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Volume 8, Issue 36 Atari Online News, Etc. September 8, 2006 Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2006 All Rights Reserved Atari Online News, Etc. A-ONE Online Magazine Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor Atari Online News, Etc. Staff Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking" Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile" Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips" Rob Mahlert -- Web site Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame" With Contributions by: Francois Le Coat Stephen Moss To subscribe to A-ONE, change e-mail addresses, or unsubscribe, log on to our website at: www.atarinews.org and click on "Subscriptions". OR subscribe to A-ONE by sending a message to: dpj@atarinews.org and your address will be added to the distribution list. To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to subscribe from. To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the following sites: http://people.delphiforums.com/dpj/a-one.htm Now available: http://www.atarinews.org Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi! http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/ =~=~=~= A-ONE #0836 09/08/06 ~ Atari Names New CEO! ~ People Are Talking! ~ MacAranym Alpha Out! ~ Xanga Settles With FTC ~ Facebook Privacy Issue ~ Firefox 2.0 Update! ~ XaAes Interview Open! ~ X-Debug Source Public! ~ JagFest UK 2006! ~ Windows Vista Pricing! ~ IE7 Anti-Phishing Tool ~ iMacs Get Intel Chip -* Philly Goes High-Tech School *- -* Google Offers News Archives Access! *- -* Brazil Judge Orders Google To Disclose User *- =~=~=~= ->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""" Yes, another Labor Day weekend has come and gone, with a whimper. It was almost a total washout around here. When it wasn't raining, the threat of rain lingered. But, we managed to get the pool closed for yet another season. It seems like yesterday that we opened it for the summer! It's hard to imagine that I've been retired for four months now. It's been great so far, but reality is starting to settle in. It's time to really start to consider pension versus employment, or both. Retirement hasn't dampened my appetite! Only a couple of more small outdoor project remnants to complete - yea! The indoor projects have started. It should be interesting! We had an electrician over earlier in the week to take care of a few things that I don't have experience doing. A new front door is on order. Once that's installed I can finish up what I started doing with the front porch. And then we continue inward and upward! Keeping busy is the name of the game! And, I'm still finding some time for some golf - I'll break 80 before I put the clubs up for the season. Getting closer! I know, I'm way off target, as usual, but the world of Atari hasn't been as active as it once was. But, this keeps me out of trouble (well, usually!). I was going to say a little something this week pertaining to the fifth anniversary of 9/11, but I have a feeling that we're all going to be deluged with all kinds of television, radio, and newspaper coverage. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I do see the significance of the events. Until next time... =~=~=~= MacAranym 0.9.4 Alpha Hi here, The MacOSX version of ARAnyM has been enhance thanks to the work of Philipp DonzΘ, and every Mac user should have it :) Especially if you're running on a laptop ! The updated version is available : <http://eureka.atari.org/MacAranym.zip> Please comment. You're welcome ! It look like : <http://eureka.atari.org/aranym.gif> Regards, -- Francois LE COAT Author of Eureka 2.12 (2D Graph Describer, 3D Modeller) http://eureka.atari.org Sources for X-Debug Available Hi all, Sources for the programming utility X-Debug, written by Andy Pennel, has been released to the public. This piece of software is a debugger that mainly targets Lattice-C but may offer some functionality for other languages as well. Thanks to being distributed under a very generous legal license it seems that people are free to do whatever they want with the sources. Read more and download the sources here: http://topp.atari-users.net Regards, /Joakim http://topp.atari-users.net http://xaaes.atariforge.net http://www.ataricq.org Interview With The Creator of XaAES - Craig Graham Hi all, The unofficial XaAES website has been extended with a new section: articles. As a first addition to this section, a short interview with the original programmer of XaAES, Craig Graham, has been uploaded. See the website for more information. http://xaaes.atariforge.net Regards, /Joakim http://xaaes.atariforge.net http://topp.atari-users.net http://www.ataricq.org =~=~=~= ->A-ONE User Group Notes! - Meetings, Shows, and Info! """"""""""""""""""""""" JagFest UK 2006 Just a reminder to all that this years JagFest UK has been moved north to Glazebrook (near Warrington) and will be held on the 28th and 29th of October. For more information on who and what will be there visit the main website at... http://www.jagfest.org/uk/JFK2006/index.shtml =~=~=~= PEOPLE ARE TALKING compiled by Joe Mirando joe@atarinews.org Hidi ho friends and neighbors. What a week... Steve Irwin gets bellied up by a damned stingray, a couple of tropical storms have come and gone, and the California state legislature, despite the really important issues like energy costs and fiscal solubility, instead decided to deal with the important issue of Pluto's demotion from Planet to Dwarf Planet. Way to go guys and gals. They ought to dock your salaries for the time wasted. I'm sure that Disney would make up the difference as a thank you for the free advertising. Let's get back to Steve Irwin for a few minutes. Since I'm one of those "animal nuts", Steve Irwin has been known to me for quite a while. Irwin was a master showman to be sure, but beneath it all, he loved wildlife and understood how special it is. Hell, anyone who could hold a crocodile by the face while saying, "what a beauty" MUST really love critters. It strikes me as cosmically unfair So another icon is gone and, as we always have, we'll move on and get past it. I just hope that the lessons (both intentional and unintentional) that The Crocodile Hunter taught us will stay with us for a while. Okay, let's get to the news, hints, tips and info available from the UseNet. From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup ==================================== Fred Horvat posts this about the ACEC Atari Swap Meet: "Well folks, it is getting to that time of year again. The Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus are holding their annual Atari Swap meet and Sale. It is going to be on Saturday September the 9th. It will be at the same time and place as before. For further information please go to Link: " http://acec.atari.org/ " Rodolphe Czuba tells Fred: "Hum... nice but very short delay announce to let far people to organize their travel. Should be announced at least 1 month before the date." Fred replies: "Yes I agree. I did not post to the Swap Meet on the Usenet until this week but I did post it on Atari.org, Atariage, AONE, and other places in July. I just didn't get it here on the Usenet until now. Mostly because I kept forgetting and all last week my Usenet access did not work with my ISP but mostly my bad." Thomas Girsch looks for Atari collectors: "I was doing some housecleaning, and found an SX-212 modem in the original box. The documentation and the serial cable are missing, but the power supply and modem are there (no earthly idea if they work, especially since I don't have a cable), as well as all the original packaging. I know it's not worth anything other than maybe sentimental value to someone, so if anyone out there wants it, drop me an e-mail, and I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping." 'TPr' tells Thomas: "Wow! I've NEVER seen one of those in my LIFE. What country are you in?" Ronald Hall jumps in and adds: "By the way, those have the added plus of being able to work with both the Atari ST and Atari 8bits..." 'Sid Pacman' asks about Dayton-area ComputerFest: "The Hara Arena (convention center) in Dayton, Ohio, says there will be no Computerfest held there this year. Has anybody heard of any other location where this show will be held? Or has it finally died off (after more than 20 years)?" Ronald Hall tells Sid: "Don't know about that one, but here is a link to some others: http://www.atariage.com/features/events/index.php Hope this helps." 'Larry' adds: "I started going to the Dayton Computerfest about 1985, and went almost every year until around 2000. But (IMO) online computer sales and auctions have killed off most of the business that the vendors traveling the computer show circuit once enjoyed. Check the announcement at: http://www.dma.org/ For maybe 8-10 years, DMA also had a spring computerfest, and I could see it wither as the years went on. Then they dropped it. Other computer shows that once were pervasive have suffered the same fate. Just as the PC's crowded out the other platforms, the internet sales have crowded out the shows. It is regrettable, but evidently there were lots of people like me -- why travel to a show, fight the crowds, and have an inferior selection/price as compared to what is available as I surf the net? And if you are a seller, why not set up a site on the internet instead of loading up equipment, driving, setting up, etc." Fred Horvath jumps in and puts in his pitch for the swapmeet: "Well this coming weekend September 9 is the ACEC Swap Meet. Though not a very big event it's Atari themed. http://acec.atari.org/ Classic Computer and Video Game items for Sale/Trade http://fmhcentral.freeservers.com/" Lonny Pursell adds: "I used to go every year back in the day when they had walls of atari and commodore stuff. It should be called windowsfest. No wonder it's cancelled. Who wants to go see a gazillion generic peecee's. Sure you see the occasional BeOS box or some flavor of linux, but it's just not fun anymore. I stopped going about 5 years ago. HamVention is probably your next best option. Also at Hara Arena if that is still going. I stopped going to that too. Last one I was at was a lot smaller, also shrinking." Phantomm asks about the STacy: "On the STacy, well under it, is a small metal access door that is held on by one screw. Under the door are 2 Socketed chips. Are these the TOS 1.4 chips or are these something else? If they happen to be TOS chips, Can one plug in 2 TOS 2.06 chips?" Jerome Mathevet tells Phantomm: "Have a look here: http://www.system-cfg.com/pages/atari_stacy.html Further down the page, you can see 2 chips with adhesive tape. These are the 2 EPROMS containing the TOS (not necessarily 1.4). Upgrading to 2.06 (which is possible on the stacy, according to http://gem.win.co.nz/hall/tos_206/guide206.zip) would be much easier compared to doing so for an ST since you'd only have 2 chips to program (presumably 2 27C1001 eproms or compatible). One chip should hold the LSB and the other the MSB of TOS 2.06 (which is which should be marked on the motherboard). All you need is someone with the right EPROM programmer and the TOS roms split over 2 files (LSB/MSB). Perhaps you need to configure jumpers so that the machine knows of the bigger size EPROMs." Rodolphe Czuba jumps in and corrects Jerome: "This is bad information !!! TOS 1.0 to 1.4 are running on $FC0000 to $FEFFFF (192 KB). TOS 1.6, 2.6, 3.6 & 4.04 are running on $ E00000 to E7FFFF (512KB area : 256KB with shadow on all except Falcon) Stacy is decoding TOS area on $FC, so the TOS 2.6 cannot run simply plugging the two 1Mbits EPROMS !! You need to add an address decoder to do that!!" Simon Gornall asks about the VME ports on TTs and MegaSTEs: "Has anyone got any in-depth technical information about how the TT/MSTE and their VME bus interact ? I can find *some* stuff on the web (eg: the 19/7/1991 Atari VME spec), but it's hardly comprehensive [grin] Basically, if I want to create some VME hardware, I need to know things like: - how it'll interact with the OS - It's supposed to be slave-only, so presumably can't initiate DMA... - what the startup sequence is - card sends IRQ ? - OS queries address and expects response ? - When in the bootup-sequence all of this happens ? ... things like that I've tried sending email to Mario Becroft (of the Galaxy card fame), and I've even tried emailing the creators of a Sinclair QL VME-bus implementation, but no answers back as yet." Rodolphe Czuba tells Simon: "YES it is SLAVE (A24/D16) and you can see on the schematics ! On schematics you can see too how are routed the VME INT and that the SCU (System Control Unit) is managing the share between the INT from the mb and the INT from the VME slot. You have info on this VME atari 1991 documentation that is extracted from TT/X documentation you mean... Have a look on my site web (museum area ?), there are some documents... Have a look too on the CTLink Hardware Guide because I did a table will all existing VME atari card and their INT level used ! I send you now by email this CTLink doc." Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING =~=~=~= ->In This Week's Gaming Section - PS3 Europe Launch Delayed! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" EA To Add Ads To Games! Atari Names New CEO! And much more! =~=~=~= ->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sony Delays PlayStation 3 Launch in Europe Gamers in Europe will have to wait a bit longer than expected to get their hands on the PlayStation 3, with Sony announcing that production glitches have pushed back the launch of its next-generation console until March 2007. At the same time, the company said it remains on schedule to make the PS3 available in the U.S. and Japan in November, when it was supposed to debut worldwide. The revised launch date for Europe, Africa and the Middle East was attributed to problems obtaining critical Blu-ray high-definition video components in the PS3. Sony also cited difficulties in delivering consoles that can communicate in the wide array of languages used in this region. The Japanese electronics giant also noted that it still plans to deliver six million new gaming machines by March 2007, although it appears that only two million will available by the end of the year, instead of a projected four million, due to the change in delivery for Europe. Sony has a lot riding on the PS3, touted as a more powerful gaming console with superior visuals and graphics, given the competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360, which has been available for nearly a year. It's also up against the forthcoming Nintendo Wii machine, which is expected to launch worldwide in time for the holiday shopping season. "This delay was not entirely unexpected, given ongoing concerns about Sony's ability to get the parts needed to produce the four million PS3 units it promised by the end of the year," Forrester Research analyst Paul Jackson said. "Production issues are common with manufacturers, and they affect the entire supply chain." But, he added, this decision means that shoppers in the UK, France and other areas with large numbers of gaming fans will probably take a closer look at the Xbox 360 and the Wii when the big shopping season rolls around. "Microsoft is now two holiday seasons ahead of Sony in offering a next-generation console, which is a distinct advantage," said Jackson. He suggested that Sony may be able to close the gap by using its vast developer network to deliver a selection of games that are more compelling than those currently available for other consoles. Pricing is another challenge for Sony, with the PS3 listing for about $500, while the Xbox 360 starts at $300 and the Wii will sell for an estimated $250. Nintendo, too, has set its sights on shipping six million Wii systems worldwide between its launch later this year and the end of March 2007. The company also said it expects to sell 17 million Wii games during that period. While Sony is touting the superfast Cell processor and Blu-ray video technology in the PS3, there has been debate about whether gaming enthusiasts would shell out $500 for the basic PlayStation 3 unit. "Price point is absolutely an issue for Sony," said Yankee Group analyst Michael Goodman. Nintendo, meanwhile, is taking a different approach by downplaying eye-popping graphics in favor of player interaction offered by the Wii's innovative motion-sensing controller. That selling point was somewhat blunted, though, by a similar controller unveiled by Sony for the PlayStation 3. Atari Names New Chief Executive Video game maker Atari Inc. said Tuesday it named David Pierce as its president and chief executive, effective immediately. Pierce takes the reins from Bruno Bonnell, who will remain the company's chairman and chief creative officer. In his new post, Pierce will oversee the operational management of Atari. He has over two decades of executive management experience with major entertainment companies including Universal Pictures, MGM, Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment. Pierce held the post of executive vice president and general manager of Sony Wonder, a division of SONY BMG Music Entertainment, where he led a restructuring initiative, and was the senior vice president of Columbia Tristar Home Video, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, from 1989 through 1994. Electronic Arts Cuts Deals To Put Ads In Video Games US video game powerhouse Electronic Arts (EA) announced deals to craft updatable advertising into software for games made for personal computers and Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft subsidiary Massive Incorporated will build "dynamic ads" into EA titles, beginning with a car racing game titled "Need for Speed Carbon," the companies said in a release. Independent in-game advertising network IGA Worldwide will design similar ads into the yet-to-be-released futuristic war game Battlefield 2142 and other titles, according to EA. "Dynamic advertising opportunities in top EA titles represents an unprecedented marketing opportunity for advertisers to target the youth demographic in the most engaging medium," said Massive chief executive Mitchell Davis. Redwood City, California, based EA is a leader in the video game industry with hit games including The Sims, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Madden Football, and titles based on characters such as Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, and James Bond. "Consumers are increasingly gaming in deep, virtual worlds and advertisers need adapted ways to reach these audiences," said EA vice president Frank Sagnier. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the advertising deals or complete lists of EA games slated to have ads displayed in scenes. "EA entering this space right now is huge for the industry because of the decline of consumers getting their ad information from television," IGA spokeswoman Julie Fogerson told AFP. "In-game advertising has been a small industry so far. Analysts have been waiting to see what EA would do." IGA and Massive's Video Game Network plan to tailor ads to fit naturally into the increasingly lifelike scenes depicted in computer graphics. "In places like a basketball court, football stadium, or roadside in a racing game, advertising is not only nice to have but it is an essential component to create the fiction of being there," said Chip Lange, EA vice president of online commerce. There would be a mix of permanent "static" ad and "dynamic ads" that could be updated via Internet connections to the computers or Xbox 360 consoles. IGA said it would avoid letting ads get stale and would keep them in context with game themes, avoiding situations such as promoting today's car models in futuristic battle or Old West gunfighter games. "We try to make sure everything syncs up from the gamers' perspective and it makes sense," Fogerson said. "The really cool thing from a game developer's point of view is that they'd have to make up something to put there anyway." Game software can also provide the companies feedback to show advertisers how much attention players give to ads. "EA's strategic commitment to the space is one that many leading advertisers have been waiting for," said IGA chief executive officer Justin Townsend. Dell Founder Sees Gaming In PC Industry Future Dell Inc. founder and Chairman Michael Dell sees computer gaming becoming a $4 billion-per-year industry by 2010 as consumers hook up to high-speed Internet services to battle monsters on-line. Dell told the Austin Game Conference on Thursday night that his company is positioning itself to be a leader in computer gaming. "Things like multi-core processors, acceleration engines for physics and graphics, wide-screen displays, web cams: there are a lot of great things happening on the hardware side that can really make the gaming experience quite exciting," Dell said. Dell Inc., the world's leading personal computer maker with $55.9 billion in revenue last year, acquired Alienware, a Miami-based maker of gaming systems, earlier this year. Alienware had $200 million in revenue in 2005. Dell, a Texas native who has long admitted being a big fan of computer games, says he attended the conference to determine what game architects and designers want to see in computer hardware. "I want to know what kinds of things they're looking for in hardware, and they like to discover what's happening with hardware, new features and new capabilities, so they can make sure they're enabled in next generation games," he said. =~=~=~= A-ONE's Headline News The Latest in Computer Technology News Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Brazil Judge Orders Google To Disclose Users' Data A Brazilian judge has ordered the local office of Web search company Google to disclose the data of users of Google's social networking site Orkut accused of crimes like racism or child pornography. Federal judge Jose Lunardelli ruled late on Thursday that Google be given 15 days to disclose the information, including the Internet Protocol addresses that can uniquely identify a specific computer on a network. The judge set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($23,255) for each individual case if Google refuses to reveal the data. Brazilians account for 65 percent of Orkut's nearly 27 million users and public prosecutors have recently been investigating Orkut communities set up by Brazilians and dedicated to such subjects as racism, homophobia and pedophilia. Google officials in Brazil have said all clients' data is stored on a server in the United States and is subject to U.S. laws, which makes it impossible for them to reveal the data in Brazil. They also said the local affiliate only deals in marketing and sales and has nothing to do with Orkut. "The fact that the data are stored in the United States has no relevance as all the photographs and messages investigated by the prosecutors' office were published by Brazilians using Internet connections on the national territory," the judge said in his ruling. He said Google's local office had shown a complacent attitude toward "the serious crimes practiced on Orkut" and showed "profound disrespect for national sovereignty." Company representatives could not provide an immediate comment on the ruling. Google lawyer Durval Goyos earlier called the case against the company absurd. Microsoft Sets Pricing for Windows Vista Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, also reconfirmed its plan to target a general launch of the product in January after making it available to large-volume business customers in November. The software maker set the retail price for Vista at between $100 and $259 for users upgrading from older versions of Windows. The prices range from the basic version of Vista to the top-end "ultimate" edition. For consumers looking to buy Vista without an upgrade, the products will cost between $199 to $399, Microsoft said. Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by Microsoft several times. "Signs are good. Signs are positive in terms of our schedule, but we're always going to be vigilant about the feedback we get," said Shanen Boettcher, Microsoft's director of Windows product management. Microsoft released on Friday a test version of Windows, dubbed Release Candidate 1, and made it available to more than 5 million customers worldwide. Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said the initial feedback on the test version of Vista is encouraging. "While substantial progress has been made with Vista, the timing is still iffy in our view and feedback over the next few weeks will be critical," said Sherlund in a note to clients. Boettcher said the company also plans to have a program in place, possibly using coupons or rebates, to allow consumers to upgrade to Vista at a discount if they buy a PC before the new operating system's release. He declined to offer any specific details. Microsoft has said it expects the Windows Vista Home Premium to be the mainstream product with more entertainment options, allowing users to record and watch high-definition television, burn and author DVDs and perform other multimedia functions. The Home Premium edition, which will be sold as an upgrade for $159, is seen as a middle option for consumers, sandwiched between the Ultimate version with business-oriented functions and a bare bones Basic edition that comes without some of the system's flashy new interface features. Mozilla Updates Firefox 2.0 Beta Mozilla has released a new test version of Firefox 2.0, which will be the next major version of its popular open-source browser. Firefox 2.0 Beta 2, released yesterday, features an improved user interface and a limited version of the phishing protection feature that Mozilla is developing for the browser. More information on the Beta 2 release can be found online. Beta 2 also comes with improved search capabilities, a spellchecker for Web forms, and jazzed-up tabbed browsing capabilities. This second beta release will probably be the