STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING WORLD-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings about & affecting the Computer World

 

 

AOL adds to messenger distribution

DULLES, Va. (AP) - America Online Inc. will make its Instant Messenger service easily available to the 2.5 million customers of two smaller Internet access services, further defying Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to crack AOL's lock on the market for real-time notes. The move Friday drew a sharp reaction from Microsoft, which is promoting its own instant messaging service but has been rebuffed so far in getting AOL to let customers of both services exchange messages. AOL, based in Dulles, Va., announced Friday it would distribute its messaging service through MindSpring Enterprises and Earthlink Network, the first time its popular service has been available through another Internet service provider.

Drugs.com goes for $823,456

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bidding for use of the Internet address Drugs.com jumped wildly every few minutes before an auction closed with an offer of $823,456. The business that submitted the winning bid Friday wanted to remain anonymous. Several large drug companies and well-heeled speculators had expressed an interest, according to Eric MacIver, a 21-year-old Internet entrepreneur in Mesa, Ariz., who held an option on the Drugs.com domain name. "The bidder will emerge as someone of note," possibly at a news conference in a week or so, said Steve Newman, executive vice president of online broker GreatDomains. GreatDomains, based in Los Angeles, was joined by Dotbroker.com in conducting the auction.

NBC, Snap.com link with Net2Phone

NEW YORK (AP) - NBC is taking a stake in Net2Phone Inc., a company that provides telephone service over the Internet, in exchange for prominent placement of links on the network's top Web sites. Visitors to the NBC.com, Snap.com and NBC Interactive Neighborhood Web sites will be able to search yellow and white page phone listings and click any listing to automatically dial the number using Net2Phone's service, the companies announced Monday. In return, NBC, the broadcasting unit of General Electric, and Snap.com would acquire an equity stake in Net2Phone, with NBC gaining the right to nominate a board member to Net2Phone's board of directors. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

AT&T, AOL mulling cable deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Phone giant AT&T Corp and Internet service provider America Online Inc. are considering a deal to grant AOL and possibly other ISPs "enhanced access" to AT&T cable systems for Internet links, the New York Times reported Monday. Citing executives close to the companies, the daily said the companies could be working toward a pact that could diminish the role in the industry of ExciteAtHome, which provides Internet links over cable lines. AT&T and America Online declined to comment, the paper said. The two companies have feuded over access to cable systems in the past.

Microsoft in wireless Internet deal

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's Softbank Co. said Monday it is in negotiations with Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Microsoft Corp. on a joint venture in the telecommunications area. The comments follow a newspaper report that the three companies have agreed in principle to set up a low-cost, wireless Internet connection service. Softbank confirmed the talks but would not give details. An official at Tokyo Electric Power, or TEPCO, also confirmed that the joint venture is under consideration, but said details still were being discussed. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Monday that the firms will announce the plan on Wednesday. The newspaper said the service would be launched in the region around Tokyo in the middle of next year.

Computer hacker fined $4,125

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, a computer vandal once on the FBI's most wanted list, was ordered Monday to pay "token" restitution of $4,125 to companies that suffered millions of dollars in damage from his exploits. U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer said she doubts the 37-year-old Mitnick can earn more than minimum wage. He has been prohibited for three years after his release from prison from any access to computers, cellular telephones, televisions or any equipment that can be used for Internet access. He is also prohibited from working as a consultant to computer companies. As part of a plea agreement reached in March, Pfaelzer also sentenced him to three years and 10 months in prison.

Stamps can now be bought online

WASHINGTON (AP) - Now it's postage over the Internet. The Postal Service on Monday launched PC Postage, a stamp that can be printed through personal computers. Whether it's used by the average consumer mailing holiday cards or wedding invitations or a business sending correspondence, the system eventually could change the way many people put postage on their envelopes. Consumers would go online to one of the companies offering PC Postage. With an ordinary laser or inkjet printer, a barcode would be printed on each envelope to indicate mail processing information and postage payment. For packages, consumers would enter the weight, buy the appropriate amount of postage and print it on labels to be put on the packages.

Instant messaging has big potential

NEW YORK (AP) - Why would two respectable businesses repeatedly snipe over something they give away, brings in little or no revenue, and got its start as a tool for idle gossip? When it comes to instant messaging services, Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc. believe they have sound reasons to duke it out. The companies are so persistent because instant messaging offers an important new way for providers of online access to broaden their array of features and differentiate themselves from opponents. Among other aspects, instant messaging can help lure Internet users to other online services, such as e-mail and Web news and entertainment, where they are more likely to read ads and buy goods and services.

