Intel due to launch 64-bit Xeon on Monday

Following last week's introduction of new desktop PC systems, Intel is expected to drop the other shoe on Monday, with the launch of 64-bit x86 Xeon processors and support chips for workstations and servers, as InternetNews reports. This is a bit of a climbdown for Intel, which is trying to move to a new 64-bit architecture with its Itanium range, co-developed with Hewlett Packard. However, the take-up of AMD's Opteron left it little choice....

Windows IE hole — less alarming than billed [updated]

Microsoft has posted and revised a security update, What You Should Know About Download.Ject, that makes the recent furore about Internet Explorer (below) sound a little overblown. It turns out that the vulnerability to Web servers had already been fixed by patch 835732 in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011. Most rational companies would already have installed this to block the Sasser worm. People running AutoUpdate in April would have got the patch.

Corporate Web sites may no longer be safe for Windows IE users

"Security researchers warned Web surfers on Thursday to be on guard after uncovering evidence that widespread Web server compromises have turned corporate home pages into points of digital infection. The researchers believe that online organized crime groups are breaking into Web servers and surreptitiously inserting code that takes advantage of two flaws in Internet Explorer that Microsoft has not yet fixed. Those flaws allow the Web server to install a program that takes control of the user's computer," reports CNet.

Microsoft confirms HPC plans

Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed rumours that it will produce a high performance computing (HPC) version of Windows for parallel computing. Information Week reports: "The software, due in the second half of 2005, represents a different approach to high-end computing than the company's currently available DataCenter edition of Windows. DataCenter is designed for use on symmetric multiprocessing servers, where a single version of Windows can run on up to 64 processors. Microsoft's in-development High-Performance Computing platform will split the workload across many smaller machines, each of which has its own imprint of Windows.

IBM settles cancer lawsuits

"Dozens of IBM workers and retirees who alleged that exposure to toxic chemicals caused them to develop cancer had their cases settled and dismissed, the company announced Wednesday. The cases hinged on whether workers developed cancer after years of work at IBM's disk drive plant in San Jose. Settlement terms were not disclosed," reports AP.

Comdex 2004 cancelled

"Comdex producer MediaLive International announced Wednesday that the 2004 version of the long-running trade show has been canceled. MediaLive expects to resurrect the show in 2005, but tech executives said the company will face a tough time battling declining attendance numbers and the growing prominence of a rival Las Vegas conference, the Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES," reports CNet.

Cory Doctorow talks to Microsoft about DRM

Digital rights activist and sci-fi writer Cory Doctorow was at Redmond on Thursday, to talk to Microsoft about digital rights management. Having seen him speak in various places, including a briefing recently at Guardian Unlimited, I know he's a great speaker, and his Redmond talk was typically sound. In brief, he told Microsoft that DRM it was a bad idea, in a talk based around this introduction...
"Here's what I'm here to convince you of: 1. That DRM systems don't work 2. That DRM systems are bad for society 3. That DRM systems are bad for business 4. That DRM systems are bad for artists 5. That DRM is a bad business-move for MSFT It's a big brief, this talk. Microsoft has sunk a lot of capital into DRM systems, and spent a lot of time sending folks like Martha and Brian and Peter around to various smoke-filled rooms to make sure that Microsoft DRM finds a hospitable home in the future world. Companies like Microsoft steer like old Buicks, and this issue has a lot of forward momentum that will be hard to soak up without driving the engine block back into the driver's compartment. At best I think that Microsoft might convert some of that momentum on DRM into angular momentum, and in so doing, save all our asses."
Read the full text at Cory's website. [via Thefeature.com]

Intel to fuel new generation of PCs

The [PC] industry's drive to transform home entertainment may get a major boost Saturday when PCs with new innards from Intel Corp. go on sale. The Intel chipsets — basically, chips and circuitry with specific functions that support the main microprocessor — take the place of a variety of add-on equipment that otherwise would cost hundreds of dollars," reports the LA Times [free reg req'd].

Disney downloads — via Moviebeams

"Disney executives said Moviebeam — a computer drive that connects to a television and stores and shows movies like a DVD player — is a first step in a broader technology push aimed at becoming more like a retailer in new, digital business arenas. By shedding its current position as a wholesaler that packages films on videos or DVDs, Disney would reap all the rental revenue instead of sharing it with retail outlets," reports USA Today.

IBM is fighting hard to stop Linux

There's a funny piece in Forbes about IBM, which, it says, advertises its support for Linux, motherhood and apple pie but fights "tooth and nail" to stop companies from moving to Linux -- if they are using IBM's high-priced AIX version of Unix. Playing the 'opener than thou' card, Martin Fink, vice president of Linux at Hewlett-Packard, says: ""We're talking to [a company] about moving to Linux, and IBM is going out of its way to demonstrate why Linux is not ready for their environment. It's really twisted. IBM is doing all this marketing around Linux, and here I am competing against IBM using Linux, and IBM is using AIX."

Big security hole in Oracle

"Database software maker Oracle warned customers using the most recent version of its e-commerce program of a flaw that puts their systems at risk. In a terse but strongly worded advisory released to customers last week, Oracle said a software flaw in its Oracle 11i E-Business Suite and its Oracle Applications 11.0 could let an attacker take control of the database that powers the programs," reports CNet.

Mobile companies sued over locked handsets

"The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights filed suit accusing AT&T Wireless Services Inc, T-Mobile USA Inc and Cingular Wireless, of using software in their handsets that prevents them from being used on a competitors' network," reports AP.

News around the Web [Beta]

CNet News.com is testing a news service that automatically generates lists of news stories either about specific firms or popular topics. The list of companies stretches from 3Com to Yahoo, while topics range from Application Integration to Wireless. The stories are drawn from the usual sources -- such as eWeek and Internetnews.com, Reuters and Yahoo News -- with CNet stories strongly featured. The New York Times and Business Week also creep in. If you are a CNet reader, it is already a useful way of checking to see if you have missed anything. It could be expanded into something really good.

Microsoft says more on search plans

"Microsoft is looking beyond Internet searches, heading into its battle with Google with technology designed to allow people to scour their e-mails, personal computers and even hefty databases for information," reports AP.