Volume 5, Issue 37 Atari Online News, Etc. September 12, 2003 Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2003 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: Pierre Tonthat 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 http://www.icwhen.com/aone/ http://a1mag.atari.org Now available: http://www.atarinews.org Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi! http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/ =~=~=~= A-ONE #0537 09/12/03 ~ Be Lawsuit Is Settled! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Meg Update News! ~ More Flaws In Windows! ~ "Really Cool" Notes! ~ SCO Whines: "Stop"! ~ Norton Upgrade Launch! ~ No Force To Block Porn ~ New, Faster iMacs! ~ NY Times Hacker Busted ~ RIAA Crusade Too Much? ~ 9/11 Worms Appear! -* Bailing Out The 12-Year Old! *- -* Major File-Sharers Being Targeted! *- -* Apple Sues Apple Computers Over Contract! *- =~=~=~= ->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""" As we pass the 2-year anniversary of the attack on America, I don't think that anyone get get the memory of the sights of planes striking the World Trade Center out of their mind. The world has become much smaller, and certainly less safe. Just look in any newspaper and you'll see that this is true. Osama is still taunting us from somewhere in the world. No one knows the fate of Saddam. A man can still successfully mail himself, in a crate, halfway across the country, and people in the Middle East continue to play a deadly game of "Tag! You're It!" As technology becomes more and more advanced, problems escalate within it. There are programs out there that bring PCs to their knees. Programs exist that tie up the internet. The largest software maker in the world can't put together an operating system that is secure. Programs exist that allow millions of users to trade software with each other with just a few clicks of the mouse. Spam e-mail invades our in-boxes like the plague. Identity theft is running rampant, further fueled by inadequacies of the web. Pedophiles prey on the unsuspecting youth on the internet. So, this is good technology? Technology may have evolved, but people certainly have not. Do I sound bitter? You betcha! It's been a really depressing week for me. I recently learned that a good friend of mine - the wife of one of my supervisors - has just been diagnosed with cancer. I know all too well from recent experience within my own family that she's potentially in for a rough time. We're also going through some layoffs (or "reduction in force") at my workplace. I know of numerous longtime friends who will shortly be losing their jobs, including at least one in my own area. The world is full of tragedy, but that world seems to get very small when it hits close to home. Life is too short to not enjoy it to its fullest while you can. Until next time... =~=~=~= Meg 1.1 Bonsoir :) Small update of Meg (mailboxes checker and anti-spam filter). Download at http://rajah.atari.org or directly on http://membres.lycos.fr/nef/files/ -> meg11_uk.zip (220 Kb) new features: - bug fix of 'To' and 'Reply-To' field confusion - bug fix of several lines field detection (both tab and space) + new parameter : number of lines of mail body to retrieve for analyse + accessory mode (with no guarantee on stability, prefer APP mode in multitasking environment) + new filter : mail size + new notification type : in AtarICQ window + new notification type : system bell Thanks to Jean-Marc, Pascal & John. Bye Rajah Lone / Renaissance =~=~=~= PEOPLE ARE TALKING compiled by Joe Mirando joe@atarinews.org Hidi ho friends and neighbors. This is the evening of the second anniversary of what will forever be known as the "nine-eleven attacks". I doubt that there is anyone in this country that has not had the scenes from two years ago burned into their memory. Whether you are of the opinion that it was a totally uncalled-for attack, or that America needed or deserved the attacks, you must agree that the loss of life was simply staggering. It's hard to either imagine or justify the carnage that took place, and even harder to imagine the mind that conceived it in the first place. To change the subject a bit, I'm a member of a little group that gets together online every so-often and discusses whatever subject strikes our fancy. For the past few weeks, someone was taken with the idea that we might all really be living in "The Matrix". Yes, that's right, just like the movie. At first I thought it was a silly idea. Or at least that we might actually be able to come to any supportable conclusion seemed silly. But I was quite surprised to see some of the arguments that came out during the discussion. No, I haven't been converted to the idea that we're living inside The Matrix, but the arguments and logical constructs that were presented were quite impressive on their own. I'm not going to spend a lot of time relaying every point, but I think you'll find it interesting if I present one or two points. First of all, on the basis of statistics and probabilities, there's a 50/50 chance that we're living in The Matrix. The argument goes like this... The timeline of human existence had a finite (although unknown, and probably unknowable) beginning, but no end that we know of. Therefore, it's much more likely that we're living in the age of being able to digitally simulate an environment than before that age. In other words, it's more likely that we're living in a simulation of what used to be. Since there's infinitely more time ahead of where we think we are than behind it, we're statistically more likely to be farther along the timeline. Got it? My only contribution to this conversation was the observation that the actions of others which often seem to be totally contrary to logic or common sense might actually be due to either "data collection and dissemination" or "programming" differences. No, none of us taking this very seriously, but the list of logical points made was quite interesting and, truth be told, quite impressive. It's always amazed me that mankind has such a capacity for intellectual pursuits and yet we move (as a society) in such counter-productive ways. Of course, "The Matrix model" WOULD explain how a computer like the venerable 1040 got left behind so quickly... the agent programs just couldn't infiltrate them. Let's get to the news, hints, tips, and info from the UseNet. From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup ==================================== 'Jon' asks about his 'new' hard drive: "I just acquired an ICD FA*ST hard drive from ebay. It did not have a drive in it, but, the power supply and controller are there. I installed an IBM 2 gig scsi drive in it and it seemed to work fine. Now I get random drive restarts and other drive not found errors. Is there a limit to the drive size I can use? Since I don't have the docs to this unit, I am stuck. Is there anyone out there who might have the docs that came with this unit? ICD's web page is of no help. A search of the web couldn't find them either. I'm assuming that I don't have something set right on the drive itself." Jim DeClercq tells Jon: "Maybe it is not a setting. I got four identical drives on E-bay, made by Honeywell. I am now on the fourth one, and it seems to be working OK. The first three apparently started losing speed randomly, and the symptom was files not found. Finally each of them died by stopping, restarting, and finally not restarting. But, every disk checking program