Fat Patch Tuesday Arrives
In the second largest security bulletin since moving to monthly updates, Microsoft issued a total of 12 fixes to address flaws in SharePoint, Microsoft's .NET Framework, Office and Windows Media Player. Of the updates, nine pertain to Windows and eight are deemed "critical," the most severe designation.
If left un-patched, the critical vulnerabilities would enable computer hackers to seize control of a compromised system. An exploit for one of the flaws is already circling, according to sources close to Microsoft.
ICQ 5 Released With VOIP Messaging
After a brief stint in testing, ICQ 5 has left beta. America Online subsidiary ICQ has packed the instant messaging software's latest release with added communication features including a walkie-talkie function dubbed Push2Talk and improved video messaging.
Push2Talk utilizes voice over IP technology that enables buddies to speak to one another via the Web as they would with a two-way radio. Once invoked, Push2Talk's paging dialog remains open on the desktop even while the client itself is minimized.
Scammers Target Microsoft Program
Spammers are targeting users of Windows XP with a socially engineered phishing scheme that is designed to exploit Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage program. The WGA-specific scam attempts to extort credit card information from its victims by warning that they must validate their Windows installation by updating account information, or risk losing access to their data.
Windows Genuine Advantage is a new anti-piracy effort that employs a system of incentives and disincentives to verify that customers have installed licensed copies of the OS. The program was initially a pilot that provided customers who opted-in with special perks for being "legal." In return for their cooperation, customers will receive discounts on software and bonus downloads.
Google Pictures Better Search Results
Google is proving that a picture can say a thousand words, or in its case, 1.1 billion pictures can say enough to fill a library.
Today, Google announced that its image search property's index has swelled to over 1.1 billion pictures from sources worldwide. Before long, the images themselves will be displayed against the traditional backdrop of aggregated search results contributing what Google refers to as "Image Results."
Sun Makes Good on Free Solaris 10
Sun Microsystems made good on its promise to provide free Solaris 10 downloads. Sun's generosity extends to registered users who agree to use the software for non-commercial purposes. The announcement was made at Sun's quarterly Network Computing event, where the company frequently publicizes new products and services.
Sun used the occasion to flaunt benchmark results that placed Solaris OS performance ahead of Linux, which is expected to compete with OpenSolaris in the realm of open source software development. The benchmark results invoked claims that Solaris is the "industry's highest performance operating system."
EU Nixes 'Reduced Media Edition' Name
The European Union Commission is apparently not amused with the naming scheme Microsoft has chosen for its upcoming version of Windows that is free of Windows Media Player. EU officials have requested that Microsoft name the operating system so it is more appealing to consumers.
As first reported by BetaNews, Microsoft was expected to name the new Windows "Reduced Media Edition." The Commission, however, is concerned that the name is uninspired and consequently will have the affect of being unattractive to customers.
Microsoft Profits Surge to $3.46 Billion
The numbers are in and Microsoft has netted a total of $3.46 billion in the second quarter out of gross revenues of $10.82 billion. That gross is a record for Microsoft and a 7 percent increase over the previous second quarter results last year, when the company expensed employee stock options.
Notably, the Home and Entertainment division -- which produces the Xbox game console -- has broken even, narrowing down its losses to just two divisions out of seven that are profitable. Unearned revenue from licensing contracts was a key contributor and accounted for $3.2 billion of the quarter's revenue.
RIAA Sues 717 More Over File Sharing
The Recording Industry Association of America has fired off another round of lawsuits against purported file-sharers. The lawsuits finger a total of 717 individuals, 68 of which belong to universities. This action is the RIAA's first mass litigation since November, when it sued 761 users of "unauthorized" peer-to-peer software.
The RIAA considers its lawsuits to be an "educational tool," which have the affect of reminding music fans about the law while encouraging the broad adoption of legal alternatives. The tactic of using legal pressure to force change appears to have been adopted by the Motion Picture Association of America, which filed suit its second round of lawsuits against motion picture file-swappers on Wednesday.
Longhorn Eyed for Antitrust Violations
Earlier this week, the technical committee that monitors Microsoft's compliance to its landmark antitrust settlement filed a semiannual status report that reveals Longhorn -- the next iteration of Windows -- is being kept under the watchful eye of the group.
The committee, which includes state regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice, has been closely monitoring Longhorn's development for the past two years. The report indicates concern over Microsoft's compliance with the terms of the settlement prior to Longhorn's eventual release.
Bagle Worm Returns for Anniversary
Virus writers have marked the one-year anniversary of the Bagle mass-mailing worm with an unwelcome surprise: new variants. Bagle's return has prompted leading antivirus vendors to issue advisories warning of the worm's spread classifying the worm as a "medium" risk.
At least three different variants have been discovered "in the wild" within the past 24 hours.
Take Two Buys Civilization with Firaxis
Firaxis Games has become the latest destination on Take Two Interactive's whistle-stop tour of recent acquisitions. Wednesday, Take Two announced that it has obtained exclusive rights to the Civilization gaming franchise from Firaxis, a developer of a popular series of simulation and strategy games.
A second half to the announcement made public a long-term multi-title publishing agreement between the software makers.
NFL Kicks Off Wireless Super Bowl
Barring any unforeseen wardrobe malfunctions, Super Bowl XXXIX may go down in history as the most high-tech spectacle ever to hit the grid iron.
The National Football League (NFL) is teaming up with America Online (AOL) and Motorola for the first "Wireless Super Bowl." Fans in attendance at Jacksonville or at home can make their voices heard by casting their lots in MVP Balloting and Favorite Commercial Voting. Likewise, in another Super Bowl first, ALLTEL Stadium will be equipped with wireless Internet services.
Microsoft Shackles Unlicensed Windows
Microsoft has launched a new offensive against software piracy that will expand its Windows Genuine Advantage program.
The change is designed to provide a system of incentives and disincentives: Customers with valid Windows licenses will receive perks such as rebates and bonus downloads, while users who have improperly licensed copies of Windows are blocked from Windows Update and the Download Center.
Sun Shares Solaris Source Code
Sun Microsystems has met its self-imposed duty to share the source code of its flagship Solaris operating system. Today marked the beginning of the OpenSolaris project, which Sun celebrated by releasing its DTrace optimizing utility.
The company expects to open up the rest of Solaris by the second quarter of 2005 and reveal the engineering secrets hidden within its containers, self-healing and "hardened" Solaris security features, IP networking stack, and Zetabyte File System.
Thunderbird to Net Phishing Scams
Anti-phishing capabilities have been "checked in" to Mozilla Thunderbird, an open source e-mail client that is a companion to the Firefox Web browser.
Thunderbird will prompt users before opening link text that contains a different URL host name than the actual URL. Henrik Gemal, a Mozilla.org contributor, made the announcement in his personal Web log late last week.
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