VERY,VERY HOT READS, I Would Read The News In This Thread This Thead Is To post Any Thing Ye Want About The News,,NEWS WAS MOVED,READ MY FIRST POS...

Microsoft Defends WMF Decision

Security vulnerability was not created as an intentional back door into Windows, exec says.

Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Following speculation that a widely publicized vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows operating system may have been created deliberately, an executive within Microsoft's security group has published a detailed explanation of how the vulnerability was introduced.


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His conclusion: the WMF (Windows Metafile) security bug, which first came to light last month, was not an intentional "back door" added to give Microsoft a secret way of gaining access to its customers' PCs.

"There's been some speculation that ... this trigger was somehow intentional," wrote Stephen Toulouse, security program manager with Microsoft's security response center. "That speculation is wrong."

Intentionally Included?

Toulouse's comment, posted late last week, came after security researcher Steve Gibson speculated that Microsoft had intentionally included a known vulnerability in a graphics rendering component of its operating system.

"The only conclusion that can reasonably be drawn is that this was a deliberate back door put into all of Microsoft's recent editions of Windows," wrote Gibson, the founder and president of Gibson Research, in a posting to his Web site last week. Gibson Research is based in Laguna Hills, California. "Why it was put in and who knew about it, and what they were expected to use it for ... we'll never know."

Toulouse said that Microsoft has been fielding customer questions on this topic, many of which he assumed to have been triggered by Gibson's post. "We had been looking into detailing the history anyway and some customer questions drove the idea to write it up," he wrote in an e-mail interview. "We just wanted to make sure people had the history."

The vulnerability in question concerns the way that Windows processes WMF graphics files, which are used by computer-aided design programs. In the 1990s, Microsoft added a function to Windows, called SetAbortProc, that is used in processing these files. Because of a design error in the function, it can be used by hackers to take control of a Windows computer, Microsoft says.

Microsoft fixed the error in a Windows patch, entitled MS06-001, released earlier this month.

Difference of Opinion

Gibson had previously argued that because the SetAbortProc function could not be triggered by a correctly formed WMF file, it served no legitimate purpose, a claim that Toulouse disputed in his posting. In an interview Monday, Gibson conceded that he had been in error on that point. "I was wrong about this," he said. "It is more complex than that, exactly as [Toulouse] explained in his posting."

Still, Gibson stood by his previous conclusion, arguing that Microsoft appeared to have intentionally changed the SetAbortProc function around the time of Windows NT to make systems vulnerable to the coding error. "The best way to characterize this is, it's intentionally designed code which, without question, enables back-door functionality," he said.

Toulouse declined to comment on this claim, but in his blog posting, he wrote that it is more difficult to exploit the vulnerability in the Windows 95 and Windows 98 operating systems.

Security researchers contacted by IDG News were skeptical of Gibson's theory. If Microsoft truly wanted to add a back door to Windows, there are better ways the company could have done it, said Cesar Cerrudo, chief executive officer of security research firm Argeniss in Parana, Argentina. "I don't think Microsoft would use that kind of back door," he said via instant message. "They don't need to do that, they could just build an exploit for some unfixed remote vulnerability on Windows."

Gibson said that, while he has no proof of Microsoft's motives, he believes that such a back door could have been created without malicious intent--perhaps as a way for Microsoft to provide assistance to users, for example. "It would be a way for Microsoft to help people who had shut their computers down, security-wise," he said.
http://pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124384,00.asp

 

Update Fixes Critical Flaw for AOL Users

aolAmerica Online today released a free software update to plug what experts are calling a "critical" security flaw in software used by millions of people to surf the Web. The problem affects AOL version 8.0, AOL version 8.0+, and AOL version 9.0 Classic.

The flaw was found in the software versions listed above AOL You've Got Pictures, a photo-sharing service for AOL members. A "critical" security advisory over at FR-SIRT says attackers could exploit the problem to take over the computer of an AOL user who was tricked into visiting a specially crafted Web page. Security Fix - Brian Krebs on Computer and Internet Security - (washingtonpost.com)

Update Fixes Critical Flaw for AOL Users

America Online today released a free software update to plug what experts are calling a "critical" security flaw in software used by millions of people to surf the Web. The problem affects AOL version 8.0, AOL version 8.0+, and AOL version 9.0 Classic.

