MICROSOFT TRIES TO BULLY PEOPLE INTO USING VISTA

[APC Magazine, April 12, 2007] Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite consumer resistance to Vista and its compatibility problems. By early 2008, Microsoft's contracts with computer makers will require companies to only sell Vista-loaded machines. "The OEM version of XP Professional goes next January," said Frank Luburic, senior ThinkPad product manager for Lenovo. "At that point, they'll have no choice." Despite Microsoft's relentless promotion of Vista, manufacturers are still seeing plenty of demand from customers for systems preloaded with XP, especially in the finicky SOHO market. In a recent post on its Direct2Dell blog, Dell reaffirmed to concerned customers that it wasn't about to force small business users -- who typically purchase PCs piecemeal, rather than in large enterprise-style orders -- to shift to Vista, which has experienced a less-than-stellar reaction from many buyers because of driver issues and moderately beefy hardware requirements. "Dell recognizes the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," the post read in part. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this [northern] summer." "From a local perspective, the post was a reminder more than an announcement," Dell ANZ corporate communications manager Paul McKeon told APC. "This was something we'd always planned during the transition phase since businesses will have different time frames to adopt the new OS. If you're a consumer, you're unlikely to be managing more than say 2.4 OS images at home, so it's less of an issue." There's general agreement amongst PC resellers that Vista has provided a minor boost to PC sales, but hasn't produced blockbuster numbers. A similar story applies in the retail space. Figures from marketing consultancy GfK suggest that after an initial sales surge, around 1500 copies of Vista are now being sold through Australian retailers each week, according to a recent report in the AFR. While Dell's post suggested it wouldn't be promoting Vista systems to the home market, manufacturers still have the option of selling XP-based systems for consumers this year. Read numerous comments about Vista from IT professionals HERE

BILL GATES KNIGHTED FOR IMMUNISATION PROGRAM

[PC Authority, March 3, 2005] Microsoft founder Bill Gates was knighted by the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace. [The photo above is of Sir Gustav Nossal – see note at the bottom of this item]. The honour bestowed on the American multi-billionaire is actually an honorary knighthood, because royal titles aren't formally recognised in the United States. Gates was given the knighthood primarily in recognition of his efforts to improve health and reduce poverty in the developing world. To date, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health program has earmarked nearly US$5 billion for the effort. "I'm particularly pleased that this honour helps recognise the real heroes our foundation supports to improve health in poor countries," Gates said in a statement. "Their incredible work is helping ensure that one day all people -- no matter where they are born -- will have the same opportunity for a healthy life, and I'm grateful to share this honour with them." Gates was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, Melinda Gates, co-founder of the foundation. Nominated for the knighthood by UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Gates was also cited for his business leadership and contributions. In 2000, the Gates Foundation donated US$210 million to Cambridge University to be used toward graduate school scholarships for recipients from outside Britain. Microsoft employs some 2000 persons in the UK and supports directly and indirectly some 17,000 partner businesses in the UK, Microsoft said. Some 80 researchers are employed at the Microsoft Research Cambridge laboratory.

BILL GATES' SPAM -- POETIC JUSTICE?

Internet junkies, take heart: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates receives 4 million emails a day, and is probably the most spammed person in the world. But unlike ordinary users, the software mogul has an entire department to filter unsolicited emails and only a few actually get through to his inbox, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday. "There are two people who probably are the No. 1 spam recipients in the world," Ballmer said referring to Gates and himself. "Bill Gates [is No. 1] because he is Bill Gates. Bill literally receives 4 million pieces of email per day, most of it spam," Ballmer told a conference "And so we have special technology which just filters spam. Literally, there's a whole department, almost, that takes care of it." Ballmer said he was "probably also amongst the most spammed people in the world" because he gave out his email address - stevebmicrosoft.com - in all his public speeches. "I receive many pieces of spam [but] only about 10 of them actually make it into my inbox because of the spam technologies that our IT department implements."

