lake City, Federal Judge Dale A. Kimball required SCO to produce two key batches of information IBM had sought in the case.
In one batch, called Interrogatory No. 12, IBM sought "all source code and other material in Linux...to which plaintiff (SCO) has rights; and the nature of plaintiff's rights." In the second, Interrogatory No. 13.
Big Blue sought a detailed description of how SCO believes IBM has infringed SCO's rights and whether SCO ever distributed the source code described in Interrogatory No. 12.
The information IBM sought is at the heart of the case, a bold lawsuit SCO began in March that alleges IBM moved technology from Unix to Linux against the terms of its contract with SCO, violating trade secrets in the process. SCO is seeking $3 billion from Big Blue, and is also trying to compel Linux-using corporations to license SCO's Unix. The judge's decision is one of the first moves in a case that will affect not just IBM but also other computing giants including Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, SAP and Dell that have embraced Linux.
Full Article>>>
But SCO also said it will open a new copyright infringement claim in its legal attack.
In a hearing in Salt Lake City, Federal Judge Dale A. Kimball required SCO to produce two key batches of information IBM had sought in the case.
In one batch, called Interrogatory No. 12, IBM sought "all source code and other material in Linux...to which plaintiff (SCO) has rights; and the nature of plaintiff's rights." In the second, Interrogatory No. 13.
Big Blue sought a detailed description of how SCO believes IBM has infringed SCO's rights and whether SCO ever distributed the source code described in Interrogatory No. 12.
The information IBM sought is at the heart of the case, a bold lawsuit SCO began in March that alleges IBM moved technology from Unix to Linux against the terms of its contract with SCO, violating trade secrets in the process. SCO is seeking $3 billion from Big Blue, and is also trying to compel Linux-using corporations to license SCO's Unix. The judge's decision is one of the first moves in a case that will affect not just IBM but also other computing giants including Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, SAP and Dell that have embraced Linux.
Full Article>>>