If you are running one of these versions, you should either download and apply AOL's hotfix, or upgrade to AOL 9.0 Optimized or AOL 9.0 Security Edition; both are available from this link here.

The flaw was found in the software versions listed above AOL You've Got Pictures, a photo-sharing service for AOL members. A "critical" security advisory over at FR-SIRT says attackers could exploit the problem to take over the computer of an AOL user who was tricked into visiting a specially crafted Web page.

I sure hope nothing comes along that exploits this flaw, but there's a good chance some hacker will try to take advantage of it. I'm also a little concerned that the average AOL user may not be accustomed to applying patches for their dial-up software.

If you're using AOL and download the update, report how it goes in the comments section below.

Update, 12:06 p.m. ET, Jan. 17: AOL spokesperson Andrew Weinstein said the company was alerted to the problem by security researcher Richard M. Smith last year, and silently pushed a fix out to its user base. Weinstein said any AOL users who signed on to the service during a four-week period between October and November most likely received the update.

"The odds are good that if you use AOL more than once a month, you got the fix pushed to you," he said, though he added that users who are not sure whether they went online at all during that time should consider downloading the hotfix "for safety's sake."

 

http for above post.
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/01/update_fixes_cr.html

i have a question to all,are ye reading the news i post..if not i can stop doing the news for ye..

or do you want me to keep it going?

 

I for one am reading the news you post, and find it informative. I dl the AVG Virus Program and like it very much. Since reformatting I did not want to put back Norton, resource pig it is, and like the idea a good freebie. TY ireland for this post and info saves me the trouble of searching all over, it is like one stop shopping. Don't even feel the need to jump over to CDFreaks for the news

 

Sony rootkit victims in every state, researcher says
Posted by l33tdawg on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 02:05 AM (Reads: 3)
Source: CNet News


A security researcher has claimed that computers in every U.S. state have been affected by copy-restriction software from Sony BMG. Dan Kaminsky released the information at the Shmoocon 2006 hacker conference in Washington last week. Florida seems to have the highest number, with 12,588 networks detected that are hosting computers with the digital rights management software installed, according to figures posted by The Washington Post. California and Massachusetts also exhibit high rates of infection, although the numbers are only an estimate, as each network could host any number of computers with the Sony software installed. The DRM software is automatically installed by some Sony BMG music CDs and is hidden using a rootkit, which can be exploited by a particular type of Trojan horse and hence constitutes a significant security risk.

Sony rootkit victims in every state, researcher says
By Ingrid Marson
Special to CNET News.com
Published: January 17, 2006, 4:25 PM PST

A security researcher has claimed that computers in every U.S. state have been affected by copy-restriction software from Sony BMG.

Dan Kaminsky released the information at the Shmoocon 2006 hacker conference in Washington last week. Florida seems to have the highest number, with 12,588 networks detected that are hosting computers with the digital rights management software installed, according to figures posted by The Washington Post. California and Massachusetts also exhibit high rates of infection, although the numbers are only an estimate, as each network could host any number of computers with the Sony software installed.

The DRM software is automatically installed by some Sony BMG music CDs and is hidden using a rootkit, which can be exploited by a particular type of Trojan horse and hence constitutes a significant security risk.

Kaminsky worked out the locations of machines with the rootkit installed by collating information on communication between the rootkit and Sony--the software contacts Sony each time the CD is played.

"Sony has a rootkit. The rootkit phones home. Phoning home requires a DNS query. DNS queries are cached. Caches are externally testable provided you have a list of all the name servers out there," Kaminsky said in a November blog posting.

In December, Kaminsky reported that around 560,000 name servers had "witnessed DNS queries related to the rootkit," which he claimed was "much, much more" than he expected.