Razorfish to acquire i-Cube
in $677 mln deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet consulting and design company Razorfish Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to acquire i-Cube Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of similar electronic business services, in a deal valued at about $677 million. In the transaction, which has been approved by directors of both companies, each share of i-Cube would be exchanged for 0.875 share of Razorfish. I-Cube Chief Executive Michael Pehl will become chief operating officer and a director of Razorfish. Jeff Dachis will remain CEO, president and a director of Razorfish.

Qwest packages free Net access
with long distance

DENVER (Reuters) - Long distance phone company Qwest Communications International Inc., on Tuesday unveiled a package that would offer free Internet access to consumers who buy special long distance calling services. Denver-based Qwest said the package features free, unlimited dial-up Internet service and 250 minutes of domestic long distance calling service for a flat rate of $24.95 per month. Additional minutes will be charged at 10 cents per minute. The move by Qwest, the No. 4 U.S. long distance telephone company, comes one day after rival MCI WorldCom, cut evening, overnight and weekend calling rates to as low as 5 cents per minute.

Silicon Graphics to restructure,
cuts jobs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (Reuters) - Silicon Graphics Inc., struggling to boost its computer workstation business, on Tuesday unveiled its second restructuring in less than a year, with plans to spin off its media operations, shed up to 1,500 jobs and form an alliance with the Japanese company NEC Corp. SGI also said it had formed separate business units to manage its lines of Cray supercomputers, Visual Workstations and broadband Internet systems and was pursuing alliances with other companies to handle development and distribution of certain of its product lines.

Linux show to focus on
commercial prospects

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Now, they mean business. Developers of systems and software for the Linux operating system - which made its name as free alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s software - are now focused on its commercial prospects. The first LinuxWorld trade show a few months ago was seen as a major coming out party for the upstart operating system, but this week's show is boasting a number of product launches and nearly twice as many people. About 20,000 people are expected to attend, up from the 12,000 who came to the show in March. Many companies will announce products this week aimed at making Linux more friendly for electronic commerce, seeking to prove that Linux is a valid alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT software for some applications.

IBM PC offers built-in digital modem

So? Most New MBs Have Modems On Board
NEW YORK (AP) - IBM is introducing personal computers with built-in digital modems, another major step in a sudden scramble to make high-speed Internet access commonplace in the home. The new internal modems, made by Texas Instruments, are being offered as an optional feature with IBM's Aptiva line of computers, boosting the price by about $100, IBM said Wednesday. Aside from that added expense, a built-in modem would likely make it easier and cheaper for people to switch from a dial-up Internet connection to the speedy, "always-on" technology known as DSL, or digital subscriber line. While dial-up and DSL both transmit over a regular copper phone wire, DSL is 50-to-100 times faster than a standard connection using even the fastest non-digital modem.

FCC declines Internet review

the fcc should be abolished! it repeatedly supports big bux and not the little guy.
SAN FRANCISCO (08/12/99) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard has turned down a request for an inquiry into whether cable companies unfairly restrict their customers' choices for Internet service providers, saying government intervention would chill overall development of broadband networks.

Kennard yesterday said he was rejecting a recommendation made last month by the FCC's Local and State Government Advisory Committee that the FCC begin investigating complaints about cable companies with an eye toward forcing them to open their networks. The FCC's Local and State Government Advisory Committee is composed of state and local government telecommunications and cable regulatory officials, said Morgan Broman, an FCC spokesman.

Local government officials have complained that cable companies such as AT&T Corp., which is in the process of buying cable franchises throughout the country, and Time Warner Inc. are forcing cable customers to use their own affiliated Internet service providers (ISPs).

Officials in Portland, Oregon, and Broward County, Florida, have passed laws compelling AT&T to open its cable network to rival ISPs as a condition of allowing the transfer of cable operating licenses. Last month, a similar provision failed in San Francisco, with city supervisors approving a measure to consider the issue at a later date. In Massachusetts, a petition drive is underway to allow a statewide vote to decide whether to force cable companies to open their networks.

Local telephone companies and ISPs that are not in the AT&T network, including America Online Inc., have also lobbied for government pressure on the cable companies. But Kennard, while saying he wants to see an "open Internet," declined to launch a formal inquiry. "I continue to believe that the initiation by this Commission of a formal proceeding focused exclusively on broadband access would undercut our goal of accelerating the deployment of broadband networks," Kennard wrote in a letter to the commission yesterday.

"A formal proceeding would chill investment in cable modem service, which in turn would reduce the competitive pressure on local phone companies and others who are currently investing in alternative means of providing consumers with access to broadband," he said.

