Microsoft offers subscription Outlook

Microsoft offers subscription Outlook

Microsoft said Wednesday that it has started offering a paid-subscription version of its Outlook e-mail program, marking the first time the software giant has made a component of Office available as a subscription service.

Known as Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes a subscription version of Outlook 2003 to connect with Hotmail or MSN e-mail accounts. For $59 a year, customers get an e-mail account with 2GB of storage and the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments. Customers can also check multiple e-mail accounts, including corporate accounts that are managed through an Exchange server.

Rest of Story: CNET News.com

An MP3 player you can talk to...

An MP3 player you can talk to...

A US firm specialising in metadata for music files is working with a voice recognition company to enable voice-controlled music devices for use where hand control is impractical. Gracenote is working with voice recognition specialist ScanSoft and early products will be aimed at Japan.

Ross Blanchard, a Gracenote veep, said voice recognition would make devices easier to use: "For example, these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience, allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their eyes off the road."

Alan Schwartz, vice president of SpeechWorks, a division of ScanSoft, said speech is a "natural fit for today's consumer devices, particularly in mobile environments, and the increasing portability of large libraries of music and video files make speech a necessary interface for safety and convenience for entertainment devices."



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Google's No-Google tag blesses the Balkanized web

Google's No-Google tag blesses the Balkanized web

Karl Auerbach's prediction that the internet is balkanizing into groups of people who only accept traffic from each other took another step closer to reality today. The veteran TCP/IP engineer and ICANN board member has warned of the effect for years.
"The 'Net is balkanizing. There are communities of trust forming in which traffic is accepted only from known friends," Auerbach told Wired last year.

The trend can be seen at various levels. At the user level, where we see bloggers repeating each other in an echo chamber and reinforcing their views; in the middle of the network, where Verizon recently blocking off inbound email from Europe, and it's happening deep down at the packet level too, as a result...

IBM frees 500 software patents

IBM frees 500 software patents

Computer giant IBM says 500 of its software patents will be released into the open development community.

The move means developers will be able to use the technologies without paying for a licence from the company.

IBM described the step as a "new era" in how it dealt with intellectual property and promised further patents would be made freely available.

Full Story: Link

Microsoft debuts security tools

Microsoft debuts security tools

Microsoft is releasing tools that clean up PCs harbouring viruses and spyware.


The virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to Microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. Also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. Although initially free it is thought that soon Microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool.

Paid protection The anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month.


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News source: BBC News

Cyber crime booms in 2004

Cyber crime booms in 2004

By Mark Ward
Technology Correspondent, BBC News website

The last 12 months have seen a dramatic growth in almost every security threat that plague Windows PCs.

The count of known viruses broke the 100,000 barrier and the number of new viruses grew by more than 50%.

Similarly phishing attempts, in which conmen try to trick people into handing over confidential data, are recording growth rates of more than 30% and attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Also on the increase are the number of networks of remotely controlled computers, called bot nets, used by malicious hackers and conmen to carry out many different cyber crimes.

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Source: BBC News

Santy worm makes unwelcome visit

Santy worm makes unwelcome visit

Thousands of website bulletin boards have been defaced by a virus that used Google to spread across the net.


The Santy worm first appeared on 20 December and within 24 hours had successfully hit more than 40,000 websites.

The malicious program exploits a vulnerability in the widely used phpBB software. Santy's spread has now been stopped after Google began blocking infected sites searching for new victims.

Full story: Link

Source: BBC News

New CCIE R&S Written Coming Mid-January

New CCIE R&S Written Coming Mid-January

Cisco Systems recently announced that it will be releasing a new version of its Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, Routing and Switching (CCIE R&S) written exam on Jan. 19.

Cisco released a beta (#351-001) of this updated exam in August. When live, the exam will cover "Networking and IP fundamentals, switching, routing, quality of service, WAN, security fundamentals, multicast and enterprise wireless mobility fundamentals," among other topics, the company said. Detailed objectives on the exam content can be found here.

Full Story: certcities.com

Chinese firm buys IBM PC business

Chinese firm buys IBM PC business

IBM,a pioneer of the personal computer business, is selling its PC hardware division to China's number one computer maker Lenovo.

After days of rumours, the announcement heralds a $1.75bn (£900m) deal which will make the combined operation the third biggest PC vendor in the world.

Lenovo, formerly known as Legend, has been pushing hard to spread its brand on the international stage.

Full Story: Link

'Brainwave' cap controls computer

'Brainwave' cap controls computer

A team of US researchers has shown that controlling devices with the brain is a step closer.

Four people, two of them partly paralysed wheelchair users, successfully moved a computer cursor while wearing a cap with 64 electrodes.

Full Story: Link