IBM begins services revamp ... Lime Wire turns sues record companies

Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft may issue patch to fix IE flaw ... Skype prepares to add enterprise support ... Oracle steps up with support for Itanium 2


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
News: IBM begins major revamp of its services business
News: Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
News: Oracle to support Itanium platform
News: Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Tip: A hardware approach to storage security
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NEWS UPDATES

Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
Peer-to-peer file-sharing software developer Lime Wire LLC has countersued the biggest record companies, charging them with anti-competitive behavior. The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, follows the closing of most of the popular file-sharing Web sites due to lawsuits initiated by record companies. It also comes on the heels of a suit filed by 13 record companies against Lime Wire, accusing the developer of music piracy and demanding damages that could amount to $476 million.

IBM begins major revamp of its services business
IBM is today rolling out the first two of what it terms "service products." The standardized offerings are designed to be used by any IBM customer anywhere, a very different approach from the company's previous focus on providing customized, one-off services to individual users.

Internet problems persist in Zimbabwe
Large-scale Internet connection problems in the African country of Zimbabwe have continued for about a month because of a late payment to a satellite-based telecom provider. Zimbabwe's ISPs still have only about 10% of usual bandwidth available to them after the government-owned TelOne telecommunications provider fell US$700,000 behind on its bill to Intelsat Ltd.

Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
Intel Corp. plans to invest $40 million in Neusoft Group Ltd. as part of a deal that will see the Chinese software vendor optimize its products for Intel microprocessors.

Wallop says its social network packs a punch
It may seem like tilting at windmills, but Wallop Technologies Inc. expects to shake up the social networking market, currently dominated by entrenched players like News Corp.'s MySpace, Facebook Inc. and Friendster Inc. Wallop is betting that a slick platform based on Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash multimedia system, an absence of ads and a community of third-party developers will set it apart.

Oracle to support Itanium platform
Oracle joined with officials of the Itanium Solutions Alliance at the first ever Itanium Solutions Summit in San Francisco Monday to announce that Oracle will soon begin certification of its database software to run on Itanium 2 computing processor platforms.

Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Hackers are intensifying their attacks on Internet Explorer users, increasing the chances that Microsoft Corp. will patch a critical flaw in the software ahead of its regularly scheduled Oct. 10 security update.

AOL members sue over search data release
Three people have sued AOL LLC over the company's controversial release of member search-engine records, in what their lawyers are billing as the first such lawsuit seeking national class action status.

Add location to your digital camera's metadata
Ever been on a trip where you've visited a dozen places, taken hundreds of pictures but can't quite remember where you shot them? Sony Corp. has developed a pocket-size, GPS (Global Positioning System) device and software that helps you identify the location of every picture you've taken within a couple of meters.


TIP

A hardware approach to storage security
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

The Trusted Computing Group storage working group is working on specifications that manufacturers can use to create trusted platform module-like functionality on storage devices, notably hard disk drives, and high-end flash memory devices. A hard disk is a closed system. Disk drives are intelligent in that they have custom controllers, which have a processor and hidden system memory. Intelligent disk drives have firmware that is not alterable by unauthorized third parties, which means that the bad guys cannot get inside to do damage.


ITWHIRLED

"It's pretty awesome when it works"
Nothing's perfect, not even Steve Jobs' fabled Reality Distortion Field. This funny video collects some of the less-than-shining moments from Jobs' famous keynote speeches, including computer bugs and public speaking flubs.

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