The marketplace is promoting the growth of broadband networks on its own, with cable companies increasingly deploying cable modem service for Internet access, Kennard said. Local telephone companies are implementing DSL (digital subscriber line), while DSL costs are declining, he added. In addition, companies also are investing in satellite and wireless technologies as sources of broadband communications, he said. The FCC Web site is at http://www.fcc.gov/.

Code cracker worries cryptographers

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A developer of one of the most widespread computer encryption systems said Thursday he has designed a computer that could crack open a file encoded using the most common form of data encryption in only a few days. If built at an estimated cost of about $2 million, such a computer could jeopardize the privacy of the bulk of electronic commerce as practiced today, according to cryptographers at the conference where the design was shown. Most highly sensitive military, banking and other data are protected by stronger encryption keys beyond its reach. The commonly used weaker keys, though, would become "easy to break for large organizations," said cryptographer Adi Shamir of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

Top acts commit to NetAid concerts

LONDON (AP) - George Michael, Celine Dion and Bono are among the top performers who are turning to the Internet for a massive concert to highlight world poverty. NetAid will link overlapping shows in London, New Jersey and Geneva Oct. 9 and broadcast the concerts worldwide over the Internet. Organizers are hoping to attract the largest audience ever for a live musical event. The concerts are being organized by the U.N. Development Program and Cisco Systems Inc., an Internet network company based in San Jose, Calif. Proceeds will be used to help Kosovo refugees and African countries. A special charity, called NetAid Foundation, is being set up to handle the funds, organizers said.

BET to start Web service

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BET Holdings Inc., an operator of black-oriented cable television stations, said Thursday it will join big media and technology companies in starting an Internet service aimed at African-Americans. The $35 million deal was "believed to represent the largest investment in an African-American Internet venture," BET Holdings said. Chairman and CEO Robert Johnson said BET Holdings and its partners would create BET.com, a new Internet portal. BET would have majority ownership and control of the venture. BET Holdings, along with Microsoft Corp., Liberty Media Group, News Corp. Ltd. and USA Networks Inc., will fund the joint venture with an initial cash investment of $35 million.

AltaVista offers free
dial-up Internet access

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Internet search and media network AltaVista Co. said Thursday it is offering free Internet access that does away with monthly subscriptions in favor of a fully advertising-supported model, in a move that could shake the industry's financial foundation. The standard dial-up telephone line service can be downloaded off the Web, and AltaVista, currently the 10th-most visited Web destination, expects new revenue to be attracted by a larger user base. "We think we will likely be the immediate leader in free online access," said AltaVista spokesman David Emmanuel. "I wouldn't compare us to America Online or Yahoo Inc, but we'll certainly be the leader of those currently offering free access."

GOP targets defector Rep. Forbes

WASHINGTON (AP) - How much do Republicans want to unseat party-swapping Rep. Michael Forbes in 2000? Badly enough to take the unusual step of setting up a special fund in New York just to raise money to beat him. Democrats, meanwhile, are lending their newest member a hand. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt has asked members of his Democratic caucus to "make the maximum contribution possible" to Forbes' campaign. Forbes, who voted for the GOP's Contract with America and opposes abortion, swapped parties in July, blaming Republican "extremists" running the House of Representatives.

Microsoft portrayals conflict

WASHINGTON (AP) - In their final pre-verdict arguments, the federal government and 19 states alleged Tuesday Microsoft Corp. engaged in a broad pattern of unlawful conduct to maintain its lucrative "desktop paradise" in the computer software market. Denying it's a monopolist, Microsoft said the government has failed to show that any of its actions hurt consumers and said its antitrust suit is "largely a vehicle for Microsoft's competitors to attack Microsoft rather than compete in the marketplace." Although the lengthy filings largely repeat claims made in earlier legal documents and over 76 days of courtroom testimony, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson will base the first phase of his two-part verdict, expected later this year, on these arguments.

IBM helps airlines with e-tickets

DALLAS (AP) - IBM and the airline industry are collaborating on new technology that could make it easier to fly without a ticket. At some domestic airlines, up to half of all passengers now use electronic tickets. Ticketless travel saves the airlines money that they would otherwise spend handling paper tickets. But unlike paper tickets, airlines cannot honor each other's electronic tickets unless they establish costly links between their e-ticket systems; their electronic systems don't recognize each other's tickets. IBM and the International Air Transport Association plan to announce Wednesday that they are developing a single system that would link all airlines that offer ticketless travel beginning next year.