I had showed nothing wrong with the drives, until they refused to do anything. I would suggest trying another SCSI drive." Jon tells Jim: "It turned out to be a drive problem. It decided to spin up tonight and not finish initializing. Oh well, thanks for the input on this. I guess I'll be looking for a replacement." Jim replies: "Me too. The "good" drive just lost its file system, will not keep partition type, and announces its name twice, with variations, on a bus rescan. So I need another drive too. Have not seen the dual announce of name before, which HDDriver interpreted as master and slave, I think. Probably a bearing problem, but very hard to get apart." Greg Goodwin asks about his Falcon's floppy drive: "Since I hadn't played with my spare Falcon for a month or so I thought I'd test it before I installed my CT60 into it. It worked fine, save that the floppy light refused to go off (at least most of the time) and upon the first attempt to access any floppy the computer gave a "this disk cannot be read" error. Any ideas what might be ailing the floppy?" Wayne Martz asks Greg: "Have you updated the ABE & SDR chips? The software and schematics for the cable required are at Rudolphe's site. Andreas Pettersson is making Atari versions of the cable necessary for this. The price will be EUR25 plus shipping. It seems to me that it might be related, but I'm not sure." 'Bob' adds a question to the mix: "Has the drive/cable been removed before? possibly its cable was reinstalled upside down. By 'cable' I mean data ribbon cable, not the power cable." Angel Shamshel asks about monitor choices for 520STs: "Can standard Multisync monitors be adapted to the standard 520 and 520 STFM series of computers inexpensively?" Tom McEwan tells Angel: "The ST 13-pin video port outputs analogue RGB, together with separate vertical and horizontal synch pulses (it also SUPPOSEDLY outputs composite synch, but in actual fact it outputs composite video) If your monitor has a composite synch pin only (such as the microvitec "cub" series) you'll need to combine the vertical and horizontal synch pulses - I think this can be done with just a discrete OR gate, which you can make with two diodes and a resistor. The hardest part is getting hold of a 13-pin DIN plug. I haven't found anyone in the UK that still has them in stock, though I don't know how hard they are to get overseas. Of course, if you don't mind cutting an extra port hole in the case, you could remove the 13-pin din socket from the PCB, solder some flying leads into the holes it leaves, and replace it with a 15-pin D or scart connector or something. All these possibilities are relatively inexpensive. Most connectors and cables that you need can be acquired for under a fiver." Djordje Vukovic adds: "To my amazement, very recently I saw those connectors in several shops around here. It seems that they have became fashionable again- something related to CD players (or some other audio equipment) for cars." Stephen Moss adds his thoughts: "If you thinking about VGA or SVGA then adaptors are available for purchase however due to the higher Sync frequencies for these monitors the only resolution that gives a stable and usable output is ST High (monochrome) which is ok for most applications but no good for most games. Try B&C (www.myatari.com) in the US or Atari Workshop (www.atari-workshop.co.uk) in the UK if you want to purchase them although I'm sure other good Atari retailers stock them so trawl the net." Ermans Ermit adds his experience: "These are in the Maplin catalog but that said I asked this question a while ago and was told only the monochrome signal could be handled by a standard multisync, some older ones like the microvitec could handle all three rez's." Tom McEwan jumps back in and posts: "Oh bugger. I was confusing multisync with something else. Sorry. Still, if you've got a scart capable TV, you can always use that..." Ernest Odgen gets philosophical about it: "Yes for the lower two rez's but not the hi rez monochrome, ain't life a bitch? or if you are 40ish or more you probably have a bitch of your own to torment you." 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 - PS2 Sales Hit A Snag?! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" GBA As A Videophone? =~=~=~= ->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" PlayStation 2 Sales Hit a Snag Total shipments worldwide of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 console hit 60 million at the weekend, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The mark was reached on Saturday, September 6, and came almost exactly 3 years and 6 months after the console first hit the streets of Japan at midnight on March 4, 2000. The PlayStation 2 console reached that mark around 1 year and 1 month quicker than its predecessor, the PlayStation. While total shipments continue to rise, the pace at which units are leaving the company's factories is falling. It took four months for total shipments to rise from 40 million to 50 million but it took almost twice as long to ship the next 10 million units. Earlier this year SCEI's parent, Sony, said it expects annual shipments in fiscal year 2003 to be 20 million units, against 22.5 million units last year. This reduction in demand is forcing SCEI to come up with innovations on the basic console to push sales. Earlier this year the company gave the PlayStation 2 its first major overhaul since it went on sale and added read-support for DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW recordable and rewritable optical discs and progressive scan video output. The console was also made quieter and a power button was added to the remote control, making a trip from the couch to switch off the unit an option. There have also been peripherals like a hard drive and broadband adapter, which together with the updated console are all intended to keep the PlayStation 2 looking fresh until the company's PlayStation 3 is ready. At present it looks like the new console won't hit the market until at least 2004 - a three year investment plan for semiconductor lines that will manufacture its central processor was only formalized in April this year. The largest PlayStation 2 market for SCEI has proved to be North America. Around 26.4 million units have been shipped to the U.S. and Canada. Europe has been the destination for around 19.4 million consoles while the vast majority of the remaining 14.2 million consoles have been shipped domestically in Japan. A small number of this final group have also gone to South Korea and other Asian countries where the console is sold, the company said. Game Boy Advance Can Work As Videophone Nintendo Co.'s Game Boy Advance hand-held machine will work as a videophone with an attachment that comes with a digital camera, earphone and microphone and is expected to go on sale in December only in Japan. The Campho Advance from Kyoto-based Digital Act Co., which makes mobile and Internet equipment, slips into the top of the Game Boy Advance just like any video-game cassette. When connected to an analog telephone outlet, the display shows live video of the person on the other end of the line, who must also own both the Game Boy Advance and the Campho Advance. Your own image will show up in the corner of the display. Campho Advance, which will be priced at 13,000 yen ($110), requires no Internet service provider. Developers, who are also working on a broadband device, have no plans to sell them outside Japan so