last beta version of Firefox 2.0. Developers are now planning to ship a nearly final "release candidate" edition of the browser on September 19, with the finished product going out the door by the end of October. Mozilla had been hoping to have Firefox 2.0 finished by September, but that date was pushed back recently to give developers more time to squash the growing list of bugs in the beta code. Both Mozilla and Microsoft are rushing to finish major updates to their browser software. Late last week Microsoft posted the first release-candidate version of Internet Explorer 7, and it is expecting to ship the final version of the next-generation browser by year's end. The release candidate can be found on Microsoft's Web site. Research company OneStat.com estimates that about 13 percent of Web surfers now use Firefox. The Netherlands-based company pegs IE users at 83 percent. Microsoft Adds Anti-Phishing Tools to IE 7 Microsoft inked an agreement with whitelist specialist Digital Resolve on Sept. 5 to help its next-generation Internet Explorer 7 Web browsing software and Windows Live Toolbar application protect users against fraudulent Web sites. Under the terms of the deal, Digital Resolve, a unit of Digital Envoy, will provide its Trusted Server data feed directly into the two Microsoft products, promising to arm the programs with the latest information about Web sites believed to be operating to support phishing schemes, which typically aim to steal personal data in order to commit identity fraud. The technology will be used as a source of information for Microsoft's own Phishing Filter, already built into beta versions of IE 7 and Windows Live Toolbar, and will also be utilized in Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and in Windows Vista, both of which are still under development and expected to arrive in 2007. Digital Resolve's software, which has generally been used by financial services companies to validate their own Web sites and search for phishing attempts launched in their likenesses, uses data mining tools to continually scour the Web for phishing activity. Once a site is determined by the program to be fraudulent, or even just sufficiently suspicious, its URL is fed directly from Digital Resolve into users' browsers. When a user attempts to direct a browser toward a questionable Web site, the software provides a warning prompt. The Trusted Server tools in Microsoft's Phishing Filter will be turned on as default protections in the products that carry them, company officials confirmed. While many traditional anti-phishing technologies use blacklists of suspicious sites to help block user access to fraudulent URLs, Digital Resolve's tools instead depend upon whitelists of authenticated pages. The system also aims to replace the two-factor image-based authentication technologies being used by banks and other companies with online operations to help customers log onto their sites safely. Putting the onus on businesses and users to protect themselves is unwieldy, and leaves people open to more sophisticated phishing attacks, Digital Resolve executives said. The anti-phishing software maker has worked with Microsoft previously to help safeguard users of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming network from outside attackers. For advice on how to secure your network and applications, as well as the latest security news, visit Ziff Davis Internet's Security IT Hub. "Blacklists have been used for a long time, but this is something more dynamic that was needed to help protect Windows users before fraudulent sites are identified, as using a positive identifying indicators to legitimate sites doesn't leave any room from a social engineering standpoint," said David Helsper, vice president of engineering at Digital Resolve, based in Norcross, Ga. "A lot of online vendors are trying to address the authentication problem with images and shared secrets, but this takes the burden away from the companies and end users and puts validation directly onto the desktop." Trusted Server specifically addresses so-called man-in-the-middle attacks, an emerging form of phishing in which criminals use spyware or cross-site scripting attacks to place themselves between users and legitimate Web sites to steal personal data. As businesses have improved their site defenses and end users have become more aware of phishing schemes, man-in-the-middle attacks have begun to increase in number, Helsper said. Another nascent form of phishing the software offers to protect against is the type of attacks built around DNS cache poisoning, through which fraudsters attempt to dupe Web servers into believing they are communicating with legitimate sites when in fact they are being attacked. "We were impressed with the quality of Digital Resolve's data feeds, and they have become an important addition to our rich network of data provider partners," said Alan Packer, product unit manager of the Anti-Phishing Team at Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash. "This agreement underscores Microsoft's goal of employing a broad range of data sources from both third parties and end users to help protect customers from the threat of phishing." A study shows that eBay and PayPal remain the most popular phishing targets. Trusted Server could someday be augmented with an automatic malicious code zapper being developed by Microsoft for future iterations of IE, the world's most popular browser. Researchers at the software maker are touting a prototype framework called BrowserShield that promises to allow IE to intercept and remove, on the fly, malicious code hidden on Web pages, instead showing users safe equivalents of those pages. The BrowserShield project-an outgrowth of the company's Shield initiative to block network worms, and the brainchild of Helen Wang, a project leader in Microsoft Research's Systems and Networking Research Group-could one day even become Microsoft's answer to zero-day browser exploits such as the WMF (Windows Metafile) attack that spread like wildfire in December 2005. Apple Updates iMacs With New Intel Chip Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday updated its iMac line with Intel Corp.'s latest microprocessors. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which was launched by the world's largest chip maker this summer, is faster than the Intel chips previously used in the iMac and other Macintosh computers. Also Wednesday, Apple unveiled a new version of its consumer desktop computer - an iMac with a 24-inch screen. With a 2.16-gigahertz chip, the high-end computer retails for $1,999. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said that every iMac will now have the Core 2 Duo chips. Apple also bumped up the processing speeds of both models of its Mac mini without raising the prices of $599 and $799. The book-sized computer, aimed to be the company's entry-level offering, now features Intel's faster dual-core chips, instead of single-core ones. The product upgrades come as Apple is looking to gain market share against its PC rivals that run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. To better compete, Apple announced plans to switch from IBM Corp. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. chips in June 2005, and by January 2006 the company unveiled two Intel-based computers - an iMac and a new laptop - that were based on Intel's Core Solo processor. It has since switched its entire line of computers to Intel. Meanwhile, Windows-based PC makers are looking for Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Windows Vista operating system to boost sales. Release of the consumer version of Vista has been pushed to January, however, and Apple will be looking to capitalize on the delay. "The holiday season should be a great one," Schiller said. Philadelphia Opens High-Tech School of the Future Philadelphia on Thursday opened a public high school where students work on wireless laptops, teachers eschew traditional subjects for real-world topics and parents can track their child's work on the Internet. Called "The School of the Future" and created with help from software giant Microsoft, it is believed to be the first in the world to combine innovative teaching methods with the latest technology, all housed in an environmentally friendly building. The school, which cost the school district $63 million to build, is free and has no entrance exams. The 170 students in the inaugural ninth-grade class were selected by lottery from 1,500 applicants. Three-quarters of the students come from the surrounding West Philadelphia neighborhood; 95 percent of the students are black, and about 85 percent come from low-income households, the school district said. Philadelphia School District Chief Executive Paul Vallas told students they would be scrutinized by other schools around the world. "You have become instant role models," Vallas said. "People are going to be ... watching you." Student still sit in classrooms, but lessons rely heavily on information found on the Internet and on interactive software. Students will be allowed to learn at their own pace. Homework is done on computer and sent to the teacher for grading and parents can access the school's network to read teacher feedback on their child's progress. Traditional education is obsolete and fails to teach students the skills of problem-solving, critical thinking and effective communication, which they need to succeed in the 21st century, principal Shirley Grover said in an interview. "It's not about memorizing certain algebraic equations and then regurgitating them in a test," Grover said. "It's about thinking how math might be used to solve a quality-of-water problem or how it might be used to determine whether or not we are safe in Philadelphia from the avian flu." David Terry, 14, said he was hoping to "turn over a new leaf" after discipline problems in his previous school left him with an "average to really bad" academic record. "This is a great opportunity for me," he said. "In other schools, I would not get this kind of education." Christopher Green said he was "ecstatic" that his daughter Meray was selected to attend the school. "She's a cancer survivor, and this is her second wind," he said. The school's environmental enhancements include natural lighting, windows made of photovoltaic glass that generates some of the building's power supply, and cabinets made from trees removed from the site during construction, officials said. Microsoft, motivated by a combination of altruism and self-interest, was closely involved in planning the school and providing its technology, said Mary Cullinane, group manager for the company's Partners in Learning program and the school's "technology architect." "We have a vested interest because we need to hire the kids who are graduating, and we want to make sure we have created a blueprint that other folks will be able to use," she said. Microsoft sees the project as a way to give the poor majority of the world's population an education that is more relevant to the world of work, said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer. "If we want to continue to see the global economy expand, we need to find a way to lift 5 billion people out of their poor environment," he said. Google Offers Access to News Archives Google plans to enhance its Google News service with a feature designed to let users find articles with historical information on events and people. Google News Archive Search is slated to go live today with an index of links to articles mostly from newspapers and magazines. Google built the service's index with links already in its general Web search index, as well as with links it gained access to through arrangements with publishers and news aggregators, said Jim Gerber, Google's content partnerships director. The service ranks results based on their level of relevance to the query, and preference isn't given to links from Google partners, which include The New York Times, Factiva, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. The service covers roughly the history of the past 200 years and results can be grouped in various ways, including by timelines, topics, and publishers. Google News Archive Search doesn't return links to multimedia content, nor does it include links to reference material like books and encyclopedias, said Anurag Acharya, a distinguished engineer at Google. It's not linked with Google's Book Search service. The links lead both to free and fee-based articles. Google merely provides links and doesn't get involved in monetary transactions between users and publishers for access to the articles. There is no integration with Google's Checkout online payment system, he said. The new service has no monetization model, and there is no financial arrangement between Google and the publishers it is partnering with, Acharya said. Google News Archive Search is launching with a U.S. English-language interface, although it contains content in other languages. The plan is to make it more global through collaboration with international partners and to launch it for other countries. Google News Archive Search links will surface sometimes on Google.com results. Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Software Patents And Open Source The opponents of proliferating software patents who see them as a threat to open source software may finally get their day in court - the U.S. Supreme Court. The critics have been itching for this opportunity for years. But the Supreme Court rarely reviews patent cases, which usually are decided by federal appeals courts. The top court, however, has agreed to hear three patent cases this fall, though only one relates to the impact of patents on open source software. The case involves two brake pedal manufacturers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a legal advocacy group, has filed a friend of the court brief in the case of KSR International v. Teleflex. The two parties will be arguing whether Teleflex has patented the right to put electronic sensors on brakes. The EFF has signed on to argue that the U.S. Patent Office's increasingly loose grants of patents is hurting innovation in many fields, such as electronic brake sensors, but that it's particularly worrisome for open source code development. Patents are meant to protect innovations that represent inventions and breakthroughs, not steps that "a person of ordinary skill in the field could consider obvious," says Corynne McSherry, an EFF attorney. Recent decisions by the Circuit Court of Appeals have forced the U.S. Patent Office to change its standards for patents, resulting in "a surge of software patents" that often cover what McSherry says is commonplace functionality. The EFF wants the Supreme Court to rule that the Patent Office should use a stricter standard based on a 1966 decision, Graham v. John Deere. Not everyone agrees patent standards have gotten too loose. In June, FireStar Software sued Red Hat after its acquisition of JBoss, charging in a Texas court that JBoss' open source object/relational mapping software, called Hibernate, violates its object/relational mapping patent. FireStar asserts that it patented the entire concept of object/relational mapping, not merely a specific method of doing so. But facing even a bad patent in court can be costly. Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, was deemed in violation of five NTP patents by a federal jury in 2002. With its wireless e-mail technology at risk, RIM settled the case in March by agreeing to pay NTP $612 million, a pact that stuck even though the Patent Office a few days later overturned several NTP patents. Open source advocate Bruce Perens claims FireStar illustrates how companies keep their patent claims vague. "It's a practice to capture the maximum range of possible infringement," he says. Even more damaging, he says, is the potential of patent filers to scare off would-be open source innovators by making claims against existing open source projects and users of their code. A Berkeley physics teacher, Robert Jacobsen, loves model railroads and built the Java Model Railroad Interface as open source code for fellow hobbyists. In March, he received an invoice for $203,000 from KAM Industries saying it had a patent on digital methods of controlling a model railroad command station, and it was seeking payment for all the times Jacobsen's code had been downloaded. Jacobsen is fighting the invoice in court and asking that the KAM patent be voided. Defending against such claims can put a small company out of business or depress the stock price of a sizable one like Red Hat. It costs on average $3 million to $5 million to mount a legal defense, according to the annual survey of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. But Perens is more worried about open source developers and small companies that base their business on open source. "It's no longer possible to write a program of complexity without infringing on what someone claims is their established patent," he says. As such claims mount, they will cast a chill over more open source companies and probably the projects themselves. "As a society, it's a terrible mistake to let that happen," Perens says. "We're going to kill the golden goose." Xanga Settles With FTC For $1 Million The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced its largest-ever settlement involving the Children Online Privacy Protection Act. New York-based Xanga.com and its principals, Marc Ginsburg and John Hiler, will pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle accusations that the social networking Web site collected, used and disclosed personal information from children under the age of 13 without notifying and obtaining parental consent first, according to the FTC. The complaint charges that the defendants knew they were collecting and disclosing personal information from children under 13 because over the past five years, the site allowed 1.7 million visitors to create Xanga accounts after they provided a birth date indicating they were under that age, the FTC said. The company, which in 2005 had about 25 million registered accounts, also failed to notify the children's parents of their information practices or provide the parents with access to and control over their children's information, according to the FTC. "COPPA requires all commercial Web sites, including operators of social networking sites like Xanga, to give parents notice and obtain their consent before collecting personal information from kids they know are under 13," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said in a statement. "A million-dollar penalty should make that obligation crystal clear." John Hiler, Xanga.com's chief executive, said the company has "instituted a stronger, more comprehensive safety and compliance program." Xanga's new program includes personnel whose sole responsibility is to act upon all account deletion requests from parents, creating a system that allows users to flag others who are underage or are posting material in violation of Xanga's terms of service, and creating a ratings system for user-generated content. Xanga also does not allow instant messaging and chat, or allow profile searches based on sex, age or gender, according to the company. The FTC consent order does not constitute an admission of guilt. The order does require Xanga to delete personal information collected and maintained by the site that violated COPPA, and to provide links on some of their sites to FTC consumer education