MOST LINUX COMPUTERS ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING WINDOWS

Although Linux backers boast of a growing market share on the desktop, especially in booming regions like Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, those numbers are hugely inflated, a research firm has said, because most of the PCs actually end up running Windows. But those Windows are bogus copies, not the real deal, said Annette Jump, a principal analyst with Gartner's UK office, who finds a direct connection between piracy and Linux. "About 80 percent of systems pre-loaded with Linux will end up running a pirated copy of Windows," she said. Windows' high price is driving overseas system integrators and hardware vendors to install Linux, the free open source operating system, Jump said, to keep prices down. The US$80 or so that Microsoft charges for a legitimate copy of its OS can account for 15 percent or more of a typical PC's price in many foreign markets. Two-fifths of the machines shipped with Linux don't even make it into users' hands before a counterfeit copy of Windows is slapped on the drive. Another two-fifths eventually get Windows, often after consumers ask a technically astute relative or friend to install the Microsoft OS, or after small businesses retrofit the PCs themselves. "System integrators put Linux on as a way of staying legal and avoiding Microsoft," said Jump, even though they later install a pirate Windows or know the end user will. "Few will admit this outright, but that's what they're doing." PC builders are taking advantage of the large-scale counterfeiting of Windows, and the ultra-low price of pirated versions, she said, to sell cut-rate machines that ultimately run Microsoft's operating system, not Linux. "The widespread availability of pirated versions of Windows at a fraction of the cost of a legal copy [artificially] stimulates the growth of Linux on PCs in emerging markets," Jump wrote in her report. The trend is most evident in regions where Windows counterfeiting is rife, and not coincidentally, where Linux seems to be growing in popularity. According to Gartner's data, 10.5 percent of the new PCs shipped this year [2004] in the Asia-Pacific region will have Linux pre-installed, but Linux's share of OSes in use -- and there's a difference -- is a much smaller 2.3 percent. The same holds true in Eastern Europe (where 12.3 percent of PCs have Linux pre-loaded, but only two percent use it) and Latin America (12.5 percent and 0.8 percent). The percentage of pre-loaded Linux boxes that are turned into pirated Windows machines will fall over the next four years, said Jump, because Microsoft is finally turning its attention to the counterfeiting-Linux threat by putting out low-cost, scaled-back editions of its OS. Dubbed Windows XP Starter Edition, it's slated to pilot in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia next month, and in Russia and India in 2005. "For a long time, Microsoft closed its eyes to counterfeiting, actually preferring that users turned to phoney versions rather than go to Linux," she said. "It didn't want to push people to Linux even more than they were already heading.” Starter Edition, said Jump, is a sign that Microsoft recognises the problem and is planning to fight for OS share on new PCs, with special emphasis on targeting those shipped with Linux. "It's likely that Microsoft would prefer the initial OS on a new PC to be a Windows variant rather than Linux, even if piracy were to continue. This would reduce the amount of interest that Linux is generating, might allow Microsoft to generate revenue from machines that would otherwise be shipped with Linux, and lock users into other Microsoft products," she said. By 2005, Gartner estimates, only about three-quarters of the PCs shipped with Linux will be running Windows; that's expected to drop to around half by 2008. "Despite some regional variations, Linux continues to be a niche OS, with a 1.3 percent share of installed PCs worldwide in 2004," said Jump. Even as late as 2008, Linux will be used on only 2.6 percent of the world's PCs. "That would make its share the same as that of the Mac OS," she said.