far, Digital Act spokesman Kazuhisa Saito said Friday. =~=~=~= A-ONE's Headline News The Latest in Computer Technology News Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Season's First 9/11 Anniversary Worm Appears Security firms have detected the first of the season's 9/11 anniversary worms this week, and more are likely to follow. The worm, dubbed W32/Neroma@MM and Worm/Icebut.A by security vendors, typically shows 'Nice butt, baby!' in the e-mail message's body, displays the subject heading 'It's Near 911!', and disguises its payload as an attachment with the .jpg extension. Although the extension may fool some people into thinking it's a digital image - and launching the file - it's actually an executable that installs on the infected machine. If recipients open this attachment, Neroma will try to delete files on the 1st, 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th, 24th, and 28th day of each month. Neroma propagates by mailing itself to addresses it culls from an infected system's Microsoft Outlook address book. Although Neroma has been characterized as a minor threat by security firms - Sophos on Friday noted in a statement that "it poses a low threat to customers who practice safe computing" - it's likely only the first of several viruses and worms that will try to spread using 9/11 as an enticement to get recipients to open attachments. Anti-virus companies have urged users to update their definition files to protect themselves against the worm. New York Times Hacker Surrenders A 22-year-old who admits to hacking into corporate computer networks turned himself in to federal authorities in California on Tuesday to face charges related to breaking into the internal network of The New York Times newspaper. Adrian Lamo, who has won praise from some companies for locating and helping fix security holes in corporate networks, drew a complaint instead from the New York Times Co. He could face fines and prison time under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, which outlaws unauthorized access to computer networks. Lamo, who has no permanent address, surrendered to the U.S. Marshall's Service at federal court in Sacramento, where he was booked and ordered to appear before a federal magistrate, according to Patty Pontello, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. His case will likely be transferred to New York where the complaint was initiated, she said. Lamo told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday that he faces computer-trespass charges for hacking into the New York Times network in February 2002 and accessing employee records and phone numbers and Social Security numbers of editorial page contributors. Lamo discovered holes in corporate networks of Excite@Home Corp., Yahoo Inc. and WorldCom, among others, often through laser printers and other unlikely entry points. Lamo often offered to help fix the holes for free, but also sought publicity by notifying the media. While WorldCom, now known as MCI, expressed gratitude for his work, the New York Times lodged a complaint, he said. The newspaper has declined to comment other than to say it is cooperating with law enforcement authorities. "I don't think that what I have done is wrong, but I understand that my actions have consequences," Lamo said on Monday. Lamo's defense is likely to be the "white-hat hacker" defense, said Mark Rasch, former head of the computer crime unit at the U.S. Department of Justice. White-hat hacker is a term used for people who work to protect computers from attack while "black-hat hackers" are those who attempt to break into them. However, the law focuses on the intent to break into the computer, not the motive, said Rasch, who is chief security counsel for Solutionary, a computer security company. "It's like a guy who sees the keys in the car in a parking lot, opens the door, takes the keys out and hides them under a mat and leaves a note," he said. "It's not a valid defense." Microsoft Admits New Windows Problem Moments before a top Microsoft executive told Congress about efforts to improve security, the company warned on Wednesday of new flaws that leave its flagship Windows software vulnerable to Internet attacks similar to the Blaster virus that infected hundreds of millions of computers last month. Microsoft urged customers to immediately apply a free repairing patch from its Web site, www.microsoft.com The company cautioned that hackers could seize control over a victim's computer by attacking these flaws, which affect Windows technology that allows computers to communicate with others across a network. "We definitely want people to apply this one," said Jeff Jones, Microsoft's senior director for trustworthy computing. Outside researchers and Microsoft's own internal reviews discovered the new flaws after the Blaster infection, he said. Outside experts said some flaws were nearly identical to problems exploited by the Blaster worm, which spread last month with devastating damage. Computer users who applied an earlier patch in July to protect themselves still must install the new patch from Microsoft. "They're as close as you can be without being the same," said Marc Maiffret, an executive at eEye Digital Security Inc. of Aliso Viejo, Calif., one of three research groups credited with discovering some of the new problems. "It's definitely a big oversight on Microsoft's part that they missed these." Maiffret speculated that because of the similarities, hackers could launch attacks against unprotected systems as early as day's end. "It's going to be trivial," he said. "This is an instant replay of a few weeks ago." A vice president at Network Associates Inc., Robin Matlock, agreed that corporations, government agencies and home users will race the clock before the next attack. "Without a doubt, this is a nasty vulnerability. It could easily be exploited," she said. "Administrators are under more pressure here to move quickly." The disclosure by Microsoft came just moments before its senior security strategist, Phil Reitinger, told lawmakers on the House Government Reform technology subcommittee about the company's efforts to help consumers defend themselves against viruses and other Internet attacks. "Microsoft is committed to continuing to strengthen our software to make it less vulnerable to attack," said Reitinger, a former deputy chief in the Justice Department's cybercrime division. Still, he acknowledged, "There is no such thing as completely secure software." Reitinger told lawmakers about the new flaws and said that Microsoft is considering changing Windows to install software repairs automatically; currently, computer users are notified when updates are available and reminded to manually click to install them. Microsoft said Windows users who follow the company's new security guidelines it published on its Web site at www.microsoft.com/protect should be safe until they install the latest patch. The company plans a Webcast on Friday to discuss the latest threat. The July announcement from Microsoft about the earlier software flaw in the same Windows technology was deemed so serious it led to separate warnings from the FBI and Homeland Security Department. About three weeks later, unidentified hackers unleashed the earliest version of the Blaster infection. "The damage done was real," said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., adding that the attacks disrupted computers at the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, Maryland's motor vehicle agency and the Minnesota transportation department. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., said the attacks in August nearly crippled the House of Representatives' e-mail system and "likely inhibited our nation's ability to adequately respond to the vast power outage" this summer. Also during Wednesday's hearing, a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general bristled over suggestions by Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., that the government's lackluster record making arrests after major Internet attacks indicates it does not consider them serious threats. Such investigations are enormously complicated and frequently point overseas at sophisticated hackers skilled at covering their digital footprints, John Malcolm said. Recording Industry Puts Major File Sharers Square in Its Sights After years of denial, the recording industry has finally begun to deal with the file-sharing situation in a realistic, mature way. No, the major labels aren't selling their entire catalogues online for a dollar or less a track, free of pointless usage restrictions. The news isn't that good. But after years of trying to criminalize hardware and software that can be used to steal music - never mind other, legal uses - the Recording Industry Association of America is going after the people who actually publish copyrighted work online. Over the past few months, the RIAA and its hires have been logging onto peer-to-peer networks to identify users sharing large collections of MP3 music files. Sometime in the next few days, the D.C.-based trade association will start suing these people. Many MP3 listeners are shocked, shocked about this strategy. They shouldn't be. The RIAA is doing what many observers have asked it to - use established laws to defend its interests instead of lobbying for special treatment and new legislation to elevate its rights above those of mere citizens. (Granted, the RIAA is exploiting some dubious provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to force Internet providers to reveal file sharers' identities, allowing it to see who makes the best lawsuit bait before going to court. But it could get by without this shortcut; "John Doe" lawsuits would just take longer and run the risk of occasionally nailing a senator's or judge's kid.) Cary Sherman, the RIAA's outgoing president, said Thursday that the association's objective is deterrence. "This is not a program that's intended to inflict vengeance. It's intended to send a message," he said. Copyright law provides for a wide spectrum of awards, from actual monetary loss to $150,000 per copyrighted work infringed. Sherman said the RIAA "will just ask the court to assess appropriate damages." Half the people who download MP3s wind up buying as many or more CDs as before, according to Forrester Research, so "actual monetary loss" could equate to zero. But how many users want to take their chances on a judge comprehending how peer-to-peer services can be like what FM radio once was? In the modern American legal system, of course, damages are somewhat irrelevant: The cost of legal representation makes it cheaper for many defendants to accept whatever settlement a plaintiff offers. "We expect that we will be reaching a lot of settlements," Sherman said. "We do not intend to be unreasonable or vindictive." Reportedly, the association will also pledge not to sue users it hasn't yet identified who admit their guilt and delete illicit downloads. The RIAA's lawsuit strategy focuses on the easiest part of the problem - the users who offer MP3 collections on public networks for strangers to download, instead of the people downloading these files. As a result, the lawsuits will probably work in one important way - even if users don't stop downloading music, many will be scared out of sharing their own MP3s, which will then constrict the inventory of songs available on these networks. "If you're not going to uninstall the [file-sharing] software, at least check the box that says do not share," said Sherman. One user has already drawn that conclusion. "I do not share," said Michael Weiss, chief executive of StreamCast Networks, the Woodland Hills, Calif., developer of the Morpheus file-sharing program. He said it would be foolish to be such an obvious target: "We can't compromise our position in this battle." Weiss did not answer a question about the ethics of file sharing. But it's not enough for the major labels to be feared by music fans. They also need to give people a reason to like them after the legal bloodletting is done. Here, the RIAA is wrong to say paid music services offer convenience comparable to peer-to-peer networks. Consider the example of a music listener who recently bought a song on the one site to let Windows users buy major-label songs without a subscription. "I'm trying to make my kids legal, really I am," wrote Ashburn resident Jane Ellis in an e-mail. But after going to BuyMusic.com, installing the required Windows Media Player 9 software (which left her PC half-crippled) and making her purchase, she found that it wouldn't play on her Rio digital-music player. So what did Ellis do? The RIAA won't like this: "I read somewhere [that] my son could now go to Kazaa legally and download the song we paid for, since I now owned its license, so he ended up doing that." It's nuts that legitimate music services force users back to file-sharing networks to get a usable download. But too often, that's easier than playing by the rules. Even Apple's generally well-done iTunes Music Store doesn't let you convert purchases directly to MP3 format, a necessary step to play them on a non-iPod player or stream them to any of the wireless digital-music receivers now entering the market. There's one exception, and its parent company actually owns one of the major record labels. Vivendi Universal's Emusic.com Web site lets users download all the MP3s they want, with zero usage restrictions, for $9.99 a month on a one-year subscription. But neither Vivendi's Universal Music Group nor any other major label sells music on this site, leaving it to independent and minor labels. If these operations, with far fewer resources than any of the majors, can make a go of selling unrestricted downloads, why should it be so hard for their larger competitors? How much longer will it take these companies to listen to what their customers are trying to tell them? Students Scared, Angry Over Piracy Lawsuits Anger, defiance and fear were the main reactions of college students on Tuesday after the music industry said it was suing 261 individuals for swapping illegal copies of songs over the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday it sued individuals across the United States for as much as $150,000 per song distributed online, targeting the biggest users, those with large libraries of pirated music. "If kids start getting arrested and dragged out of dorms and fined, other kids will definitely think twice before doing it," Eric Cioe, a biology student at New York University, told Reuters outside the university's library. But other students at NYU, located in the city where 70 of the 261 lawsuits were filed, were outraged. Many college students upload music and make it available to others on the Internet through file-sharing programs such as Kazaa and iMesh. The new lawsuits switch the record industry's focus from those file-sharing companies to the users of file-sharing