GM plans 'Web car' for 2000

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors plans to offer voice-activated Internet access in a car by the end of next year as part of a campaign announced Tuesday to transform the world's largest automaker into a "global e-business enterprise." GM has formed an independent unit called "e-GM" to coordinate and expand its global electronic commerce activities, with a focus on making it easier for consumers to buy new vehicles online and to package them with an array of on-board services via satellite. Within five years, in-car services such as Internet access and CD-quality satellite radio broadcasts could generate revenues for GM in the range of $4 billion to $6 billion annually, said Ron Zarrella, president of GM's North American operations.

Cisco Systems' revenues soar

NEW YORK (AP) - Quarterly revenues soared 48% at Cisco Systems as explosive demand for Internet and other network equipment helped the company surpass Wall Street expectations. Cisco earned $727 million or 21 cents per share, in its fourth quarter ended July 31, excluding one-time charges totaling $97 million for acquisition-related expenses. In the year-ago period, Cisco posted an operating profit of $525 million, or 16 cents per share. The results edged most forecasts by industry analysts, which averaged 20 cents a share, according to a survey by First Call. Cisco's stock had retreated $1.06 per share to $58.75 in advance of Tuesday's report, which followed the close of regular Nasdaq Stock Market trading but recovered to $60 in after-hours trading.

Tupperware begins online sales

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) - Tupperware, which for decades relied solely on face-to-face sales at parties, began selling its housewares over the Internet Tuesday. The move online is the latest innovation for the company in its efforts to get Tupperware containers into the hands of its customers following a year of declining sales. Tupperware, which had $1.1 billion in sales last year, announced in May that it would sell merchandise on the Home Shopping Network during TV specials. And last Christmas, the company began selling Tupperware products at shopping mall kiosks. Tupperware officials emphasized that the new ventures will supplement, not replace, the traditional Tupperware parties.

Microsoft in Japan Internet alliance

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's Softbank Corp., Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday that they are setting up a joint venture offering a low-cost, wireless Internet connection service. Customers will be able to connect to the Internet using wireless transmitters that communicate with relay base stations installed on utility poles owned by Tokyo Electric Power, the world's largest electric power company. The joint venture is to be set up in Tokyo in September and begin offering the service in the summer of 2000, starting in the Tokyo area.

Corporate world leaning  to Linux

(STR NewsWire) - At CA World this year, a survey of 5,000 IT professionals, conducted to discover the attendees plans regarding Linux deployment, found a large percentage of support for the operating system (OS). Conducted by the Merit Project (Maximizing the Efficiency of Resources in Information Technology), the results indicated that companies are becoming more comfortable with the open source operating system as a second platform for enterprises.

Microsoft filings raise conflict

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department used its final arguments in the Microsoft trial to present its most comprehensive rebuttal yet to claims that the $10 billion sale of the software giant's rival, Netscape Communication Corp., undermines the government's antitrust case. The federal government and 19 states suing Microsoft devoted an entire section of their 776-page court filing Tuesday to deflect criticisms that Netscape's purchase by America Online Inc. makes the antitrust claims moot. Microsoft said the sale proved that competition was healthy in the high-tech industry, but the government argues that Netscape Communication Corp.'s purchase merely illustrates the effects of Microsoft's aggressive, predatory tactics.

Lycos nixes 'Jews for Jesus' ad

Religious fanatics strike again!
WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - Lycos Inc., the popular Web destination, said it will not renew an advertisement from Jews for Jesus because of complaints from some in the Jewish community. Lycos Inc. said it received complaints about the ad from several Jewish people who took offense when the ad popped up on their screens as they searched for Web sites containing the word "Jewish." Jews for Jesus paid $1,700 for the ad, which started running July 6. The ad, which promotes a book on the group's religious philosophy, read: "The end of the world is no time to finally realize Jesus is the Messiah. (It's all in the book.) Click here for a free copy!" When users clicked, a Web page for Jews for Jesus appeared. Jeffrey Snider, Lycos' general counsel, said the company did not want to give users the impression it endorsed Jews for Jesus.

Forecaster: Y2K still likely
to spark recession

Mr. "Doom & Gloom" Speaks Again...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite progress fixing the Y2K computer glitch, there is still a 70% chance that it will spark a global recession, Edward Yardeni, a top U.S. economic forecaster, said Tuesday. "Indeed, Y2K could cause another energy crisis," Yardeni, chief economist at the investment bank Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in New York, said in an update of his famously gloomy Y2K predictions. Yardeni said the other most likely cause of a Y2K-related recession were possible breakdowns in the "global just-in-time manufacturing system" because of weak links in the supply chain.

