Sun layoffs continue ... French iPod law takes effect ... Philips sells chips for $10.6B

Today's IT News Audio Update
Cisco firewall exploit surfaces at Black Hat ... Phillips sells chip unit for €8.3 billion ... U.S. FCC won't squelch broadband over power lines


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Sun layoffs continue as part of restructuring
News: French copyright law takes effect, to industry dismay
News: Philips sells chips for $10.6 billion as industry consolidates
News: Serious flaw puts Xerox printers at risk
Opinion: Acer's 20-inch Notebook Offers Integrators a Unique Opportunity
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: A new month, a new T-shirt drawing. Enter now!


NEWS UPDATES

Sun layoffs continue as part of restructuring
Sun Microsystems Inc. laid off workers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia on Friday as part of belt tightening that is expected to claim up to 5,000 jobs at the beleaguered company.

French copyright law takes effect, to industry dismay
Software publishers and Socialist Party members are among the groups unhappy with the new French copyright law that took effect Friday. French Net surfers could now go to prison for downloading copyright music files without authorization, while companies such as Apple Computer Inc., which make or use DRM (digital rights management) technology to protect music downloads, may have to provide details of the system to their competitors in the interests of interoperability.

Philips sells chips for $10.6 billion as industry consolidates
Europe's third largest chip maker will sell its semiconductor unit to a group of private investment firms in a deal worth €8.3 billion (US$10.6 billion), increasing the pace of consolidation in the industry.

Serious flaw puts Xerox printers at risk
Xerox Corp. is scrambling to update a security patch following the disclosure of a major security flaw in its WorkCenter multifunction printers.

Unpatched flaw revealed in Cisco firewall
Cisco Systems Inc. just can't seem to make it through the Black Hat USA conference unscathed. On Wednesday a security researcher showed how an unpatched vulnerability in the company's PIX firewall appliances could allow outside attackers to gain access to corporate networks.

Apple's options woes deepen
Apple Computer Inc. has found more problems with its accounting for stock options grants and now says it is likely to restate some past financial results.

Microsoft heads for another big Patch Tuesday
August will be another substantial patch month for Microsoft Corp., with the vendor releasing 12 security bulletins next Tuesday to fix holes in both its Windows OS and the Office productivity suite.

AOL to slash up to 5,000 jobs worldwide
AOL LLC will slash up to 5,000 jobs worldwide, or just over a quarter of its workforce, as the struggling unit of Time Warner Inc. restructures in an effort to bring in more revenue.

U.S. gov't files to block AT&T wiretapping suit again
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a new motion to dismiss a lawsuit over AT&T Inc.'s alleged participation in a government-sponsored wiretapping program.

Wall Street Beat: Rambus dives, AMD thrives
While analysts cheered a comeback Thursday in the tech-strong NASDAQ composite index -- pointing to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) as one of the winners leading the charge -- Rambus Inc. continued to take punishment from investors for a finding from the U.S. fair trade regulator that the memory chip maker had played anything but fair.


OPINION

Acer's 20-inch Notebook Offers Integrators a Unique Opportunity
By Joel Shore

It's not often that I write a column about a single hardware product, but Acer's new laptop PC is like no other computer. So here I go...

Read the full article here


ITWHIRLED

Chinese to join Americans in post-death manned space program
Space Services Inc. is a Texas-based company that will shoot a small portion of your cremated remains into space, for the right price. Now, the company is looking to expand into the world's most populous market, taking advantage of the interest generated by China's manned space program.

A new month, a new T-shirt drawing. Enter now!