programs instead. "This is insane, they can't just hack into our systems and track our activities. It's our property," said Lucy Chen, a sociology student who thinks downloading free music is fair because compact discs are overpriced. RIAA members include the "Big Six" record companies: Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group; Sony Corp.'s Sony Music; AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music; Bertelsmann AG'sBMG; and EMI Group Plc. The companies have promised to file thousands more lawsuits in the coming months against individuals who swap music. The industry believes minimizing file-sharing will stem the three-year decline in global recorded music sales. Music companies and national trade bodies are pursuing individual lawsuits in Denmark, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. But the blanket region-wide lawsuit strategy, for now, will play out only in the United States where the music industry estimates roughly 90 percent of all file-sharers reside. "I'm very worried about my brother at Johns Hopkins University. He's very involved in file-sharing and would have to get a lawyer if he gets into trouble," said one pre-law student at NYU. Four university students who were sued earlier this year for operating campuswide music-sharing programs reached settlements under which they will pay between $12,000 and $17,500 to the recording industry. College students have access to "peer-to-peer" networks on university computer systems which enable them to swap music with thousands of people. "When we want to check our e-mail, we can barely connect because people are using up bandwidth to share music with 15,000 people. It's annoying," Cioe said. Another student who refused to be identified said he uploads music and shares files, but is not concerned by the new lawsuits. "I consider myself technologically savvy, and I know how to erase my tracks," he said. RIAA also unveiled an amnesty program for individuals not currently under investigation which would remove the threat of prosecution from those who promise to refrain from such activity in the future and erase all copyrighted music they have downloaded. Still, law student Erica Olsen said downloading music is her best option. "Often, I just want one song from a CD, and I don't want to pay 22 bucks for it. I don't think any amount of legislation is going to force us to buy CDs." Senator Questions RIAA Crusade The music labels may have to find another way of getting the names of suspected file-swappers than wresting them from ISPs. Invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to get customer names from ISPs doesn't even require a judge's supervision, notes Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. He suggests copyright-holders and ISPs come up with another way to protect songs and movies online. The comment comes a day after the music industry announced lawsuits against 261 U.S. residents accused of uploading thousands of songs. Hatch says he agrees with many of the concerns raised by in a Tuesday committee hearing by William Barr, general counsel of Verizon Communications. The ISP has fought subpoenas from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as the music labels sought out copyright violations. After losing two court rulings, Verizon handed over the names of four customers accused of heavy song swapping over peer-to-peer networks. The latitude under the DMCA is so broad, government prosecutors don't have the same freedom to subpoena criminals that the RIAA has to subpoena suspected copyright violators, Barr told the Senate Judiciary committee. Any copyright holder can request DMCA subpoenas through a court clerk and without a hearing before a judge. Without a judge to oversee the subpoena, nothing stops stalkers or pedophiles from claiming to be copyright-holders and getting the names of Internet users, Barr says. "Given the sweeping nature of this power, deputizing commercially interested individuals to go out and do this kind of thing, abuses aren't just possible, abuses are inevitable," Barr told the committee. After Barr's testimony, Hatch asked for bimonthly updates over the next six months from the RIAA, Verizon, and other interested groups on whether the subpoenas are being abused and what alternatives Congress might consider. The issue has not "ripened enough" for Congress to decide whether the DMCA went too far, Hatch added. But Hatch also said he agrees with much of Barr's testimony. "We need both of your ideas on how to solve this, because much of what (Barr) says I agree with," he told RIAA and Verizon representatives. "But the RIAA should not have to put up with wholesale pirating of its content." Both sides have good points, and Congress should be able to come up with a compromise solution to protect copyrights, Hatch added. "I have no doubt that (the DMCA) is not perfect," Hatch said. "On the other hand, I think we may be able to resolve some of these problems in a way that would be mutually beneficial." RIAA President Cary Sherman and Marybeth Peters, register of copyrights of the U.S. Copyright Office, both defend the DMCA subpoenas. Peters calls the DMCA provision "appropriate and constitutional," and Sherman says the subpoenas are part of a compromise when the DMCA was drafted, intended to protect ISPs from being sued by copyright-holders. Peer-to-peer users should not expect privacy because they commit "privacy suicide" by opening their hard drives to millions of other users, Sherman says. "No one has a privacy right to engage on copyright infringement on the Internet, and illegally sharing or downloading copyrighted music online is not a form of free speech or civil disobedience protected by the First Amendment," he says. On Monday, the RIAA announced it had filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 261 U.S. residents, each suspected of uploading an average of 1000 songs to peer-to-peer sites. On Tuesday, the RIAA announced it has settled with the first of those 261 accused pirates. It reached a deal with the mother of a 12-year-old girl who had allegedly offered more than 1000 songs to a peer-to-peer network from the family's PC. The New York woman agreed to pay the RIAA $2000, according to Amy Weiss, an RIAA spokesperson. Music Firms, DJ Offer to Pay 12-Year-Old's Fine Several Internet music services and a disc jockey have offered to reimburse a New York woman who paid $2,000 to settle charges that her 12-year-old daughter illegally copied music online. A coalition of several "peer to peer" song-swapping networks said on Thursday it trying to locate Sylvia Torres so it could pay the legal settlement she reached with the Recording Industry Association of America on Tuesday. Rochester, New York radio disc jockey Brother Wease also offered to pay Torres' legal bill, and online music retailer MusicRebellion.com said it would allow Torres' daughter, Brianna Lahara, to download $2,000 worth of free music from its industry-sanctioned site. However, the would-be benefactors all said they would not extend their offers to the 260 other individuals who face RIAA lawsuits for copying music through Kazaa, Grokster and other peer-to-peer networks. An RIAA spokesman declined to comment on the offers. Lahara, a Manhattan honor student who offered Madonna's "Material Girl" and some 1,000 other songs through Kazaa, has emerged as something of a poster girl for those who denounce the RIAA's legal campaign as heavy-handed. "Out of all the millions