EFF Files Lawsuit Against Sony BMG
Not long after Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he had sued Sony BMG over its invasive copy-protection scheme, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said it filed a class action lawsuit against the record label in Los Angeles. The EFF's suit goes beyond the rootkit and includes SunnComm DRM used by Sony as well.
While acknowledging that Sony has taken steps to recall CDs affected by First 4 Internet's rootkit DRM, known as XCP, the EFF says "these measures still fall short of what the company needs to do to fix the problems caused to customers."
AOL Launches Next-Generation AIM
AOL's next-generation AIM release, known as Triton, is officially out the door and replaces AIM 5.9 as the company's default instant messaging client. Triton aims to bring together text, voice and video chat and has become the veritable front door to AOL's services.
The new release features one-click access to AOL Explorer, Search, AOL and AIM Mail, AIM Talk and the new TotalTalk VoIP calling service. Triton additionally bundles a new AIM Address Book that syncs with Plaxo, and offers built-in access to AOL Radio featuring 20 XM music stations.
Microsoft to Standardize Office Formats
Microsoft said late Monday that it intends to submit its new Office Open XML file format to the European standards organization ECMA International. The move, which is backed by Apple, Intel and Toshiba, would create a technical committee that will ratify the format as an open standard.
Any member of ECMA could join the process, Microsoft says, and help to fully document the formats that will be used in the next releases of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Initial versions of the Office Open XML formats have been included in Office 12 Beta 1, but changes will likely be made.
Cingular Wireless to Become AT&T
Last month, SBC said it would adopt the AT&T brand name following the completion of its $16 billion merger with the company. But SBC did not say what would happen to Cingular, in which it controls a 60 percent stake. On Monday, however, the company confirmed plans to phase out the Cingular name and replace it with AT&T.
Although Cingular owners SBC and Bell South have made big efforts to promote the brand, SBC CEO Ed Whitacre says the company wants to use AT&T to market all of its products. Cingular had already acquired AT&T Wireless last year, and the SBC merger will bring with it a revamped image for the former Ma Bell. No date for the change was announced.
Movielink to Offer Fox Movie Downloads
Movielink announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with Twentieth Century Fox to offer the company's movies for download. The agreement means Movielink -- a joint venture between five Hollywood studios -- can now offer movies from all the major studios.
"Robots" and other Fox flicks will be available this week, with more titles added over the coming months. Fox previously offered content on CinemaNow.com, but said it waited on movies until broadband adoption was higher. The "Star Wars" saga will not be available online, however, as Fox only owns the theater and home video distribution rights to the films.
Texas Sues Sony BMG Over CD Rootkit
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Monday that he has filed suit against Sony BMG over the use of illegal spyware in its copy-protection mechanism that gained national attention earlier this month.
Abbott also disputed Sony's claims that it had recalled all affected CDs, saying investigators were able to purchase "numerous titles at Austin retail stores as recently as Sunday evening."
RadioShack to Sell Skype Kits, Headsets
Internet telephony provider Skype has inked its first retail distribution deal in the United States, with RadioShack agreeing to sell a Skype starter kit and accessories across 3,500 stores. The deal gives Skype much-needed access to consumers and could help the service go mainstream.
RadioShack will setup a special Skype kiosk that showcases wireless headsets from Motorola and Logitech, along with a $129 cordless phone from Linksys. The $5 starter kits will come with an earpiece microphone and 30 minutes of Skype calling to any number in the world.
Microsoft Debuts E-Mail Hosting Service
Free Web mail with massive storage may be all the rage, but Microsoft is taking a different approach with a new Windows Live service: bring your own domain. Users can point their own domain name at Microsoft and take advantage of the company's infrastructure and online e-mail interface.
As services like Hotmail, Gmail and others fill up with millions of users, it becomes increasingly more difficult to find available usernames. Microsoft's service, called Custom Domains, aims to free users from this Big Brother-like requirement by letting them pick their own domain.
Google Renames 'Print' to Book Search
Google has decided to rename its controversial Google Print service, in part to reassure authors and publishers that it's not trying to infringe on copyrights. The service is now known as Google Book Search in order to clarify that the company wants to search the full text of books and inform users of where to buy or borrow them.
"One factor was all the comments we got about how excited people were that Google Print would help them print out their documents, or web pages they visit," explained Google marketing manager Jen Grant. "We want to make all the world's books discoverable and searchable online, and we hope this new name will help keep everyone focused on that important goal."
Novell Attacks Microsoft Linux Study
Microsoft went on the offensive earlier this week, announcing a study in which Windows Server trounced Novell's SUSE Enterprise Linux in both reliability and ease of use over a period of one year. Novell says the report simply "aims to confuse the market."
In a company blog posting, Novell PR manager Kevan Barney notes that Microsoft funded the Security Innovation study, and says, "Independent studies regularly credit Linux in general, and SUSE Linux in particular, as secure, reliable, supported platforms."
Sony Discloses List of Rootkit CDs
The initial count of 20 CDs that bundled Sony BMG's now infamous XCP copy-protection software has grown. The label has issued a list detailing 52 CDs dating back to early 2005 that include the controversial rootkit.
2.1 million copies of the discs made their way to consumers and, according to security expert Dan Kaminsky who analyzed DNS requests for Sony's update servers used by the DRM software, they have infected more than 500,000 different PCs. Another 2.4 million CDs were being pulled from store shelves.
Sun Offers Free Development Studio
Sun Microsystems on Wednesday released version 11 of its Sun Studio development tool, which is now available free of charge to all users. The Java-based IDE includes a graphical debugger and performance analysis tools, along with support for C, C++, and Fortran.
According to Sun, Studio 11 optimizes applications for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and has "contributed to 13 performance world records announced in 2005." An English version is available for download now, with a multilingual release coming in the next 60 days. Sun Studio 11 runs on Linux and Solaris operating systems.
Report: Intel Based iBooks Set for Jan.
Apple may be preparing to launch the first Intel based Macs as early as January, starting with its entry-level iBook laptops, according to a report by Think Secret. The site cited sources who say Apple will introduce a third iBook model and lower prices by up to $200 to attract Windows users.
The January launch would coincide with Macworld Expo, scheduled to begin January 10 in San Francisco. Think Secret notes that other Intel-based Macs could possibly be showcased at the event, but it did not receive confirmation.
Google Share Price Passes $400 Mark
Boasting a $112 billion market capitalization that now almost doubles Yahoo, Google stock on Thursday surged past the $400 a share for the first time. In the past four weeks, Google shares have shot up over $100, with talk that $500 could be within reach before long.
Google rolled out Google Base Wednesday, which allows users to upload any type of content to the search engine's Web site to be categorized and searched. On Thursday, the company said it was opening offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Mexico City in an effort to extend its Latin American reach. Google previously had a research center in Brazil through its acquisition of Akwan in July.
Microsoft Adds Firefox Support to WGA
Firefox users may still be out of the luck when it comes to Windows Update, but they can now download files from Microsoft that require Windows Genuine Advantage validation thanks to a new plug-in. WGA checks to make sure the Windows license is legit and is now a requirement on the Microsoft Download Center.
The Firefox plug-in works just like the Active X control for Internet Explorer. IE team head Dean Hachamovitz said the move was made after a great deal of customer feedback. "Basically, customers said 'We want to make sure our PCs are running genuine Windows and have access to all the content on the Microsoft Download Center; the experience when we’re running a Mozilla browser is not great. Do something about it.'"
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