Apple Patches QuickTime Flaw
Apple patched a QuickTime exploit Tuesday that was revealed by researchers who were investigating bugs within the Macintosh operating system and third-party products for it as part of the "Month of Apple Bugs" program. In total, 31 vulnerabilities will be listed. In this specific flaw, a specially crafted Web site could be used to cause a buffer overflow vulnerability in order to execute arbitrary code.
The fix would force QuickTime to perform additional validation of the RTSP URL, which should prevent the application from launching malicious ones. As of Wednesday, the QuickTime bug was the only issue patched by Apple itself.
Microsoft Upgrades Windows Live Mail
Although it has still yet to replace the aging Hotmail system, Microsoft's new, AJAX-enabled Windows Live Mail service received a minor upgrade yesterday, reaching Milestone 9. The M9 version of Live Mail brings a number of new features, including full compatibility with Firefox 2.0.
Unlike previous builds, as of M9 Microsoft is leaving the "Classic" interface for users migrating from Hotmail. The company doesn't want to scare users away with fancy new features, although such a decision could mean the far majority never see the AJAX interface. Other changes include a new Today page that mirrors the one in Windows Live Messenger, new icons, improved right-click menus and an updated search bar.
WOW Upgrade Sets US, EU Sales Records
World of Warcraft fans turned out in full force last week to purchase The Burning Crusade, the expansion for World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment said Tuesday. In the first 24 hours of availability, nearly 2.4 million copies were sold. This made the title the fastest selling PC game in history in both North America and Europe. Nearly 1.2 million copies were sold in North America, while more than 1.1 million were sold in Europe.
The title's success has even surprised Blizzard, which said sales have exceeded expectations. The company added that reports show demand continues to be steady, and advised prospective buyers to call ahead to ensure availability. Approximately 8 million individuals play World of Warcraft, making it the largest MMORPG in PC-gaming history.
Google Adds Univ. of Texas to Book Search
Google has joined up with the University of Texas at Austin to bring the school's library online through the Google Books Library Project. Over 1 million works will be digitized in the effort, including a world-renowned Latin American collection.
The University of Texas Libraries are the together the fifth largest academic library in the United States, Google says. The search company has already begun digitizing works from the Universities of California, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, and The New York Public Library. Books in the public domain are fully accessible, and for those still in copyright, Google will display a few lines of text related to the search.
Microsoft: Search and We'll Donate
Microsoft has setup a special version of Live.com with the intention of making a donation to ninemillion.org for every search query run by visitors. Ninemillion.org is a UN-backed effort to provide education and sports programs for the nine million refugee youth around the world.
The site, located at Click4TheCause.Live.com, will be active through March 31. The company did not say how much it would donate for each search, but it's likely the amount will be dependent on the advertising revenue that accompanies the results. Microsoft has additionally established a Web site on Windows Live Spaces to spread the word about ninemillion.org.
Microsoft Brings Back Train Simulator
Microsoft has announced plans to resurrect its Train Simulator game, utilizing the recently launched Flight Simulator X technology to build a realistic experience for railroad enthusiasts. Details are slim at this point, but Microsoft is expected to make further announcements later this year.
Train Simulator is being developed by the Redmond company's Aces Studio division, which was behind Flight Simulator and Combat Flight Simulator. "I've been constantly amazed at the loyalty and passion people have around this title, and being a railroad enthusiast myself, I understand what it is that makes it so compelling," explained lead developer Rick Selby on his blog. "This is the sort of passion I want to build into the product this time around."
AOL Co-Founder Case Launches Health Site
AOL co-founder Steve Case launched Revolution Health on Monday, a site that aims to combine social networking with health care information. The site would include about 125 free tools, as well as over-the-phone support, health insurance assistance, doctor appointment scheduling, and other advanced services to those who pay for premium memberships.
Those premium services would cost about $100 per year, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, a free trial option that includes both telephone support and digital record service would be offered to those who subscribe within the first 90 days. Case is serious about the new venture: he told the WSJ that he has invested $100 million of his personal fortune.
AT&T Offers Unlimited Wireless-To-Home Calling
AT&T is attempting to curb the churn of wireline customers to its competitors by offering a service that would allow the customer to place unlimited calls from their wireless phone to their home AT&T landline. Called AT&T Unity, the service would be available to those who have the $50 unlimited local and long distance plan at home, and a $59.99 or higher wireless calling plan.