of people who have downloaded, some girl in a housing project in New York City has got to come up with two grand?" said Wease, who offered to help through his charitable children's fund. "I just feel that these people are bullies," said Grokster President Wayne Rosso, a member of the P2P United trade group, which offered to pay Torres' bill. "They're like the show-business version of the Taliban." RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said the recording industry was not targeting 12-year-olds. The only information it had when it filed the suits was the name and address of the Internet account holder, he added. "The objective of this campaign is not to win a popularity contest, but to communicate a message of deterrence so people realize there can be consequences to this illegal behavior," Lamy said. Rosso said the industry should try to work out a solution with Grokster and other peer-to-peer networks so record labels can be paid for the billions of songs downloaded monthly. One solution could be a flat, per-song royalty rate similar to that paid by radio stations and Webcasters, he said. Lamy said a flat-fee approach would be impossible because it would have to encompass movies, books and other copyrighted material traded online, as well as take foreign users into account. Traffic has remained steady on peer-to-peer networks since the lawsuits were filed, officials at the networks said. Microsoft Settles Be Antitrust Suit Microsoft will pay Be more than $23 million after attorneys' fees to settle an antitrust lawsuit that the maker of the Be operating system filed against in February 2002, the companies have announced. Microsoft admitted no wrongdoing in the mediated settlement in which all other terms remained confidential, the companies say in a statement. The case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, in Baltimore. The suit by Be, which developed a PC operating system, charged Microsoft with "exclusionary and anticompetitive acts designed to maintain its monopoly in the Intel-compatible PC operating system market," according to Be's statement when the suit was filed. Be emerged as a developer of operating system software in 1997. The company sold its operating system and most of its assets to Palm in 2001. Be's case is one of several vendor suits filed in the wake of the federal antitrust case against Microsoft. A federal judge declared in 2000 first that Microsoft enjoys a monopoly in the operating system business, and then that it had abused that status. The ruling was later upheld by a U.S. Court of Appeals. Be originally marketed its software as a Windows alternative that was better suited than Microsoft Windows for digital video and other multimedia applications. The company tried to cut deals with vendors of Intel-based PCs to load the BeOS along with Windows through a dual-boot configuration. Be claims it was unsuccessful at closing such contracts because Microsoft had signed anticompetitive contracts with its industry partners. One provision in the settlement of the federal antitrust case against Microsoft was that the software company had to loosen its licensing provisions with PC vendors. Microsoft is also prohibited from retaliating against vendors that work with competing software vendors. In May, Microsoft settled a similar claim with Netscape, now owned by America Online Time Warner. Netscape also cited the federal antitrust case, and argued that Microsoft had bundled its competing Internet Explorer browser with Windows a way that harmed Netscape's Navigator Web browser business. Since the federal case was settled, Microsoft has also been working to settle dozens of similar complaints, including class-action suits. Apple Sued by The Beatles Over iPod, ITMS Apple Computer Inc. is being sued by Apple Corps. The parent company for music legends, The Beatles, has begun legal proceedings against Apple Computer, citing breach of contract for the suit, according to Fox News. Apparently when Apple Computer first started, The Beatles sued them for the use of the corporate name. In addition to a hefty cash settlement, Apple agreed to only use the corporate name for computer products and not enter the music markeplace. Years later, The Beatles sued and won another lawsuit when Apple shipped computers that allowed music to be played through attachable speakers. That lawsuit charged breach of a trademark agreement since Apple had agreed to steer clear of the music business. Fox News estimates Apple has paid US$50 million in the lost suits so far. The latest round of legal proceedings surround Apple's popular MP3 player, the iPod and the iTunes Music Store, which just sold its 10 millionth song online. "When it first happened with the iPod, we said, "What could they be thinking?" said a Beatles legal insider, who agreed that posters announcing the iPod from "AppleMusic" were among the most egregious violations. "They knew we had the agreement, and that we'd won a lot of money from them already." Pennsylvania Won't Force Providers to Block Porn Facing a federal lawsuit filed by two civil liberties groups, Pennsylvania's attorney general agreed Tuesday to stop sending notices that forced Internet providers to block access to hundreds of child porn Web sites, but vowed to use the state courts to achieve the same result. Sean Connolly, a spokesman for state Attorney General Mike Fisher, said the "informal" notices are part of a policy developed in concert with the providers. "We are perfectly willing to obtain a court order to stop child pornography," Connolly said after U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois in Philadelphia approved the agreement. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Washington-based Center for Democracy & Technology and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania contends that forcing Internet providers to block access to child porn Web sites also cuts off access to legitimate sites for subscribers across the country. It said Fisher's notice policy constituted a "system of secret censorship" that went unchecked by state courts. "Child pornography has no place in a civilized society. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania's Web-blocking law does little to stop child pornography but does a great deal to violate the protections of the First Amendment," said Alan Davidson, associate director of the Center for Democracy & Technology. The civil liberties groups and a third plaintiff - Doylestown, Pa.