The bird
Eutelsat has launched e-Bird, which it claims is "Europe's first satellite specially designed for the provision of two-way broadband communications". It should increase the availability of broadband internet in regions beyond the reach of ADSL and cable. The satellite will come into service next month at 33 East, very close to Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5 East. Eurobird broadcasts to almost 7m homes in the UK. Eutelsat says it will therefore be possible to bundle its digital television and radio channels with one-way broadband internet services through a double-feed receive antenna. www.eutelsat.com
Longhorn round-up
Microsoft plans to reveal details of its next Windows operating system, codenamed Longhorn, at its Professional Developers' Conference in Los Angeles later this month. Longhorn, which is not expected until 2005, will differ from current versions of Windows by integrating all information sources - such as documents, emails and application help files - in a powerful SQL Server-based database. This will allow a single search to reveal every stored reference to a searched-for word or phrase. Longhorn will have an NUI or "natural user interface" that is expected to include speech and handwriting recognition, and natural language processing, as well as a pseudo-3D appearance. The NUI, codenamed Aero, will probably not be part of the beta test code Microsoft gives PDC attendees, but they will get a first beta of its next Visual Studio suite, codenamed Whidbey. http://msdn.microsoft.com/events/pdc
Creative office
Adobe Systems has announced the equivalent of Microsoft Office for graphics professionals. The Adobe Creative Suite brings together new versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and GoLive with integration software called Version Cue. This acts as a repository for files that can be shared by workgroups of up to 10 users. Adobe trialled the system by launching similar bundles in Italy last year.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe
Worms turned
Red Hat is modifying the Linux kernel to make it harder to plant worms that exploit buffer overflows. When a user inputs data, it is stored in a section of memory called a buffer. If the size of the buffer is not controlled, an overlong string of characters can "overflow" and overwrite program code with new instructions, allowing a hacker to break in. This only works if the buffer and the code always hold the same relative positions in memory. Red Hat's Position Independent Executables (PIE) system loads program elements in different relative positions each time they run, causing buffer overflows to fail. PIE will be a feature of the forthcoming release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. www.redhat.com/whitepapers
Oracle wizards
Oracle is simplifying the configuration of its supply chain management applications and improving the integration with its CRM (customer relationship management) software. Setting up the Oracle Supply Chain Planning 11i system currently takes weeks, but the addition of automated tools will reduce this to days, the company claims. The rules-based "wizard" builds up a picture of what the implementer hopes to achieve, and then guides the configuration process. Oracle is also improving information exchanges between its applications so customer intelligence gained through the CRM software can be transferred to the supply chain products. Oracle is also preparing its CRM system to handle radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. www.oracle.com/applications/B2B
Doom time
Current IT monocultures are unhealthy and could lead to a global business collapse, says a report from the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which is supported by Microsoft rivals such as Sun Microsystems and Oracle. The report, penned by seven US security experts, argues that if most of the world's computers are running Microsoft's operating systems and applications, then they are all vulnerable to the same threats at the same time. The report points out that this is true of any monoculture, and recommends governments encourage and legislate for diversity, to reduce the threat posed by malicious or terrorist activities. The report quotes IT security firm mi2g as estimating the SoBig worm cost businesses nearly $30bn. www.ccianet.org/papers/cyberinsecurity.pdf
Spam site finder
The internet's address control body Icann has joined those criticising VeriSign, the US firm that controls .com and .net addresses, for redirecting requests for non-existent domains to its site SiteFinder. Icann has asked VeriSign to suspend SiteFinder, which suggests alternatives and offers links to other search engines. Previously, users entering a nonexistent .com or .net domain would see an error message produced by their browser. Critics say SiteFinder hits the effectiveness of anti-spam software, which detects spam by checking if an email's domain of origin actually exists, as SiteFinder makes all .com and .net domains appear valid.