The problems with Sony's DRM are not limited to U.S. customers, according to Kaminsky's research. He found that infected PCs are located in many places across the world, including many European countries.

Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.
http://news.com.com/Sony+rootkit+vi...3-6027857.html?part=rss&tag=6027857&subj=news

 

Australia

Sony BMG relents on iTunes
Posted by l33tdawg on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 02:02 AM (Reads: 4)
Source: Australian IT


MUSIC label Sony BMG has ended its online music wrangle with Apple, announcing it would make its catalogue available through Apple's Australian music store. Sony BMG Australia and New Zealand chairman Denis Handlin welcomed the agreement, which makes the company's catalogue available immediately. "There is a great opportunity for digital music to explode in 2006 and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with iTunes," he said. However, it's understood Sony BMG has not always been so keen on a relationship with Apple, with protracted negotiations between the two companies largely responsible for several delays in the launch of the local iTunes service. Sony BMG is believed to have disagreed with Apple on pricing.

Sony BMG relents on iTunes
Chris Jenkins
JANUARY 18, 2006
MUSIC label Sony BMG has ended its online music wrangle with Apple, announcing it would make its catalogue available through Apple's Australian music store.

Sony BMG Australia and New Zealand chairman Denis Handlin welcomed the agreement, which makes the company's catalogue available immediately.

"There is a great opportunity for digital music to explode in 2006 and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with iTunes," he said.

However, it's understood Sony BMG has not always been so keen on a relationship with Apple, with protracted negotiations between the two companies largely responsible for several delays in the launch of the local iTunes service.

Sony BMG is believed to have disagreed with Apple on pricing.



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Apple refused to comment on the negotiations, with a spokesman saying only that the company was "delighted" to have Sony and its artists on board. Sony BMG also refused to comment.

Downloads represented 12 per cent of total Sony BMG sales in the US market, a spokesman said. While the proportion was not as high in Australia, the company expected downloads to match the US? current level within a year or two, he said.

Apple launched iTunes in Australia in October.

Last year Sony BMG raised the ire of its customers by including on its CDs digital rights management software that opened a door to PC hackers. Sony recalled 4.7 million CDs that used the software.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,17859926^15336^^nbv^15306-15318,00.html




i have a question to all,are ye reading the news i post..if not i can stop doing the news for ye..

or do you want me to keep it going? [/b]

 

JVC to ship 2x dual-layer DVD-RW discs next quarter
4x version to follow, apparently
By Tony Smith in Las Vegas
Published Thursday 5th January 2006 20:25 GMT

CES JVC today announced the world's first single-sided, dual-layer DVD-RW media will ship in Q2 - more than a year after the company unveiled the technology.

The new discs will support 2x recording speeds, JVC said, but it was quick to point out it has already developed a 4x version in its labs.

The 2x products will provide DVD-RW users with 8.5GB of re-writeable storage capacity - provided they have a drive compatible with the discs, of course. Presumably, JVC's submission of the technology to the DVD forum has reached the stage where there's a specification drive makers can use to prepare 'DVD-RW DL' writer hardware.

JVC would not say when 4x discs will come to market. Like the 2x discs, the 4x products can be produced using conventional manufacturing equipment, JVC claimed.

JVC's DL disc uses a "highly sensitive" recording medium and a new recording method the company is provisionally calling 'N-Strategy', both based on JVC's proprietary phase-change design technology developed for high-speed DVD-RW discs, the latter to "enhance erasability".

The new recording medium allows enough 650nm laser light to pass through to read and write to the second, upper layer; but, unlike traditional DVD-RW media, it has the right absorption characteristics to properly form and erase data dots when the first layer is written to or erased. The disc's second layer uses a standard DVD-RW recording medium. ®

 

Disney targets toddlers



p2p news / p2pnet: Would you trust the Walt Disney company to educate your child?

That's the plan under Walt Disney's latest money earning broadband venture which targets toddlers as part of its "age-banded strategy".

The company has launched a $50-a-year online subscription service, "completing its plan for what a Disney executive called 'an online theme park'," says Reuters.

Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online is, "the most learning-oriented of Disney's Internet subscription services for kids," according to spokesman Ken Goldstein.

"When you're dealing with preschoolers, there really isn't a difference between education and entertainment at that age level," says Goldstein, adding the scheme is, "all part of our age-banded strategy where we are looking to follow the consumer through all their age levels and have something for them at every age".

Also See:
Reuters - Disney launches broadband channel for preschoolers, January 17, 2006
http://p2pnet.net/story/7637

 

Student's RIAA settlement claims

p2p news / p2pnet: More than 30 students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst want i2hub to pay the $3,750 the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is trying to extort from each of them to 'settle' claims that they traded copyrighted files online, says the university's Student Legal Services Office, quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

The RIAA is owned by the Big Four record labels Sony BMG, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and EMI.

i2hub, founded and run by Wayne Chang, 22, networked some 240 universities, companies and government organizations on Internet2.

The RIAA and brother entertainment industry enforcement organization the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) bought their way into Internet2 to, "study advanced content distribution technologies," they claim.

Professor Ed Felten once described the i2hub as being like a, "set of express lanes for the Internet, built so that network traffic between Internet2 member institutions can go faster" and, "It shows, brilliantly, just how effective p2p communications can be," we said in our story about its RIAA-forced closure.

The Legal Services demand was sent December 16, warning if a reply wasn't received in 30 days, "the group would file a lawsuit under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, which forbids companies from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices," says the WSJ, going on:

"On Monday, Charles Baker, Mr. Chang's attorney, wrote in a letter to the group that i2hub 'has no intention of making any offer of settlement because it has no liability in this matter'."

Student Legal Services Office lawyer Lisa Kent sent the letter but, "declined to comment Tuesday, saying only that 'the letter speaks for itself'," the story goes on

"The group said it represents 42 students, but named 31 in the letter. Those students either didn't respond to emails or declined to comment."

Baker, a Houston lawyer who's representing Chang for free and also represents Morpheus owner StreamCast Networks, "wrote in his response letter that i2hub never claimed to be endorsed by the university, and that each i2hub user was required to agree not to commit copyright infringement before they were allowed to use the software," states the WSJ:

The Student Legal Services Office is, "supported by student fees and located on campus, though does not represent the university itself, a university spokesman said," the story says.

It would be interesting to know who originally dreamed up the Sue i2hub scheme.

The RIAA claims a file shared on the p2p networks equals a lost sale, although it's never been able to support this contention.

It also says people who share copyrighted digital files are "criminals" and "thieves," despite the fact 'shared' means 'shared' and no one has been deprived in physical terms, or in terms of value, of something they formerly owned.
http://p2pnet.net/story/7639

 

Sam Bulte gala night

p2p news / p2pnet: It's all happening in Toronto tomorrow.

With only Canada days away from a federal election, the corporate entertainment industries are getting solidly behind their very own Canadian MP, Sam Bulte, to raise help her raise cash via a $250 admission gala event sponsored by:

* Canadian Recording Industry Association of America (CRIA) president Graham Henderson
* Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association (CMPDA) president Doug Frith
* Canadian Publishers Council (CPC) executive director Jackie Hushion
* Entertainment Software Alliance (ESA) executive director Danielle LaBoisserre
* DeGrassi producer Stephen Stohn


And the featured performer is none other than Henderson's significant other, Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies fame.

The place? The Underground at The Drake, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, two blocks east of Gladstone at Beaconsfield.

As Online Rights Canada (ORC) sums it up, it's, "copyright interests contributing thousands of dollars to a politician who sets policy for their industry".

And by an amazing coincidence, ORC is holding its own meal which, it promises, will be considerably more balanced, on the same night.

The place? The Corner Cafe at The Drake, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, two blocks east of Gladstone at Beaconsfield.