-based Internet provider Plantagenet Inc. - asked the court to declare both the notice policy and the law unconstitutional because they interfere with free speech and interstate commerce. The lawsuit challenges a system of notices Fisher's office sends to providers to block access to sites it considers child pornography. If a provider does not respond to the notice, the office can then seek a court order under a 2002 state law that authorizes the blocks and imposes a first-offense fine of $5,000 for noncompliance. The lawsuit asks the court to invalidate both the policy and the law, saying they interfere with free speech and interstate commerce. It also seeks to invalidate the notices that Connolly said have resulted in blocking 725 sites as of Tuesday. Under the agreement approved at a hearing Tuesday, the attorney general's office agreed to notify the plaintiffs five days before requesting a court order to block a Web site. Among the companies that have received such orders are Comcast Communications Inc., EarthLink Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Only one - WorldCom Inc. - has protested the notice, and a county judge subsequently ordered it to comply. According to the lawsuit, the only way most Internet providers can block access to a particular Web site is to block its server computer, which may be shared with unrelated Web sites - preventing subscribers from viewing any of those sites. And such blocks can apply to all of a provider's subscribers, not just Pennsylvanians covered by the law. A study by Harvard University researcher Benjamin Edelman found that more than 85 percent of Web addresses ending in ".com," ".net" or ".org" share computer resources behind the scenes at Internet companies with one or more other Web sites. The number of non-pornographic sites affected by Fisher's actions remains unknown. Fisher's office has turned down requests for a list of the blocked sites on grounds that such a disclosure would itself be disseminating child pornography, which is illegal under federal law. SCO Letter: 'Stop Hack Attacks' After a brief lull, the battle between SCO Group and the Linux community over software copyrights and intellectual property resumed Tuesday when SCO Group CEO Darl McBride wrote an open letter to open-source software users. In the letter, McBride says the SCO Group's Web site has been hit with three denial-of-service attacks within the past four months. The attacks prevented Web users from accessing the company's Web site and doing business with SCO Group. McBride's letter says, "There is no question about the affiliation of the attacker - Open Source leader Eric Raymond was quoted as saying that he was contacted by the perpetrator and that 'he's one of us.' To Mr. Raymond's partial credit, he asked the attacker to stop. However, he has yet to disclose the identity of the perpetrator so that justice can be done." While some accuse McBride of using the Web and the media to perpetuate his company's claim that its Unix System V source was illegally used to enhance the Linux kernel in the absence of any court ruling, others say McBride's letter made several good points. One point not to be overlooked, analysts say, is that the Linux community may be pushing its luck by attacking SCO Group's Web site and resorting to other forms of cyberterrorism. "This is an issue that's not going away for the open-source community," says Bill Claybrook, the Aberdeen Group's open-source research director. "I'm not a big fan of the way SCO Group is doing what they're doing, but I thought Darl did a good job of outlining things in the GPL model that people have been concerned about." This includes a lack of protection that Linux providers such as Red Hat and IBM offer their customers against intellectual-property infringement claims and lawsuits. If a company is selling someone else's intellectual property, the customer should know that, Claybrook says. "This is something that should be considered by the open-source community as Linux moves into enterprises." SCO Group's lawsuits against IBM and Red Hat have helped the company incur the wrath of an entire IT movement, and no letter or justification will change everyone's mind at this point, says Laura DiDio, a Yankee Group senior analyst. "I think all of the different participants have made up their minds and gone to their respective corners." Some wonder if the Linux community is damaging its cause through such aggressive behavior. "This is going to hurt the open-source community's credibility as a whole," DiDio says. "I can't attest to SCO's claims, but they have the right to file a lawsuit." Symantec Launches Norton Upgrade Security authority Symantec has launched a new collection of products based on the company's well-known Norton Utilities line, with an emphasis on tools for protecting users against Internet-based attacks from the outside, along with safeguards for internal hardware. Among the products is Norton Internet Security 2004, a software package scheduled for release in mid-September that includes Symantec's latest antivirus, firewall, intrusion-detection, privacy-protection and spam-filtering applications. The bundle's main component is Norton AntiVirus 2004, with improved threat-detection technology that identifies emerging non-virus attacks, such as spyware, adware and keystroke-logging programs. It scans both incoming and outgoing e-mail and automatically removes viruses, worms and Trojan-horse infections, as well as viruses hidden in message attachments - all of which have become major headaches in recent months. The latest Internet Security offering features a new Norton AntiSpam application that automatically detects and filters out unwanted commercial e-mail, or spam, at the desktop. Also offered as a stand-alone, this application offers full integration with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora. A programmable filtering engine is able to "learn" what is and is not spam by analyzing the user's outgoing e-mail messages. Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall has been upgraded to guard laptop users from online threats, regardless of the network being used. When a user connects to a new or previously saved network, the software automatically adjusts the firewall settings accordingly. The Internet Security suite represents a response to the emergence of blended threats, with viruses like SoBig spreading through e-mail, and others being contracted through infected Web sites or servers. Intrusion detection, especially, adds a layer of protection inside the firewall by searching for malicious code that can penetrate the wall. Norton SystemWorks 2004, the latest iteration of Symantec's software package for internal security, features the new version of Norton AntiVirus, a new Norton Password Manager, Norton Utilities and Norton CleanSweep. It is becoming more difficult to determine where threats are coming from, with the Internet now generating a lot of damaging traffic, said Yankee Group analyst Matthew Kovar. "This may be a move by Symantec to become more targeted with their security components," he told NewsFactor. The anti-spam product is a good idea since most companies are inundated with spam messages and they are now causing some serious problems, he added. "Spam is not something that you can write a signature for," said Kovar. "In that sense, it's different than a virus and requires a solution that is more intelligent and can do an analysis of the message content." While most people can comprehend antivirus applications, the analyst said, Symantec has prioritized its security components to address particular threats. "Marketing to spam is a good idea now, and combining a spam filter with perimeter security offers a greater measure of protection." Apple Announces New, Faster iMacs Apple on Monday announced new, faster iMac desktop computers with PowerPC G4 processors running up to 1.25 GHz, faster 333 MHz DDR memory, faster NVIDIA graphics and the move to the faster USB 2.0 standard. "The theme is to take the ultimate computer for working with digital hub applications and make it even faster," Greg Joswiak, vice president of hardware product marketing, told MacCentral. The 15-inch model is equipped with a 1GHz G4, while the 17-inch will have the 1.25GHz G4 processor. Both models include 256MB of faster DDR SDRAM running at 333 MHz and an 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard disk drive. The 17-inch model also