U.S. ISPs slam into wiretap deadline

HIGHLIGHTS

News: U.S. ISPs slam into wiretap deadline
News: Open-source users, companies scoff at Microsoft threats
Related Reading: Microsoft's patent hard line hardest on startups
Related Reading: Microsoft patent claims hint at internal issues
News: Samba developers quash serious bug
News: IBM union calls work stoppage to protest layoffs
News: Verizon Business to acquire Cybertrust
News: IETF moves against IPv6 threat
News: SAPPHIRE: SAP admits problems but still on track with A1S
News: Botnet management app exposed
ITWhirled: Love is in the air: Couple engaged on zero-g flight



NEWS UPDATES

U.S. ISPs slam into wiretap deadline
U.S. broadband and VOIP providers on Monday hit a deadline to prove they could accommodate law-enforcement wiretaps.


Open-source users, companies scoff at Microsoft threats
Open-source supporters are thumbing their noses at Microsoft Corp.'s claim that it will seek royalties from users and distributors on 235 patents it holds for technologies in Linux and open-source software, saying they are not worried about being the target of litigation for patent infringement.

Related Reading: Microsoft's patent hard line hardest on startups
Microsoft Corp.'s threat to sue open source software users who violate its patents could be hardest on startups and smaller companies unable to take on the software giant, business and legal observers say.

Related Reading: Microsoft patent claims hint at internal issues
Microsoft Corp.'s aim to seek patent royalties from open-source distributors and users may be an attempt to use legal threats to deflect attention from larger questions surrounding its business, including lack of interest in new versions of core products and lackluster profit from new wares.


Samba developers quash serious bug
Users of the open-source Samba software are being urged to patch their code following the discovery of a critical bug in the file-and-print software.


IBM union calls work stoppage to protest layoffs
An IBM labor union is calling for a 15-minute work stoppage to protest job cuts at the company.


Verizon Business to acquire Cybertrust
Verizon Communications Inc.'s Business unit plans to acquire managed security vendor Cybertrust in an effort to pump up its cybersecurity offerings, Verizon announced Monday.


IETF moves against IPv6 threat
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) engineers, reacting with unusual speed, have moved to address a serious security lapse in IPv6 before it becomes too widespread.


SAPPHIRE: SAP admits problems but still on track with A1S
Executives of German business software maker SAP AG remain committed to a first-quarter 2008 launch of the company's hosted midmarket application despite acknowledging problems with product development.


Botnet management app exposed
A new and unusually sophisticated application for controlling and monitoring botnet PCs has been discovered by security company Panda Software.


ITWHIRLED

Love is in the air: Couple engaged on zero-g flight
In perhaps the most romantic thing to ever happen in free fall, space enthusiast Alexander Loucopoulos offered an engagement ring to similarly inclined girlfriend Graciela Asturias -- and it floated in the air between them. The star-crossed lovers were on a Boeing 727 that flies in great parabolic loops to simulate the experience of being in orbit. Loucopoulos said he was afraid the ring would float away, but since the plane is nicknamed the "vomit comet," there may have been larger potential complications. (She said yes, by the way.)