WINDOWS VERSION OF APPLE SAFARI IS A BIG HIT [Associated Press, June 15, 2007] Apple said on Thursday that users have downloaded more than 1 million copies of the Windows version of its Safari Internet browser in the first 48 hours it was available. The computer and consumer electronics company launched the Web browser on Monday, setting off another layer of competition with its arch-rival, Microsoft. Safari had about 5 percent of the market share for Internet browsers with more than 18 million users when it was previously available only for Macintosh computers, according to Apple. To grab more than 1 million downloads so quickly is notable given how there are already at least two popular browsers in use on the Windows platform, namely Microsoft's predominant Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. Several researchers wasted no time in pointing out security vulnerabilities they found in the Windows version of Safari, and Apple issued an update to the browser on Thursday to fix those bugs. [Picture shows Apple CEO, Steve Jobs]

"NIGERIAN SCAMMERS" ADD NEW TWIST

[PC Authority, May 3, 2005] Nigerian scammers targeting Australian email inboxes have added a new IT industry-related twist to their advance fee fraud attempts. Several emails received by iTnews in the last month have tried to trick recipients into divulging their bank account or credit card details or sending money to the scammers by faking orders for IT equipment such as printers, copiers and fax machines. Usually, the advance free fraud or '419' scam involves letters, faxes or emails requesting assistance in transferring a large sum of money. Senders purport to be rich families or businesspeople who have fallen on hard times and need assistance in getting millions of dollars out of their country. However, in one that iTnews received on 20 April the scam takes a relatively new form. The email purported to be from a Mr Kayode Benson, the owner of a company called Benson Limited based in Nigeria's capital city, Lagos. "Hello, sales," it said. "I will liike to confirm if you can supply us some PRINTERS, COPIERS AND FAX MACHINE and also if you can ship to us via Fedex/ups courier to our location and also we will be paying with our credit for all order." The email requests payment by Visa or MasterCard "at youir earliest convinnience" but contains no links or URLs suggesting it is one of the more common "phishing" scams, where email recipients are tricked into clicking on a link and entering their credit card or bank account details. "Mr Kayode Benson" at bensonltd@plasa.com then provides a list of contact details for the user, including postal address, phone and fax numbers. A "Nigerian scam" does not need to be Nigerian – in fact, many hail from other countries, sometimes even Australia – but typically aims to trick the recipient with a fake "business proposal" into corresponding with the scammer with a view to defrauding him or her over time. Another example was an email on 2 May purporting to be from one "Micheal Ajayi" at tanwa@teenmail.co.za – in South Africa – addressed to itness@austexhibit.com.au and titled "urgent order." "Ajayi" claimed to represent a company called "Procurment LTD" that was interested in buying IT products. "We will like to know the shipping charge to lagos nigeria, via UPs or Ems service," it said. "Ajayi" claimed he wanted to buy products by credit card. "We shall be highly oblige if you reply to this urgent enquiry with your contact phone number and possible your website, so we can forward our items quote. thanks," he said. According to the 419 Coalition watchdog website, advance fee fraud business letter scams are the third to fifth largest industry in Nigeria. Despite the common misspellings and bad grammar in such letters, many recipients around the world have over the past 10 years been tricked out of many thousands of dollars. The many common variations include an over-invoiced or double-invoiced purchase order for goods and services, typically commodities such as crude oil or chemicals. "At some point, the victim is asked to pay up front an advance fee of some sort, be it an "advance fee," "transfer tax," "performance bond," or to extend credit, grant cash-on-delivery privileges, send back "change" on a cashier's check or money order, whatever," the website said. "If the victim pays the fee, there are often many "complications" which require still more advance payments until the victim either quits, runs out of money, or both."