includes NVIDIA's GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB of DDR video memory. The iMac also supports AirPort Extreme 802.11g wireless networking and optional built-in Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. Even though Apple upgraded the iMac with the newer USB 2.0 standard, they did not included FireWire 800, opting instead to equip the machines with the older FireWire 400. "We view FireWire 800 primarily as a pro feature," said Joswiak. Software included on the new iMacs include Mac OS X "Jaguar," Apple's iLife applications, Quicken 2003 Deluxe, World Book 2003 Edition and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. The iMacs are available immediately in the following configurations: The 15-inch flat panel iMac, for a suggested retail price of US$1,299, includes: 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine; * 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM; * 32x Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive; * NVIDIA GeForce4 MX graphics processor with 32MB video memory; * two FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports; * internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth; * 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive running at 7200 rpm; and * Apple Pro Speakers. The 17-inch widescreen flat-panel iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 includes: * 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine; * 256MB of 333 MHz DDR SDRAM; * 4x SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW optical drive; * NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB video memory; * two FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports; * internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth; * 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive running at 7200 rpm; and * Apple Pro Speakers. Lotus Readies 'Really Cool' New Notes Later this month IBM Lotus will release the latest version of the Notes client featuring what it describes as some "really cool" usability additions. The major enhancement in Lotus Notes 6.5 is embedded instant messaging capabilities for users of Lotus Instant Messaging (formerly called Sametime). They will no longer need to launch a standalone Lotus Instant Messaging client but can initiate a meeting, chat or manage their buddy lists directly within Notes. The integration will let users do the following: --Dynamically chat with people not entered on their static buddy list by performing a directory name search from within Notes. --Dynamically update their buddy lists from a selected object. For example, users can add the sender and other recipients' name from within an e-mail. --See who is online and their current status from within inboxes and individual e-mails. Domino developers will also have the ability to tap the new integration capabilities. "You can build any of this functionality into your own Domino application in as easy as three clicks of the mouse," said Alan Lepofsky, IBM Lotus senior technical marketing manager. The integration benefits a relatively small, but growing, segment of the roughly 100 million Notes clients deployed today. About 10 million users are running Lotus Instant Messaging, executives said. But Lotus hopes closer IM ties in the Notes client will give organizations a compelling reason to deploy Lotus Instant Messaging. Among the other changes to the new Notes is an enhanced welcome page. The top screen will now contain multiple, customizable information tabs, allowing users to toggle back and forth to different screens. One view could contain "quick glance information" like important e-mails and calendar items, another might include key collaboration tools like the e-mail inbox and address book, and a third may feature team activities such as bookmarks to discussion boards, collaborative workspaces or databases. Users can configure individual welcome pages or administrators can standardize on a single page for their entire organization. Admins can then lock down that page using the policy-based admin capabilities included in Notes/Domino 6. Notes 6.5 also delivers search capabilities from within the client, allowing users to search the Web or a Notes database. A "launcher" feature lets users drag and drop frequently used applications, links or documents into a designated area where they can quickly activate those items. Also new: --Reply and forward tabs in the inbox --Follow-up functionality in e-mails, with the ability to set an alarm or gain a "mini-view" of follow-up items --The ability to filter for unread e-mails --Capabilities that let users populate a calendar entry by dragging and dropping an e-mail into the calendar icon Lotus considers Notes 6.5 part of its Workplace product line. The first Workplace offering, Lotus Workplace Messaging, shipped in May. Judge Rebuffs Legal Challenge to Pop-Up Ads A federal judge has rejected a legal challenge by truck and trailer rental company U-Haul to pop-up Internet advertisements, in a ruling that could embolden providers of the ads. U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, in a ruling handed down on Friday, dismissed U-Haul's lawsuit, which sought to ban software by Internet advertising company WhenU that launched rival pop-up ads when customers access U-Haul's Web site. Lee said the ads don't violate the law because WhenU's software didn't copy or use U-Haul's trademark or copyright material, and because computer users themselves had chosen to download the pop-up software. "While at first blush this detour in the user's Web search seems like a siphon-off of a business opportunity, the fact is that the computer user consented to this detour when the user downloaded WhenU's computer software from the Internet," Lee said. Arizona-based U-Haul, a unit of AMERCO Inc., filed the lawsuit against WhenU in October last year in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, claiming the ads were a violation of its trademarks and copyrights and also violated unfair competition laws. If other courts reach the same conclusion as Lee, it would remove a potential obstacle for companies like WhenU and Gator Corp., which also offers software that triggers pop-up ads related to Internet addresses a user visits. The pop-up software comes packaged with free software such as screen savers. It monitors the addresses a user is visiting. When it detects a Web site like U-Haul's, the software may interrupt by displaying an offer from a rival company. U-Haul's lawsuit sought both monetary damages and an injunction barring the pop-up ads running on its Web sites. WhenU described Lee's ruling as "very favorable." "This is a victory for consumer choice - it ultimately protects consumers' right to control what they see on their computer screens," WhenU chief executive Avi Naider said in a statement. U-Haul issued a statement expressing disappointment about the ruling, but insisting that Web site owners "have the right to display their Web sites without having their sites hidden behind such invasive advertisements. "We are currently evaluating our options for appeal," the company's statement says. Judge Lee acknowledged that pop-up ads are often troublesome and annoying. "Alas, we computer users must endure pop-up advertising along with her ugly brother unsolicited bulk e-mail, 'spam', as a burden of using the Internet," he wrote. =~=~=~= 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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