AT&T officials expect the plan to help decrease churn. It owns 68 million landlines across 22 states, and plans to advertise the perk in stores that fall within its calling area. About half of Cingular's current customers are also subscribers to its wireline services. However, some analysts are skeptical -- they say the offering would likely have a limited appeal, mostly to those in family plans that call home frequently.
Adobe Finalizes Flash 9 for Linux
Adobe on Wednesday released the final version of Flash Player 9 for Linux, bringing its multimedia offering for the open source operating system up to date with Windows and Mac OS X. Linux developers can now build rich Internet applications using Adobe's Flex 2 SDK.
Flash Player 9 for Linux includes better memory utilization, advanced features for graphics, video and text, as well as ActionScript Virtual Machine 2, which Adobe recently handed over to the Mozilla Foundation for a project called Tamarin. "Now the Linux community has full access to the high volume of Flash content and applications available on the Internet today, bringing Linux developers and users to the forefront of the Web 2.0 experience," remarked Emmy Huang, senior product manager at Adobe.
EU Looks at Violent Video Games Ban
While it appears as if the effort to ban violent video games in America has hit a dead end, efforts are beginning in Europe to institute a ban there. It's unclear, however, if it will even matter in the end because the movement would only suggest methods to curb the sales of the games to minors and not implement any laws. It will be up to the 27 individual states as to whether they implement part, none or all of the recommendations.
There is some movement, however, to harmonize laws regarding the sale of games to children younger than the age on the label of the game. According to the European Commission, many EU retailers are not bothering to check the age of buyers, which is allowing some to purchase games not meant for those under the age of 16.
Verizon Spins Off Northeast Landline Business
Telecommunications company Verizon said Tuesday that it will spin off its landline business in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, merging it with Fairpoint, a Charlotte, N.C. telecommunications company specializing in rural and small urban markets. The deal would generate some $2.7 billion for both Verizon and its shareholders. The company will be the majority shareholder of the combined entity, although it will be headed by Fairpoint's current management team.
Verizon has expressed interest in spinning off its landline business in the past as it focuses on generating revenue to fund its rollout of FiOS Internet service. A report in May first indicated the above lines were for sale, and GTE lines in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan may be next. Both areas were places where Verizon had no plans to upgrade to fiber-based lines.
First Conviction Handed Down in HP Leak Case
A Colorado private investigator has pleaded guilty to identity theft and conspiracy charges, both felony counts, in association with the boardroom leak scandal that shook electronics maker Hewlett Packard to its core. Bryan Wagner, 29, admitted that he had used social security numbers and personal information of board members and press to gain access to confidential information such as phone records.
HP has declined to comment since Wagner is not a direct employee of the company. Wagner himself was unavailable to comment. Four others have been charged in the scandal on similar charges. They include former chairwoman Patricia Dunn, former ethics Officer Kevin Hunsaker, and security contractor Ronald DeLia.
2008 Presidential Debates May Go Online
Political blog The Huffington Post wants to try something in 2008 that's never been done before: an online presidential debate. Run by conservative-turned-liberal political commentator Arianna Huffington, the site has quickly grown into one of the most widely read political blogs on the web. If it becomes a reality, it could solidify the Internet and the so-called 'netroots' as a serious force in politics.
Even though the site focuses more on liberal-leaning commentary, Huffington wants both sides to participate. Thus, both sides have been contacted about the prospect of such an event. Invitations have been sent out to likely candidates, although none have formally confirmed they would participate in any online debate.
Intel Countersues Transmeta Over Patents
Intel struck back at Transmeta on Thursday, countersuing the company for patent infringement over methods to control power consumption in computer chips. The company sued the chipmaker in October over similar patents.
A total of 11 Transmeta patents were part of that suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, covering Intel's Pentium III, 4, M, Core, and Core 2 lines of processors. Intel failed to respond to that suit. Intel's suit covers seven of its own patents and was filed earlier this week in the same court. Transmeta would not comment on the suit, as it had not had a chance to look over Intel's charges.
Apple Drops 'Computer' from Name
AT MACWORLD Reflecting Apple's movement away from just being a provider of computers, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company would be removing the "Computer" from its company name and would now be known simply as Apple, Inc. The name change would be the first such move since the company was founded some 30 years ago.
During the keynote, Jobs referred back to a quote by hockey great Wayne Gretzky as its reasoning for the change of colors: "I skate to where the puck is going to be not where it has been." While thanking his family for their hard work on the new products, Jobs reportedly choked up and had to pause for a brief moment, eliciting cheers of support from the audience.
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