materials for the next five years. Other social networking sites include News Corp.'s MySpace, which has about 108 million users, and Facebook with fewer than 10 million. Facebook had its own controversy this week when many users threatened to boycott the site after it began delivering automated, customized alerts known as News Feeds about users' closest friends, classmates and colleagues. Nasty Bug Found in 'Classic' ICQ Client AOL is advising users of its ICQ instant messaging service to update to the latest version of the ICQ software following the discovery of a bug in an older version of the product. Security researchers at Core Security Technologies today reported that they had discovered the flaw in ICQ Pro 2003b, a version of the ICQ client that AOL still offers for download and bills as a "veteran version" for users who prefer the earlier look and feel. Although the bug doesn't affect more recent ICQ software like ICQ 5.1, it could mean serious problems for ICQ Pro 2003b users, according to Max Caceres, director of product management at Core, a vendor of penetration testing software. Core researchers have developed proof-of-concept code that causes ICQ Pro 2003b to crash, and they believe that this vulnerability could eventually be exploited to run unauthorized software on a user's PC. Hackers would attack a PC by sending a maliciously encoded instant message to any ICQ Pro 2003b user connected to the service. Victims "don't have to do anything at all," Caceres says. "Just by being there, someone can send them a message, and they can be compromised." Core has also discovered less-critical issues in AOL's ICQ Toolbar 1.3 for Internet Explorer. These flaws could allow attackers to change the toolbar's configuration settings or possibly even run scripting code by sending victims maliciously encoded RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. AOL says it is working to fix the bugs, but the company classifies them as "minor and low-risk," according to spokesperson Andrew Weinstein. "Any users who are concerned can simply upgrade to the latest version of ICQ or not load suspicious RSS feeds," he said via instant message. Web Social Site Facebook Hit By Privacy Protests Facebook.com, the No. 2 U.S. social network site that is quickly expanding beyond its college student base, has been met with a sudden privacy backlash by users after it made design changes this week. By late on Wednesday, more than 500,000 of Facebook's 9.5 million members had signed an online petition calling for the company to back off a feature called "News Feed" that instantly notifies members when friends update their own sites. On Monday, the Palo Alto, California-based company founded in 2004 by then Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, began automatically notifying users whenever new photos were posted by friends. The site also makes it easier to learn about people's political or social affiliations or dating status. Facebook differs from its bigger rival MySpace.com by giving members far greater control over every detail they may publish on their individual member profile pages. Manifesting in record cyberspace time and scale, the protests have swept across college campuses, taking on the form of proto-political actions which are only possible in the age of instant electronic links and virtual mob behavior. "Calm. down. breathe. We hear you," Zuckerberg wrote in a note to users on the Facebook site on Tuesday of the changes. "We think they are great products, but we know that many of you are not immediate fans, and have found them overwhelming and cluttered," he wrote. "Other people are concerned that non-friends can see too much about them." The sudden reaction follows a raft of U.S. privacy scares sparked over the past year by the theft of key details on millions of credit card users and by widespread reports of adult predators targeting teenage users of MySpace. By contrast, the Facebook reaction is fueled not because it revealed any new personal data about its users. Rather, the change simply makes it easier for friends to track one another. "Stalking is supposed to be hard," a Facebook user complained. "News Feed is just too creepy, too stalker-esque, and a feature that has to go," reads the petition of the newly formed "Students against Facebook News Feed." Nonetheless, the outrage mingled with tongue-in-cheek humor as evidenced in the name of a related protest site: "The Coalition to Stop Facebook, Stalker Edition." Both groups can be reached only by registered Facebook members at: (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208288769). Zuckerberg responded in his Tuesday blog post to members that, "We agree, stalking isn't cool; but being able to know what's going on in your friends' lives is." "Nothing you do is being broadcast; rather, it is being shared with people who care about what you do - your friends." One of the many impromptu protest sites that have formed called for users to boycott Facebook in a day of protest on September 12. (http://daywithoutfacebook.blogspot.com/) The threat of a boycott comes at a vulnerable time for Facebook, which was bracing for a surge in subscribers as students return to school this month at the roughly 2,100 colleges and 22,000 high schools that offer Facebook accounts. Facebook has roughly one-tenth the number of users of rival social networking site MySpace.com, which accepts members of all ages and has become a big hit among high-school age students. MySpace is a unit of News Corp. Privacy has been a selling point for Facebook, which took a more disciplined approach to growth by restricting membership initially only to Internet users with ".edu" e-mail addresses - which require affiliation with an educational institution. Four months ago, it began offering accounts to select organizations including major companies, non-profit groups and members of the military. So far 15,000 organizations have been added to the list of Web addressees that qualify for Facebook. "What we are trying to do is get people to share information - and to share whatever they are comfortable doing," Zuckerberg told Reuters regarding the changes. =~=~=~= Atari Online News, Etc. is a weekly publication covering the entire Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted at the beginning of any article, to Atari user groups and not for profit publications only under the following terms: articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of request. 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