Senate leader does 180, withdraws pro-telco immunity bill
Apparently not having tested the prevailing winds before trying to pull off a launch, the Senate Majority Leader changed course and withdrew the controversial pro-telco FISA amendment from the Senate floor late yesterday.
As the Washington Post reported late yesterday, on the same day that Majority Leader Harry Reid brought to the Senate floor one version of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act amendment bill that granted prosecutorial immunity to telecommunications companies, he withdrew the same bill in deference to another one that omits that grant.
US to drop WTO Internet gambling objection, open new markets to EU
The Internet gambling industry was dealt another lousy hand this morning in Geneva, as trade negotiators decided they're okay with US objections to Internet gambling as long as it takes measures that could privatize the Post Office.
Under an international agreement which took effect in 2000, nations agreed to suspend tariffs against one another in order to open each other's markets to not only goods but services. This was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Services (GATS), and the US is one of the nations bound by that agreement.
Senate votes to consider FISA bill with telco immunity
A procedural hurdle that would have stopped debate on a controversial amendment to the FISA law failed in the US Senate early this afternoon.
By a vote of 76-10, the US Senate has voted to consider an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that contains a controversial provision granting telecommunications companies immunity from federal prosecution for having cooperated with the government in surveillance operations.
Ohio finds more vulnerabilities in voting systems
In another indictment of the reliability of electronic voting systems put in place since the 2000 federal elections debacle, a report released Friday shows some Ohio tallies could be rendered inaccurate using tools as simple as a magnet.
The integrity of electronic voting systems has been a key issue in Ohio, where the last two presidential elections have generated considerable controversy, and where many believe the real outcomes remain in doubt. In November 2006, Jennifer Brunner was elected Secretary of State there mostly on the promise of restoring voting integrity to the state.
Perspective: I don't Knol
The problem with making democracies work is that any one point of view, way to work, or agenda for action can only garner enough support amid its multitude of alternatives that, at any one time, only a sizable minority can claim to be in favor of it. And the problem with making socialist societies work is that fairness, balance, equal distribution of wealth, and justice all require regulation, which by definition requires a regulator, which by design works against the socialist ideal.
The World-Wide Web is neither a democracy nor a social utopia. Certainly the fact that it is utilized by an astonishingly large plurality has been enough to excite people into believing it has the nature, texture, or substance of some kind of society. And time and again since its inception, individuals, institutions, and corporations have set forth some presumably historic measures to give the Web some type of perceived hierarchy, to capitalize on the wide recognition they receive by way of the Web and convert that perception into authority.
Microsoft acknowledges Vista kernel elevation vulnerability
What was not supposed to happen in Windows Vista apparently has: Despite a layer of protection that was supposed to prevent against processes elevating their own privileges, Microsoft now says someone found a way to do it.
A Microsoft security bulletin written earlier this week but publicized this morning cites security software engineers SkyRecon Systems as having discovered a way for processes in both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista to elevate their own privilege to administrator level.
Netherlands war against Microsoft advances on two fronts
A junior economics minister in the Dutch government has made significant inroads this week in his battle against Microsoft there, both in transitioning his government to ODF and in decoupling bundled software from PCs.
What Neelie Kroes is to the European Commission, Frank Heemskerk is fast becoming for the Netherlands Finance Ministry -- a rising star, especially for taking on popular causes. One such cause -- the battle against Microsoft's market dominance -- has won him support, and this week, the popular Economic Affairs State Secretary has cashed in some of his chips for political points.
How IBM could lead AMD to 32 nm
At this morning's analyst conference, AMD executives said they may scale back some on R&D. But earlier in the week, partner IBM unveiled a plan that could help fill the gap: a way to rework existing 45 nm parts designs for 32 nm.
Early this year, America's two leading semiconductor design firms, in fierce competition with one another to discover a material that could make smaller transistors possible, announced their accomplishments within mere hours of one another: Intel first, followed right behind by IBM.
Nokia wins one round in Qualcomm IP battle
Just when it appeared Qualcomm finally had a fight on its hands after winning one round last month against Nokia, a judge has invalidated a good chunk of Qualcomm's original injunction request against the handset maker.
In an initial determination handed down yesterday, a US International Trade Commission judge has denied Qualcomm's request for an injunction against the import of Nokia's GSM and EDGE handsets into the US, on the grounds that they infringed upon three of Qualcomm's patents. In so doing, Judge Paul J. Luckern declared one of the three patents in question invalid.
Another big beta: Microsoft releases Windows Server Virtualization test
After a major delay in the early spring which threw off the development cycle of Windows Server 2008, a public beta -- as opposed to a technology preview -- is being released by Microsoft this morning.
You might say the definition of "early" for Microsoft has changed to mean "on time." Last April, an embarrassed company announced a major delay in its roadmap for Windows Server Virtualization, code-named Viridian, one of the key built-in features of the Enterprise edition of its server operating system. Not long afterward, the Viridian team said it would have to cut key features from the product in order for it to make its dates.
AMD in trouble: Barcelona bug, ATI write-down cast bad shadows
At the opening of an analyst meeting this morning, the president of AMD lowered expectations for his company, saying it no longer needs to produce the best performing CPUs, and hinted at scaling back its R&D.
AMD's senior executives held a gathering in New York City this morning, where it would appear on the surface they had escaped the terrible winter weather that has clinched its home state of Texas and neighboring Oklahoma. But a very bad storm is on the horizon, as indicated by president and COO Dirk Meyer's opening remarks, which lowered the bar for what would normally be perceived as "cautiously optimistic."
'PlaysForSure' logo being replaced with 'Certified for Vista'
Without much explanation, Microsoft's PlaysForSure Web page, which had once been the meeting ground for its portable media tech partners, now bears a statement to users that the logo is being dropped.
"The PlaysForSure logo is getting a new look," the statement reads. "All the testing requirements for devices are the same, but instead of looking for the PlaysForSure logo to ensure compatibility, look for the Certified for Windows Vista logo."
Preview patch returns ActiveX to the way it was
Over a decade after Microsoft used an idea for making binary programs work with one click from inside Web pages, the company is testing a patch that restores that functionality in the wake of a settlement with the idea's creator.
Last August, rather than prolong its ongoing IP infringement battle with rights holder Eolas Technologies over the embedding of binary functionality into Web pages, Microsoft agreed to settle that dispute. The settlement apparently consisted of a one-time payment, whose amount is still undisclosed, in exchange for a perpetual license for the notion that clicking on something in a Web page can trigger an embedded binary control.
FCC commissioner compares DTV transition to Y2K
After a congressional report last month criticized the FCC and private industry for not working better together to ensure a smoother DTV transition, one commissioner responded by saying the executive branch should get involved.
In response to a US Government Accountability Office report issued three weeks ago suggesting that the government lacks a comprehensive plan for marshaling the nation's transition from analog television to digital come February 2009, Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps suggested the White House should become directly involved in the DTV plan.
Vista SP1 release candidate goes live
This morning, BetaNews FileForum was alerted to the availability of the latest release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, just released from Microsoft.
FileForum posted a live link immediately. In an indication that this may be the only RC release prior to SP1's final endorsement, no number has been attached. Microsoft is only describing the file as an "RC," not an "RC1."
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