Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures ... Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
News: Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
News: Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
News: E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
Opinion: Security needs independence
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: "The only user contribution is your ignorance"


NEWS UPDATES

Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
With the upcoming Windows Vista and Windows Longhorn Server operating systems, Microsoft will introduce the Microsoft Software Protection Platform, a collection of technologies that aims to do better at detecting pirated versions of Windows, and will also force unauthorized versions of its software into a limited-functionality mode, encouraging users to obtain a legal copy.

Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
Executives from the financial data transfer company Swift and the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) faced tough questions in a European Parliament committee meeting Wednesday, about the illegal sharing of private data with U.S. authorities.

Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
Hitachi Maxell Ltd. has developed a thin optical disc that could lead to data cartridges capable of storing terabytes of information.

E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
European Commission antitrust officials investigating computer chip maker Intel Corp. presented what they believe is a watertight argument for prosecuting the firm to an internal panel of so-called devil's advocates on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive
Japanese users won't have to worry about a noisy cooling fan disturbing them while they watch high-definition movies on NEC Corp.'s newest computer -- the PC, equipped with a Blu-ray drive, uses water-cooling instead.

Multicore chips roil software pricing waters
The growing popularity of server chips with multiple microprocessor cores continues to muddy the waters of software pricing: CIOs should start planning now for changes and perhaps some uncertainty in their software budgets.

McAfee cries foul over Vista security features
McAfee Inc. top executives went on the offensive Monday against Microsoft Corp., saying Vista will be even less secure for customers than previous versions of Windows.

Hitachi updates WLAN tags for goods, employees
Hitachi Ltd. this week updated its AirLocation II system, which uses WLAN (wireless LAN) technology to track goods and employees, with the introduction of a smaller tag.


OPINION

Does security need independence?
By James Gaskin

IBM's deal to purchase Internet Security Systems brings some real conflict of interest questions to mind. Essentially, can you trust a security company that can't control its own destiny?


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft will introduce a new system for fighting software piracy ... Antitrust officials at the European Commission have stepped up their investigation of Intel ... Hitachi Maxell has developed a paper-thin optical disc

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ITWHIRLED

"The only user contribution is your ignorance"
Ask Haddad, which bills itself as "information monarchy," is a defiant response to the interactive, multivalent, user-generated Web 2.0: you ask the questions, he answers them, and you sit there and like it.