Man loses, regains house over $300

The Bean Counters Strike Again!
DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) - For three months, a 78-year-old piano teacher lived with the fact that he had lost his home of 25 years because he failed to make his final mortgage payment of $324.57. Edward J. Brown had neglected to make the payment - and then ignored several bank notices that he left unopened - because he believed carrying a small mortgage would prevent him from being sued if anyone were injured on his property. After the bank sent a final, eviction letter, the three-bedroom ranch that Brown lived in on Algonquin Drive in this seaside community about 50 miles south of Boston was sold at auction. Brown got his house back recently after Citizens Bank said the eviction was an oversight.

Red Hat shares soar in IPO

NEW YORK (AP) - Red Hat Inc. shares nearly quadrupled in their first day of trading Wednesday, underscoring investor confidence in the upstart Linux operating software and shunning rampant market pessimism toward initial public offerings. The warm investor reception toward Durham, N.C.-based Red Hat, the first Linux-only company to go public, is expected to trigger more IPOs by companies promoting the operating system as an alternative to Unix and Windows NT for running business computers. Red Hat closed at $52.06 on the Nasdaq Stock Market after being initially priced at $14 and opening at $46. That's the biggest price leap in at least two weeks among IPOs, which recently have hit a wall of investor nervousness about small, money-losing companies.

Talking fish boosts Sega's new game

TOKYO (AP) - The mysterious fish with a human face pops onto the TV monitor, swims up lazily and asks for your birthday. Answer late July, and it drawls: "Leo, huh? The type who likes to play leader?" The verbose smart aleck is "Seaman," the new Japanese hit video game for the Sega Enterprises Dreamcast machine arriving at U.S. stores Sept. 9. The Tokyo manufacturer is counting on solid Dreamcast sales in the U.S. to hold its ground against Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo Co. in the heated competition over the world game-machine market. Popular games are key to boosting machine sales. And "Seaman" appears to be the hit Sega has been desperately waiting for.

Tiny cameras forge era of voyeurism

CHICAGO (AP) - Forget "Candid Camera" - you might be on "voyeurcam" right now, or even on "bathroomcam." In fact many of your private moments could be playing on the Internet or someone's VCR, thanks to technological advances that have allowed tiny, affordable video cameras to fall into the hands of people with a penchant for peeping. Smoke detectors, exit signs, cellular phones, stuffed animals - almost anything can hold a hidden camera, spawning a troubling new market in voyeurism, with Internet entrepreneurs selling videotapes for home viewing or charging for sneak peeks on their Web sites. The practice is hard to stop. The cameras are hard to find, and officials are not always sure what to do about them when they do find them.

Clinton disputes Panama Canal threat

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Clinton administration disputed a suggestion by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott that China is seeking to gain authority over the Panama Canal through a Hong Kong-based shipping company that will operate ports at either end of the waterway. "We have seen no capability on the part of the People's Republic of China to disrupt the canal's operations," David Leavy, a White House national security spokesman, said Thursday. At issue is Panama's 1997 award to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. of a long-term contract to operate terminals for container ships on the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances. Congressional conservatives have long complained about the contract to the Hong Kong based company, but Lott, R-Miss., alleges the company has links to China's communist leadership and military.

AOL, Novell team up
on instant messaging

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - America Online Inc. and Novell Inc. are teaming up to integrate the AOL Instant Messenger service with Novell's popular directory software that is used to manage and control access, programs and other applications on business networks, Novell said Wednesday. The agreement, signed at AOL's headquarters in Virginia Wednesday, is a major coup for the once-struggling Novell and highlights AOL's aggressive push to move AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, into the corporate market from its now-prevalent consumer use. AIM has 43 million users, the largest of any instant messaging software and far outstrips the number of users of archrival Microsoft Corp.'s offering.

IBM supercomputer to study
weather mysteries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. forecasters got a powerful new tool Wednesday to help them understand weather phenomena such as droughts, microbursts and global warming, in the form of a new $6.2 million IBM supercomputer. The RS/6000 supercomputer, code named "blackforest," will model global climate patterns at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Twenty times more powerful than the system made famous during Deep Blue's 1997 victory over world chess champion Garry Kasparov, it is meant to consider every meteorological mystery under the sun. From a craggy peak overlooking Boulder, Colo., the RS/6000 will model all kinds of weather patterns, such as sudden downward airflows called microbursts and how they can crash airplanes.

 

left.gif (2263 bytes)Back to Index