If you're in Canada and you can get there, be there. If you can't, spread the word on- and offline. Make it a national event the mainstream media can't ignore.
http://p2pnet.net/story/7640

 

MP3 DIRECT CUT..........

mp3DirectCut is a non-destructive audio editor and recorder for MP3. You can directly cut, copy, paste or change the volume with no need to decompress your files into a pcm format. This saves encoding time and preserves the original audio quality, because absolutely nothing must be re-encoded.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://mpesch3.de/

Fast mpeg audio editing
mp3DirectCut mp3DirectCut main 98

mp3DirectCut is a non-destructive audio editor and recorder for MP3. You can directly cut, copy, paste or change the volume with no need to decompress your files into a pcm format. This saves encoding time and preserves the original audio quality, because absolutely nothing must be re-encoded.

The built in recorder lets you create MP3s "on the fly" from every source. Using the Cue sheet support or the pause detection and the split function you can easily divide longer files, e.g. CD images.

mp3DirectCut is very fast and gives you extensive edit functionality:
MP3 visualisation and VU meter · Easy navigation · Fading, volume setting, normalizing · Pause detection · Direct recording of MP3 (ACM and Lame encoder supported) · Layer 2 support · ID3v1.1 support · Cue Sheet support


System requirements
· 200 MHz / Windows (9x, NT, 2K, XP) or Linux/Wine
· MP3 ACM system codec (present in XP) or mpglib.dll
· For MP3 recording: Lame encoder DLL or ACM


What's new
· Notifying of unsaved changes works again
· Reading old format project files
· Function for loading a Cue sheet over current file
· Easier or automatic cue flag setting
· More accurate one-frame-back-navigation
· Option for always closing the save window
· Some other corrections and enhancements


mpglib.dll
Decoding library for MPEG Layer III and Layer II. Required for cutting MP2 or if your system has no ACM for MP3 (XP does). Binary + source, Version 0.92, 2001-11-19 (58 KB). Distributed under LGPL, see 'readme.txt'. local http · funsync.de
http://mpesch3.de/

 

New keylogging trojan races around the world

trojanA new keylogging trojan is racing around the world affecting thousands of new machines a day, warns security vendor PC Tools.

PC Tools' research team discovered the trojan and on Wednesday classified it as high risk. Called the 007 keylogger, it is a new variant of the Keylog-sters trojan released last February. It captures screenshots of Web pages with login fields such as usernames and passwords, records the stolen data into a text file and uploads it to a private FTP server in a folder named after the infected users country. PC World | New keylogging trojan races around the world


New keylogging trojan races around the world

Dahna McConnachie, PC World

18/01/2006 17:36:45

A new keylogging trojan is racing around the world affecting thousands of new machines a day, warns security vendor PC Tools.

PC Tools' research team discovered the trojan and on Wednesday classified it as high risk. Called the 007 keylogger, it is a new variant of the Keylog-sters trojan released last February. It captures screenshots of Web pages with login fields such as usernames and passwords, records the stolen data into a text file and uploads it to a private FTP server in a folder named after the infected users country.

Spokesperson for PC Tools Magida Ezzat said a large part of the problem with keylogging trojans is that desktop users receive no obvious indicators that they have been affected, leaving many unaware of the potential security breach.

"This is a regular keylogging trojan, but we have not seen one as wide spread as this. So far there have only been a few hundred cases in Australia, but thousands in the US and UK and other countries," Ezzat said.

Top banks, mobile phone companies, and airlines are among those already affected in over 50 countries, including Australia.

For more information about the trojan go to http://www.pctools.com/mrc/

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;58472099;fp;2;fpid;1

 

New email worm spreading

Email-Worm.Win32.VB.bi is a mass-mailing worm that also tries to spread using remote shares. It also tries to disable security-related software.


