New Outlook Bug Reported
A new bug has been discovered in Microsoft's popular Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail checking programs. The bug, which makes the two programs susceptible to buffer overflow, is being called the most common software bug of the last ten years.
According to Microsoft, the bug has to do with the manner that the programs parse e-mail headers when downloading mail from POP3 or IMAP4 accounts. The security bulletin states, "If the affected field were filled with random data, the e-mail could be made to crash. If the affected field were filled with carefully-crafted data, the e-mail client could be made to run code of the malicious user’s choice."
RIAA to Get Sued
MP3Board.com Inc., an online start-up that
indexes, searches and links music-related material on the Internet,
today sued the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), for the role the association allegedly played in temporarily
shutting down MP3Board.com.
MP3Board.com Inc., which is not associated with MP3.com Inc., had
already filed an earlier lawsuit against the RIAA in an US Federal
District
Court in California's Silicon Valley seeking damages against the RIAA for
harassment. The RIAA is a trade association representing the vast
majority of major US record labels.
US Passes Anti-Spam Bill
The United States House of Representatives nearly unanimously voted yesterday to pass H.R. 3113, which bans unsolicited e-mails lest the spammer provide a return address which the consumer can use to opt-out of said mailings. In a 427 to 1 vote, the United States has finally made the move to stop the mass mailings and spamming currently polluting mail servers and inboxes everywhere. Keep checking back as the bill continues through the process.
CNET To Devour Competitor Ziff-Davis
Online technology information company CNET Networks Inc. said today it aims to buy competitor Ziff-Davis Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at $1.6 billion.
The deal will cover the remains of Ziff-Davis - which has already sold its stable of well-known computer magazines and the cable TV channel ZDTV - plus its ZDNet online unit, which it recently spun off.
Microsoft Ready To Pop The Top On Coke
A survey made public on Monday said that Microsoft Corp. has almost muscled Coca Cola Co. out as the world's most valuable brand, despite its troubles with the US Justice Department.
A Reuters report today said the survey, conducted by Interbrand, a New York-based consulting firm, showed Microsoft as a close second, with its brand valued at $70.2 billion, behind Coca Cola's $72.5 billion value, which was down 13 percent from last year. The study also found that technology mainstays such as Microsoft, Intel Corp. and Nokia Corp., were strong as a group, but old economy stalwarts like General Electric Co., Walt Disney Co. and McDonald's Corp., hang in among the top 10.
RiffShare 1.0.0 Released
BetaNews reported a while back about a new MP3 sharing program that enables file-sharing over LANs and home networks. The program entitled Riffshare, has just released version 1.0.0 with a completely new GUI and a totally revamped Web site. For more information visit RiffShare.com for more information about the software and download it from FileForum today.
X-NetStat Pro Bug Reporting Error
For all of the BetaNews visitors who have written bug reports for the featured beta X-NetStat Pro, Andrew Niese writes in to inform you of an error in the reporting. "X-NetStat Pro uses the XNS Feedback Engine (XFE) to report bugs to Fresh
Software. Unfortunately, I included an older version of XFE in the Preview Release 1 of X-NetStat Professional, which is your featured beta
of the week. Because of this critical mistake, any bug reports sent through the older version have been lost. I have fixed the problem and re-uploaded the instalation to the same URL: http://www.freshsw.com/xns4p_pr1.exe". Please help him out by resubmitting your bug reports. Thanks a lot to those who have begun testing the program!
Diablo II Selling Like Mad
Blizzard has announced that it's extremely popular game, Diablo II, has sold an outrageous 1 million copies in just two weeks. This staggering number makes the game the fastest selling computer game of all time. Diablo II also becomes the fourth game in a row for Blizzard selling over a million copies and to debut as the number one selling game. Just in the United States, Diablo II accounted for 39 percent of all computer game purchases in its first week on store shelves. Visit Blizzard for more information.
Microsoft Small Business Server Beta
It has been busy in Redmond with Microsoft releasing Windows Media Player 7, reporting numerous deals with music companies to promote the player, and the immediate availability of Small Business Server 2000 beta. This next version supports up to 50 users, and includes Windows 2000, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, SQL Server 2000, Exchange Server 2000, FrontPage 2000, Windows Terminal Services, and fax and modem services. Direct Access Members can get the latest version via the SBS Channel Readiness Kit, which includes the SBS2000 beta, while the general public cannot obtain the beta. Visit the Small Business Server Web Site for more information.
News Writers To Get Universal Net Language
The global news reporting industry has moved so deeply into electronic media and digital formats that the trade's major international association has reportedly agreed to a new online computer language.
A Reuters report today said the Geneva-based International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) has adopted a standard for formatting electronic content, called NewsML, based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). The new digital language structures multimedia news so it can be delivered to devices ranging from PCs to mobile
phones. IPTC said it was launching the first test version of NewsML and hopes to officially approve the new language in October.
Now Adds MP3TV Service
In another stage of its effort to take advantage of the convergence between Internet and television, Richard Li's Network of the World (NOW) has launched MP3TV, a music and video portal that allows Internet users download music clips from leading-edge rock bands worldwide.
"This is all about music, unsigned, untamed and unleashed," said Marino Katschmaryck, who gathers the top worldwide MP3 music clips and selects the cream of the crop for NOW.
Windows Media Player 7 Final
Microsoft has released the final version of its next-generation Windows Media Player 7 at midnight tonight. The new version boasts a myriad of improvements over the older versions, including the introduction of a new music format, Windows Media, which includes copyright measures to protect digital music. Bill Gates told the press "The release of Windows Media Player 7 represents a digital turning point for both our industry and millions of consumers around the world."
New features in the final version include the addition of CD burning technologies from Adaptec, makers of widely known and popular CD burning software, and a "Digital DJ" skin that allows computer users to customize the playback of digital audio and video.
ICANN Moves Forward On Domains, Governance
Internet users will have access to the first new worldwide Internet "neighborhoods" in more than a decade by sometime early next year under a schedule approved on Sunday by the powerful Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Following a week of meetings and public forums in Yokohama, Japan, ICANN's powerful board of directors on Sunday unanimously adopted a timeline for creating the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) since the advent of .com, .org and .net.
Scour in the Hot Seat
Controversy arose today over the ability of Scour Exchange file-sharing Web software to access almost any kind of multimedia files from private users' hard drives, after a newspaper report detailed the software's ability to permit that activity.
Software produced by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Scour Inc., works somewhat like the more famous Napster software, but rather than limiting retrievable data only to MP3 music files, Scour allows exchange of everything from video and audio to still images from fellow Scour users' hard drives.
The RIAA Strikes Back
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)has accused Napster of using "euphemisms like 'sharing' to avoid the real issue," in its response in support of its motion for a preliminary injunction against the Napster site.
Napster software allows users to share music files among themselves without paying any license or copyright fees.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.