HOLLYWOOD SEEKS TO BAN DVD COPYING

[Attorney Eric J. Sinrod explains the wider import of a Hollywood lawsuit aimed at preventing the ripping of DVDs to portable video players.] Just when you thought it might be safe to rip DVDs for use on your personal video player, the motion picture studios have filed a federal lawsuit in New York to put an end to such practices. The studios certainly have financial and legal might behind them. But can they prevail? In Paramount Pictures v. Load 'N Go Video, the motion picture studios brought legal action against a small company that loaded DVDs onto personal video players for its customers. According to the suit, Load 'N Go Video sold DVDs and iPods to its customers, and loaded the DVDs onto the iPods for customers who purchased both. The motion picture studios assert that this practice violated the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The studios say that before releasing their copyright works in DVD format, they employ an encryption-based DVD access control and copy prevention system that provides for protection of copyright content. According to the studios, Load 'N Go Video's practice of copying DVD content and then loading it onto the portable video players of its customers circumvents that copy protection system and thus violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The key point for Load 'N Go Video will be that its customers purchased both the DVDs and the portable video players. DVDs, as noted by the studios, are 5-inch-wide optical discs that contain recorded material in digital form. DVD technology, they add, has substantially improved the clarity and quality of viewing of pre-recorded content, and thus presents a heightened risk of unauthorized reproduction and distribution of copyright material because the material can be digitally copied and transmitted repeatedly without quality degradation. It is for this reason that the motion picture studios use CSS (content scramble system) to prevent the unauthorized access to and reproduction and distribution of copyright works contained in DVDs. As acknowledged by the complaint, the customers of Load 'N Go Video purchase DVDs and portable video players, and pay a charge to Load 'N Go Video for loading the DVDs onto the portable video players. The motion picture studios highlight that a license has not been granted to Load 'N Go Video to copy, distribute or exploit their copyright works or to circumvent the CSS. All well and good in terms of the complaint filed by the motion picture studios, right? Well, perhaps--and perhaps not. While the motion picture studios make technically valid legal points within the four corners of their complaint, there is another legal point of view that likely will be espoused by Load 'N Go Video, assuming the case continues to move forward. The key point for Load 'N Go Video will be that its customers purchased both the DVDs and the portable video players. Thus, Load 'N Go Video simply has saved the customers the time and hassle of loading the content they paid for on the portable video players they also purchased. Let's take the studios' argument to its extreme. A buyer could be subject to legal liability for ripping purchased DVDs at home onto a purchased portable video player without either first seeking permission or purchasing the content again for specific use on the portable video player. One wonders whether a court would embrace such an argument. Load 'N Go Video likely will assert that it has engaged in "fair use" for copyright purposes, and that such fair use trumps the claims of the motion picture studios under the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. While Load 'N Go Video under these facts does have a defense to assert, one must keep in mind that the motion picture studios, like the music industry, have been very successful to date in seeking to protect their copyright works. Stay tuned to see how this case plays out.

JOIN TECHREPUBLIC

Exchange your views, learn, and meet new friends at the US-based website for computer professionals at TECHREPUBLIC Whilst primarily aimed at the IT Pro, the site caters also for the complete novice. Membership is free, and allows you to read the latest articles, ask technical advice from experts around the world, and participate in discussions of all kinds, mostly about computers, but also on any other issue (e.g. politics) which tickles your fancy. You will receive regular emails about the latest IT news, as well as links to associated sites. My TechRepublic membership has changed my life: give it a try and see what it can do for you.

ULTRA THIN SEMICONDUCTORS

By Aaron Ricadela, InformationWeek, Monday, March 22, 2004 IBM says it has devised a way to apply semiconducting material in extraordinarily thin layers to surfaces larger than conventional silicon wafers -- such as sheets of plastic -- at lower cost and with better performance than previous techniques have allowed. If the new method can be transferred to production, it could lead to the ability to coat bendable plastic sheets with computer circuits, or embed more intelligence onto radio-frequency identification tags and sensors, said David Mitzi, who led the research team at IBM's Watson laboratory. The advance was reported in the 18 March edition of the journal Nature. IBM's breakthrough relates to a semiconductor-manufacturing method called spin-coating, in which a semiconducting material is spread onto a fast-spinning wafer. The research team found a new way to dissolve inorganic semiconducting materials called chalcogenides, which let electrical charges move through them 10 times more easily than previously used organic materials. That could lead to more-effective circuits and applications in manufacturing bendable or wearable displays, solar cells, and other devices, Mitzi said. IBM applied the chalcogenides to a wafer in a film about 5 billionths of a metre thick, and thinks the technique can be applied to larger surfaces as well. To dissolve them, the researchers used hydrazine, a toxic and explosive material used in rocket fuel that Mitzi says the team is trying to replace with another solvent. So far, he adds, the researchers have replaced 80 percent of the hydrazine with water.