The e-mail subject is one the following:

The Best Videoclip Ever
School girl fantasies gone bad
A Great Video
F@@kin Kama Sutra pics
Arab sex DSC-00465.jpg
give me a kiss
*Hot Movie*
Fw: Funny
Fwd: Photo
Fwd: image.jpg
Fw: Sexy
Re:
Fw:
Part 1 of 6 Video clipe
You Must View This Videoclip!
Miss Lebanon 2006
Re: Sex Video
My photos

fsecureThe worm, named as Email Worm.Win32.VB.bi seems to be spreading quite aggressively, it is already 3rd in our Virus Statistics. It is a simple mass mailer written in Visual Basic. The size of the main executable is about 95 kilobytes. When executed, it first copies itself to several locations. The worm attempts to disable several security related programs. F-Secure : News from the Lab

virus description for more details.
http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/vb_bi.shtml

 

Kaspersky: AV companies losing malware war

KAVEugene Kaspersky, head of virus research at the Massachusetts-based Kaspersky Lab, said in "The Contemporary Antivirus Industry and its Problems" that software companies are on the losing end of the "virus arms race" against new malware.

Calling the internet "a breeding ground for criminal activity,'' Kaspersky estimated that hundreds of hacker groups are stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from PC users each year. Yet, anti-virus vendors are not keeping up, he said.

"Unfortunately, there are relatively few products available in shops or on the internet that offer even close to 100-percent protection," Kaspersky said in the piece, published late last year on his Viruslist.com website. Kaspersky: AV companies losing malware war - IT Security News - SC Magazine UK



Kaspersky: AV companies losing malware war
Dan Kaplan 16 Jan 2006 20:22

Anti-virus manufacturers are failing to keep up with malware creators, a leading IT security expert argued in a recently published paper.

Eugene Kaspersky, head of virus research at the Massachusetts-based Kaspersky Lab, said in "The Contemporary Antivirus Industry and its Problems" that software companies are on the losing end of the "virus arms race" against new malware.

Calling the internet "a breeding ground for criminal activity,'' Kaspersky estimated that hundreds of hacker groups are stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from PC users each year. Yet, anti-virus vendors are not keeping up, he said.

"Unfortunately, there are relatively few products available in shops or on the internet that offer even close to 100-percent protection," Kaspersky said in the piece, published late last year on his Viruslist.com website.

"The majority of products are unable even to guarantee 90 percent protection," he said, noting that his lab receives between 200 and 300 new samples each day.

Amrit Williams, research director for Gartner, agreed with Kaspersky that financially-motivated cybercrimes are jumping dramatically. But the solution lies not only in anti-virus capabilities, Williams said.

For full protection, desktop users require an integrated product that contains four pieces: anti-virus software, anti-spyware tools, host-based intrusion prevention and personal firewalls, Williams said.

Still, Kaspersky's analysis provided an in-depth overview of what faces the anti-virus industry and may serve as a wake-up call, says Shane Coursen, a senior technical consultant with Kaspersky Lab.

"There's nothing really revolutionary in Eugene's document," Coursen said. "It's a refreshing and honest look at what we're up against now. I think Eugene might be trying to rally the troops: 'This is what we're looking at in the future. Let's get our thinking caps on.'"

While Kaspersky offered no concrete recommendations for users, Coursen said they "can avoid most threats simply by following the best known practices of the day.

Individuals should be wary of opening unexpected emails and downloading material from an unknown source, he said.

"Policies need to be established inside companies," Coursen said.

But the industry may always be one step behind the criminal mind, Williams warned.

"The anti-virus vendors are slow to adapt," he says. "The technology always lags behind threats."
clear float
http://www.scmagazine.com/uk/news/article/535839/kaspersky-av-companies-losing-malware-war/

 

French copyright law could force changes in iTunes copy protections
Posted by Dan Bell on 18 January 2006 - 14:28 - Source: Globe Technology

DamnedIfIknow used our news submit to tell us the government of France is thinking of loosening restrictions on a proposed digital copyright bill. This has come about due to an outcry from politicians and consumers demanding the lightening of the proposed restrictions. A couple things are very important here in these amendments. One is, the new bill makes a distinction between those who use peer to peer technologies to download for profit and those who just add to their own music and movie collections. It's about time! The other result of these new laws with can be read below - this is surely to cause quite a stir!
The French bill would be at odds with many CDs and DVDs sold there that contain copy-protection management software, to digitally block efforts to copy them. If the bill becomes law, the copy-protection measures would have to be removed. Under the bill, Apple"s Music Store in France would also have to change its practices: the Journal du Dimanche says the government is looking at ensuring that all music sold on that site can be played on MP3 players other than Apple"s bestselling iPods, which is not currently the case.

