NOTE:
Gearblog has morphed into Gibbsblog. All new postings, same great Gibbs. Come on over!
Gearblog News for week 33
By Gearhead, NetworkWorld.com, 08/09/05
Top News Item: "The SCO Group believes it will still have a viable business even if the company loses its courtroom battles, according to the vendor's CEO. In support of that claim, he said that SCO's Unix business is profitable and the company is due to shed its heavy financial burden from legal fees come January 2006." from "SCO CEO: Even if court bids fail, we will survive", Network World, 08/08/05. A case of the unspeakable claiming the unbelievable?
And in other news ...
Patently Stupid Dept.: "InfoSpinner/epicRealm holds two patents that basically describe every dynamic Web site in existence and is now using them to sue companies ..." -- from Slashdot. Sigh.
We Told You So Dept.: "Brit License Plates Get Chipped" -- from Wired News. We would refer the inquiring reader to the Backspin column "Freedom through surveillance data", Network World, 05/02/05. Also from Wired News: "Approximately 300 United employees stationed on international flights received the new passports in mid-June as part of a three-month, three-country test of IDs equipped with RFID chips. The chips can be read at a distance at border crossings by special readers installed for the trial." We warned you ...
Another Fine Mess You Got Use Into Dept.: "President Bush today signed a bill that would extend Daylight Saving Time a total of one month each year, and likely cause no shortage of havoc with technology." -- Arstechnica article points out that "The problem with this plan ... is that all manner of tech gadgetry is programmed to be aware of the traditional layout of Daylight Savings Time [and] timezones in North America will need adjustment. Unless Canada follows the United States' lead, the shared timezones ... will need to be adjusted." Should we be surprised that the political machine has hardly thought this one through at all?
Furor Followup Dept.: "First, Mike gave his talk. Then he got sued. Then I decided to represent him. We promptly settle the lawsuit. But promptly is a term of art, it takes all night and most of the next day. Surprisingly, the FBI investigates." -- from the blog of Jennifer Granick, the attorney who represented Michael Lynn, the engineer at the center of the Ciscogate storm (see Backspin "Michael Lynn and Cisco: Stepping in front of the freight train", Network World, 08/01/05). Greplaw profile of Jennifer Granick: "very well known within the hacker community, having represented (among many others) Kevin Poulsen and alleged eBay hacker Jerome Heckencamp ... Currently, Ms. Granick directs the public interest law and technology clinic at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.."
Renovation Dept.: "Microsoft is hoping to rid itself of [Winrot] with Windows Vista, although one wonders if their proposed solutions will do much good." -- from an Arstechnica article. Even if Microsoft does fix DLL Hell with Windows Vista there's always viruses ...
Had to Happen Dept.: "An Austrian hacker earned the dubious distinction of writing what are thought to be the first known viruses for Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system. Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that is expected to be included in future versions of the Windows operating system." -- from "First family of Windows Vista viruses unleashed", Network World, 08/04/05.
Back to Gearblog
Comments
