It ended up not being Adobe's problem to begin with anyway: a vulnerability that enabled JavaScript code within a specifically crafted URL to run unchecked, and launch any executable code. When Petko D. Petkov of GNUCitizen.org discovered the problem, it appeared to have been directly triggered by Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

As it turned out, Windows XP and Internet Explorer 7 have a little difficulty with parsing filenames that contain percent signs (%). A maliciously crafted URL that points to a PDF file can have XP launch executable code after it launches the reader for the PDF file. While it wasn't Acrobat or Reader that triggered the launch, a fix from Adobe issued today purports to thwart the launch, keeping the system secure.

Continue reading →

A national outage affected AT&T's Uverse television service on Sunday, completely knocking out service for several hours, the company confirmed. Early Sunday morning, service was cut completely, although the company was able to restore local channels as well as service to some sports and news channels. Full service was not restored until last night.

As of press time, AT&T was still unsure what caused the outage, and was investigating the origin. Additionally, it said it was looking into customer service issues reported by subscribers as complaints began rolling in. The service has about 100,000 subscribers across 33 markets.

Continue reading →

A UN telecommunications agency has approved WiMax as a global standard for mobile devices, which will pave the way for widespread adoption of the platform as a method for next-generation cellular data transfer.

What the decision does is allow WiMax to use the same frequencies that are requisitioned for the standard known as IMT-2000. That framework provides the basis for all third-generation wireless communications.

Continue reading →

Qualcomm may not need to worry about a new ban on phones with its chips included after a judge recommended that the International Trade Commission conclude its investigation into complaints lodged by competitor Nokia.

The judge sees the investigation as unnecessary due to the fact that the two companies are now in arbitration to settle the dispute. Unless the ITC reviews the judge's decision within the next 30 days, the investigation will terminate.

Continue reading →

Dell said Monday that it will begin selling its lineup of computer products through business supply retailer Staples beginning November 11.

Initially, the store will offer the Inspiron 1721 and 1521 notebooks and Inspiron 530 desktops through its retail locations and website, with the product line to be expanded later. The deal is Dell's second with a retailer after signing a similar one with Wal-Mart in May of this year.

Continue reading →

In response to a New York Times story this morning that cites unnamed officials at the Federal Trade Commission as having indicated its chairman has decided not to pursue a formal investigation of Intel's antitrust conduct with regard to AMD, Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy called the report "speculation."

"We regularly talk to the USFTC and share documents with the USFTC," Mulloy told BetaNews, "and have done so for years." Refusing to classify this sharing of documents as part of any FTC investigation, formal or informal, he added that the subject matter of documents being transferred between his company and the FTC include documents relevant to foreign antitrust investigations - such as the ongoing case in Korea - and the domestic antitrust case filed against it by AMD in Delaware court.

Continue reading →

Battered and bruised from its patent fights with Sprint and Verizon over technologies used in its VoIP service, Vonage disclosed Friday that it has also been sued by AT&T.

The lawsuit was filed October 17 in US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. AT&T says Vonage is selling products that infringe on the company's patents surrounding 'packet-based telephony.'

Continue reading →

The European Commission's antitrust arm will use the next four weeks to pore over the specifics of the merger between Google and DoubleClick to ensure that it falls within the boundaries of the EU's strict laws regarding monopolies.

A deadline of November 13 has been set for the EC to make the decision whether or not to approve the deal or open a wider inquiry. If it chooses the latter, a final decision on the merger may be delayed until the spring of next year.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has agreed to make certain parts of its Windows source code available for distribution to developers under revised terms that European Commissioner for Competitiveness Neelie Kroes called "compatible with the open source business model."

"I told Microsoft that its royalty rates were too high for the patents they claim are applicable to the interoperability information," Comm. Kroes said in a morning press conference in Brussels. "I told Microsoft that it had to make interoperability information available to open source developers. Microsoft will now do so, with licensing terms that allow every recipient of the resulting software to copy, modify and redistribute it in accordance with the open source business model."

Continue reading →

Microsoft will cut the price of its Xbox 360 console in Japan by about 13 percent from 39,795 yen ($348) to 34,800 yen ($304) starting November 1. The Core version of the console will now run 27,800 yen ($243), further putting pressure on Sony, which recently lowered the price of the PS3.

The Xbox 360 will still be more expensive than Nintendo's Wii, which has been a runaway hit worldwide and costs 25,000 yen ($219) in Japan. Microsoft has struggled to gain a foothold in the country, and recently signed on some big Japanese developers to write games specifically for the Asian market.

Continue reading →

It was a quarter where AMD shipped more product than ever in its history, with 68% more mobile processors headed for trucking than at this time last year, and graphics processors adding substantially to that mix. It regained a full eight points of gross margin over the prior quarter, and reaped 22.9% greater revenue over the third quarter of 2006. And yet...

AMD still posted a loss last quarter, not as great as the prior quarter but a loss nonetheless: $386 million in red ink, on revenue of $1.63 billion. What's going on? Operating expenses are still extremely high.

Continue reading →

An Associated Press reporter ran a test of two computers connected to the Internet with Comcast cable modems in Philadelphia and San Francisco, in order to see if reports of the cable provider blocking file sharing programs were true.

Using a copy of the King James Bible -- not under copyright and free to share -- and file swapping program BitTorrent, the reporter found the transfer repeatedly blocked.

Continue reading →

British intelligence agency GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) will embed advertisements in online multi-player games in order to recruit spies, the Times newspaper reported Friday.

The advertisements will begin to appear later this month in various locations in the gaming environments, including prominent billboards. Those games featuring the ads include: Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Rainbow Six Vegas, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and Need for Speed: Carbon.

Continue reading →

The iPhone was the fourth highest-selling handset in the US in the third quarter, according to data compiled by research firm Strategy Analytics.

About 1.1 million handsets were sold during the quarter, roughly in line with expectations, and sales since the handset first went on sale June 29 totaled over 1.3 million. The phone is about 13 percent of AT&T's overall sales, making it the carrier's top selling device.

Continue reading →

Microsoft's Live Labs has debuted a new service to allow users to create and share various types of lists. Called Listas, the application can be used not only for lists, but for notes, favorites and other communal types of information. Like Wikis, the lists can then be shared with the public, which allows for group editing.

Along with the service, Live Labs has created a companion toolbar for Internet Explorer which allows users to collect information from the web and add it to their lists, be it search results or full or partial web pages. Users also can subscribe to others' lists through RSS, the company said.

Continue reading →