ICANN late last week delayed a decision on the final approval of the .xxx domain name, which was intended to create a "red light district" for the Internet. The Bush administration formally asked ICANN to stop the process last month after receiving nearly 6,000 complaints.

It's not clear when ICANN would take up the issue again, but said it was seeking changes to an agreement with the company that was selected to manage the domain's registrations. The organization did, however, approve a new .CAT domain for promoting the Catalan language. Catalonia, an area in eastern Spain that includes Barcelona and extends into France, has long pushed for independence and cultural recognition.

Continue reading →

Microsoft over the weekend released a beta version of its developer toolbar first mentioned at PDC 2005 last week. At a session detailing what's new within Internet Explorer 7, IE lead Chris Wilson said the toolbar was intended to assist developers in creating Web pages that adhere to standards.

The toolbar works on Internet Explorer 6 and above on Windows XP and Vista operating systems. The toolbar will allow developers to perform such functions as validating CSS and HTML code, and previewing how pages appear in various screen resolutions. No release date was given for a final version. The toolbar beta can be downloaded from FileForum.

Continue reading →

Mashboxx is in talks with file-sharing service Grokster over a possible puchase, a move that could be seen as an attempt to keep the embattled file-sharing service alive.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the deal likely surrounds some kind of revenue sharing model for the current owners of Grokster, as the service itself is of little financial value.

Continue reading →

Microsoft on Monday announced that it had filed eight lawsuits against companies distributing pirated software in five states. The suits were filed thanks to tips to Microsoft's anti-piracy hotline as well as "secret shoppers." Legal action taken against MicroCity4Less.com of Torrance, California actually relied in part on information submitted through Microsoft's new Windows Genuine Advantage program.

Microsoft says that counterfeit activity continues to be a threat, citing a study that claims $200 billion worth of software will be pirated by 2010. "Microsoft does not take legal action lightly. We remain very serious about protecting honest software resellers and consumers from the illegal activities of software counterfeiters," said Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney at Microsoft.

Continue reading →

The days of waiting six months for a new Windows beta release are over, Microsoft declared at PDC 2005 in Los Angeles. Learning from its community technology preview (CTP) programs, the company will issue monthly test releases of Windows Vista moving forward.

The intention of more frequent updates is to bring beta testers "into the kitchen," Windows lead product manager Greg Sullivan explained to BetaNews. In turn, Microsoft will be able to solicit additional feedback throughout the Windows development process and more quickly address bugs that hinder ongoing testing.

Continue reading →

Sprint on Friday announced the availability of the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device, which it calls the first PDA/phone combination in the US to feature Windows Mobile 5.0. Made by UTStarcom, the CDMA device will allow users to take advantage of Sprint's next generation EV-DO high-speed network.

The PPC-6700 will also include WiFi capability, Bluetooth, a full QWERTY keyboard, and 1.3-megapixel camera with the capability for recording video. The device bundles Microsoft Office Suite for Windows Mobile, as well as ActiveSync and support for over-the-air synchronization with an Exchange 2003 server.

Continue reading →

At this week's Professional Developers Conference, a lot of the focus has been on making the user experience within Windows better. However, Microsoft is also aiming to extend that same user experience across platforms and devices through "Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere," or WPF/E.

Windows Presentation Foundation, formerly code-named "Avalon," is the new unified graphical presentation system for Windows Vista. It is designed to take advantage of modern hardware to create better graphical interfaces for Windows applications. Avalon is based on XAML, an XML-based interface language.

Continue reading →

Sprint announced on Friday that it had agreed to work with Samsung's telecommunications division to test out the 802.16e, or the WiMax standard, and develop advanced services. The two companies will test terminals and equipment to make future implementations of the technology possible.

The company said it is currently evaluating "multiple options" for WiMax, and is forging partnerships with companies like Samsung in order to develop the needed infrastructure for any future service. "The 802.16e standard will help support the deployment of true wireless broadband," said Thomas Jasny, VP of Wireless Broadband Networks for Samsung.

Continue reading →

The University of Calfornia, Berkeley said earlier this week that it had recovered a stolen laptop that contained the social security numbers of over 98,000 students and applicants of the university. However, the school could not say whether or not the information had been compromised.

"UC police note that while a lab analysis could not determine whether the sensitive campus data was ever accessed, nothing in their investigation points to identity theft nor individuals involved in identity theft," the school said in a statement.

Continue reading →

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that is intended to update the country's telecommunications laws and accommodate new technologies, a congressional aide said on Thursday. The House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced the bill and hearings could be held as early as next month.

The bi-partisan bill was introduced by three Republicans and two democrats and is aimed at helping foster new technologies such as Internet video and voice, as well as broadband, bill co-author Rep. Joe Barton said.

Continue reading →

Security firm eEye released a notice on Thursday saying it had discovered a new flaw within Internet Explorer on both Windows XP and XP SP2. According to the notice, "A vulnerability in default installations of the affected software could allow for remote code execution."

Windows XP SP2 was touted as a much more secure version of Microsoft's flagship operating system. However, hackers have still found ways around the new security features, and flaws continue to pop up. Microsoft has been alerted to the problem, but as standard practice eEye will not release details of the vulnerability until it is patched or publicly acknowledged by Microsoft.

Continue reading →

In his keynote address Friday at the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took the wraps off a complete redesigned wireless controller for the company's forthcoming Revolution game console. The controller works like a remote control in one hand, with an optional analog unit for two-handed gameplay.

Third parties can extend the Revolution controller with add-ons and game developers can choose to use as many features as they like. "The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today," said Iwata.

Continue reading →

It may not have a name yet, but Longhorn Server features were detailed Thursday at PDC 2005 and the watchword was "modular." Microsoft has broken down its server OS into components, and the system installs only the services required to fill a specific role.

At its core, Longhorn Server will contain no graphical user interface and boot directly to a command prompt. The Server Core simply contains networking, security and management services, along with Active Directory.

Continue reading →

On Wednesday, Microsoft introduced Windows Workflow Foundation, a new way for developers to quickly build workflow-enabled applications on Windows Vista. The purpose of the technology is to support business processes and make programs adapt to the day-to-day needs of people who use them.

In an interview with BetaNews, Scott Woodgate, Microsoft's group product manager for the Connected Systems Division, tried to explain the announcement's significance more clearly.

Continue reading →

For years, Windows has been lambasted for what many see as an inferior user experience when compared to operating systems such as Apple's Mac OS X. But at this year's PDC, Microsoft hopes that its efforts to emphasize the user experience in Windows Vista will begin to allay those criticisms.

To help developers create better user experiences in Windows, Microsoft on Wednesday introduced the Expression family of products. The new brand includes "Acrylic," a graphics creation program for bitmap and vector graphics; "Sparkle," a 2-D and 3-D animation tool; and "Quartz" for creating advanced Web sites.

Continue reading →