If this law passes, it will really shake things up. We have to wonder what impact this would have on iTunes over there. It would seem that with the past track record of Apple, they would simply pull out. However, if these type laws would somehow magically spread...there would come a day that iTunes would have to open up it's store to all. DRM is bad enough, but there are simply too many proprietary "solutions" and it it has really become ridiculous.

Even a simpleton can see now that these restrictions and laws were passed around the world not to thwart piracy so much as to control the consumer, to create a brand loyalty through these restrictive measures. Apple could let others use their DRM if they were only concerned with piracy, what they are concerned with is market share for the iPod. We need for all consumers and politicians to wake up like the French did and demand that this situation be remedied. When we buy something it should work in whatever device we wish to own. Is that so much to ask?
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12962

 

Microsoft drops WMP for Mac and offers WM QuickTime plugin
Posted by Seán Byrne on 18 January 2006 - 11:11 - Source: c|net news - Digital Life

Microsoft decided to put an end to its development of Windows Media Player for the Mac and has no plans to develop any alternative for the Mac. While the PC version has reached version 10 over a year back, the Mac OS X version has remained at version 9 since its launch in November 2003. Microsoft mentioned that they made this decision to give priority towards delivering the best experience towards Windows customers. Windows Media Player 9 will remain available for download, however Microsoft will no longer offer support for it.

In an aim to provide an alternative to Windows Media Player, Microsoft has announced a deal with Telestream to offer a free Flip4Mac plug-in for QuickTime. This will allow the playback of Windows Media 9 audio and video content as well as high definition content in QuickTime, however there are no plans to offer any DRM support, which means that it cannot be used with subscription content and music services such as Napster, Yahoo!, where the Windows Media tracks have copy protection, time limits, etc. The same goes with copy protected CDs that use DRM protected WMA tracks. Flip4Mac is only free for playback as the product costs $29 to allow the importing of non-protected WMA/WMV files and $49 for basic WMA/WMV encoding support.

Microsoft has officially halted development of its Windows Media Player for the Mac and plans no future Apple Computer versions of its music-playing software.

"We have no plans to provide future updates or product support for Windows Media Player for Mac," Adam Anderson, Microsoft public relations manager, said in an interview Thursday.

The company will continue to offer the current version for download. It also has announced a deal to offer for free the Flip4Mac plug-in from Telestream that will allow Mac OS X users to play Windows Media video and audio directly from Apple's QuickTime Player software.

By planning to drop DRM support for the Mac is a clear sign that Microsoft is trying to force Mac users to switch over to a PC with its OS if they want to use protected Windows Media services. While the Mac market is very small compared with the PC market, Microsoft is probably forgetting that iTunes became a major success when it started off as a Mac-only music service.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12961

 

UK National Consumer Council urges MP's for DRM safeguards
Posted by Dan Bell on 18 January 2006 - 18:26 - Source: ZDNet UK

More news on the DRM front. In a submission to the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group, or APIG, the UK NCC consumer group are saying that DRM is constricting legitimate use of digital content for consumers and they have little faith in companies policing the situation for us.

In particular, the NCC cited Sony's controversial use of rootkit-like software on some music CDs as evidence that self-regulation isn't working.

"Because of the current situation, consumers face security risks to their equipment, limitations on their use of products, poor information when purchasing products and unfair contract terms," said Jill Johnstone, director of policy at the NCC, in a statement.

"Whilst we recognise the value of intellectual-property rights, we have little confidence in self-regulation by the industry. We welcome this opportunity to present our concerns to MPs and hope that this will ultimately lead to an improvement the rights of consumers," Johnstone added.

The group will examine among other things, protections for the consumer if a DRM is discontinued and they also have under consideration what legal sanctions are in order for those who circumvent DRM systems. We should probably stay tuned to this debate!
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12963

 

nVIDIA nForce Audio Driver for Windows 2000/XP 8.22
FYI, looks like this is for Intel Chipsets only.

nVIDIA nForce Audio Driver support nForce, nForce2, nForce3, nForce4 products including dual-processor systems.

