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IT News Review - Week ending August 18, 2000

IDG staff, Information Age

18/08/2000 17:10:47

Woolies, eTax hacked full of holes

Hacker group 2600 Australia has sent warnings to two major Australian business-to-consumer e-commerce players of gaping loopholes in their online security. According to information the hacker group posted yesterday on its web security advice portal, Wiretapped (http://security.wiretapped.net), the hacker group revealed a way to bypass the security mechanisms used by retail giant Woolworths on its HomeShop site.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/7CCB1E2A8CC22EA7CA25693E0011A656!OpenDocumentCompression Technology Could Speed Net TransfersWhen most people think geometry and triangles, they think of things like the Pythagorean theorem - A2 + B2 = C2. But two scientists are now taking triangles to a whole new level, using them to compress digital images up to 12 times better than current standards. Wim Sweldens of Bell Labs' Mathematical Sciences Research Center and Peter Schroeder, a professor of science at the California Institute of Technology, have developed an algorithm that uses "digital geometry compression" to shrink files even further than current levels.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/3A947C2A4B1C247FCA25693E007DBCCB!OpenDocumentAuthors Sue Media Giants Over Database Story UseA group of freelance writers is seeking a halt to the use of their articles without permission or compensation by five corporations that operate online database services. In the second case of its kind filed this week in the U.S., the Authors Guild Inc., which has approximately 8,000 members, along with several individual authors filed a lawsuit in New York Federal District Court Tuesday alleging the five companies used their works without consent. The authors of articles for newspapers and magazines are seeking to make their case a class-action suit.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/nwwdb.NSF/nwtoday/86F7FE330D7A4317CA25693D00838913Caldera CEO Tells it How He Sees ItDoes Linux have to become more like Windows to succeed? Ransom Love dished up some cold reality in a keynote speech at the LinuxWorld 2000 Conference and Expo. The chief executive officer of Linux distributor Caldera Systems pointed to several changes that Linux must undergo if the open-source operating system is to span the "chasm" between mere popularity and widespread market acceptance.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/D544632199223514CA25693D007FB550!OpenDocumentStudy: Users Trust Information on the InternetAccording to the results a study released by the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, many of the Internet users surveyed said the Internet is a more important source of information than either radio or television. The UCLA Internet Report found that 67.3 per cent of the study's Internet users think that the Web is an "important" or "extremely important" source of information, while 53.1 per cent of those surveyed ranked television and 46.8 per cent ranked radio at the same levels.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/834BC879D6710D2FCA25693D007FB46E!OpenDocumentCompaq Ends an Era, Retires VAXThe message boards at open-source software news site Slashdot.org read like a virtual wake this week, with friends gathering to trade anecdotes and share memories of the departed, after the news that Compaq Computer is finally retiring its line of VAX servers.

The VAX's death was announced in a letter posted on Compaq's VAX Web site and on the site's product information page. The letter, written by Jesse Lipcon, vice president of Compaq's High Performance Server Division, explained Compaq's decision by saying that the Texas-based company had "extended the VAX CPU technology as far as possible."

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/9B4FB033CD2070AFCA25693D007FB5BD!OpenDocumentIBM Claims Fastest Quantum ComputerIBM said it has developed the world's most advanced quantum computer at its Almaden Research Center, but don't expect to pick one up at Tandy anytime soon. IBM's quantum computing project is an effort to plan for a future beyond silicon semiconductors, which experts predict will reach a physical limitation on processing power in the next 10 to 20 years.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/91799600545202D3CA25693D000019C1!OpenDocumentEricsson 3G mobile demo heats vendor competitionEricsson has staked a claim on tomorrow's wireless Internet market sending a strong warning to traditional networking vendors that another player has hit the scene. The company's local arm yesterday demonstrated what it believes is Australia's first live mobile Internet wideband network - more than a year ahead of expected commercial rollouts.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://arn.idg.com.au/arndb.nsf/tibco_stories/D6111A0982A6DD87CA25693C001559741.1GHz Athlon systems due this monthAdvanced Micro Devices has started shipping a 1.1GHz version of its Athlon processor to PC makers, and expects the first desktop systems based on the new chip to go on sale August 28, AMD announced yesterday. The chip maker didn't say exactly which PC makers will use the new processor. Vendors offering Athlon PCs today include Compaq Computer, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and NEC.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://arn.idg.com.au/arndb.nsf/tibco_stories/9157A0D161A8CC0CCA25693B0080F3CFAll Palms on DeckThe US Navy has installed 32 infrared wireless communications ports and deployed 115 handheld computers aboard one of the most technologically advanced warships in its fleet as part of a pilot project that is changing the way sailors communicate at sea.

Through a $US20,000 deal reached last month with Aether Systems, the Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul continued its deployment of Palm's Palm V handheld computers and boosted the number of systems used aboard the ship from 30 to 145. The systems have been issued to all department heads and small unit leaders.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/nwwdb.NSF/nwtoday/D6823495F9C94FE2CA25693B008225CCMicrosoft's BizTalk Hits BetaMicrosoft has released the first beta of BizTalk Server 2000, which is designed to integrate applications and business partner networks using XML. BizTalk is the last server to go into beta testing of the seven servers that will make up Microsoft's .Net server lineup. The .Net initiative was announced in June as the company's push for making the Internet the centre of its infrastructure servers.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/A1745EBB1E30575ECA25693B007EF8ED!OpenDocumentAS/400 Users Get a Windows BoostIBM announced its plans for rolling out products and programs to help AS/400 users interested in running Windows NT/2000 applications in their shops.

AS/400 users are notoriously loyal to their machines, which have a reputation for reliability, scalability and easy manageability features. However, many of them want to run Windows-based applications not available for the AS/400 platform -- without sacrificing their AS/400 investment or hiring Windows-trained personnel. To solve this dilemma, IBM offers a special PCI card equipped with an Intel 700MHz CPU that fits into the AS/400 chassis and runs a copy of Windows NT/2000.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/EFAD960E93603E8ACA25693B007EFB8F!OpenDocumentMicrosoft Readies Data Centre Version of Win 2000Microsoft Corp has announced that it's releasing the data centre version of Windows 2000 to manufacturing, a move that sets the stage for a formal launch of the enterprise-level operating system next month. Microsoft also said Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Unisys have signed on to sell the Windows 2000 Datacenter Server software on their systems. Those four companies join Compaq Computer as certified resellers of the data centre release, and Microsoft said it expects to have other system vendors on board in time for the scheduled Sept. 26 launch of the software in San Francisco.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/73F2E2586827DAF8CA25693B0001171E!OpenDocumentIBM OS Targets Intel Market, Linux UsersIBM is soon to release AIX 5L, a freshly minted and renamed version of AIX, combining extensive Linux support with performance-boosting features designed to appeal to IBM's more traditional high-end user base. The operating system will be the first AIX version capable of running on both IBM Power-based systems and on Intel's upcoming IA-64 architecture, according to IBM.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://computerworld.com.au/cwt1997.NSF/cwtoday/5257CC36FD8380ECCA25693B0001171F!OpenDocument