- Betanews.com
__________________

Released: January 17, 2006
Publisher: NVIDIA Corp.
Homepage: nVIDIA nForce Audio Driver for Windows 2000/XP
Downloads: 4,993
License: Freeware
OS Support: Windows 2000/XP

go here
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THAY MUST BE TALKING ABOUT ME,
KING WARLORD IRELAND

Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants

* 13:10 18 January 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* AFP and NewScientist.com staff

Up to three million men around the world could be descended from a prolific medieval Irish king, according to a new genetic study.

It suggests that the 5th-century warlord known as "Niall of the Nine Hostages" may be the ancestor of about one in 12 Irishmen, say researchers at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Niall established a dynasty of powerful chieftains that dominated the island for six centuries.

In a study of the Y chromosome - which is only passed down through the male line - scientists found a hotspot in northwest Ireland where 21.5% carry Niall’s genetic fingerprint, says Brian McEvoy, one of the team at Trinity. This was the main powerbase of the Ui Neills, which literally translated means "descendants of Niall".

McEvoy says the Y chromosome appeared to trace back to one person.

"There are certain surnames that seem to have come from Ui Neill. We studied if there was any association between those surnames and the genetic profile. It is his (Niall's) family."
Enduring dynasty

The study says that Niall "resided at the cusp of mythology and history but our results do seem to confirm the existence of a single early medieval progenitor to the most powerful and enduring Irish dynasty".

The results also lend support to surviving genealogical and oral traditions of Gaelic Ireland and are a "powerful illustration of the potential link between prolificacy and power".

The study says the chromosome has also been found in 16.7% of men in western and central Scotland and has turned up in multiple North American population samples, including in 2% of European-American New Yorkers.

"Given historically high rates of Irish emigration to North America and other parts of the world, it seems likely that the number of descendants worldwide runs to perhaps two to three million males," the study says.
Modern surnames

It compares the result with similar research that suggested that Mongol emperor Genghis Khan has 16 million descendants after conquering most of Asia in the 13th century.

Though medieval Ireland was Christian, divorce was allowed, people married earlier and concubinage was practised. Illegitimate sons were claimed and their rights protected by law.

"As in other polygynous societies, the siring of offspring was related to power and prestige." The study points out that one of the O'Neill dynasty chieftains who died in 1423 had 18 sons with 10 different women and counted 59 grandsons in the male line.

Niall of the Nine Hostages, who became high king of Ireland, got his name from using the taking of hostages as a strategy for subjugating his opponent chieftains. He is known in folklore as a raider of the British and French coasts. Supposedly slain in the English Channel or in Scotland, his descendants were the most powerful rulers of Ireland until the 11th century.

Modern surnames tracing their ancestry to Niall include (O')Neill, (O')Gallagher, (O')Boyle, (O')Doherty, O'Donnell, Connor, Cannon, Bradley, O'Reilly, Flynn, (Mc)Kee, Campbell, Devlin, Donnelly, Egan, Gormley, Hynes, McCaul, McGovern, McLoughlin, McManus, McMenamin, Molloy, O'Kane, O'Rourke and Quinn.

Journal reference: American Journal of Human Genetics (February issue)
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Intel, Burger King, HP, Catholic Church, Mormons sued for billions

The Old Legal Curiosity shop

By Adamson Rust over Rockall: Wednesday 18 January 2006, 15:37
HERE COMES Neilson Craig Conover who is suing Intel, Comfort Inn, Burger King, Techtronics, Nike, HP, Fred Meyer, the Later Day Saints (sic), and the Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon.

Mr Conover wants these people to stump up $40 billion apiece for the serious offence of staulking (sic).

In the filing, Mr Conover also said he demanded one million dollars per person that participated/conspired in the recognition/communication/mobilization and or actual staulking (sic).

The action started in a federal court for the district of Oregon. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29071