|
Tuesday, May 23
GTE
is the latest to reduce DSL setup fees in order to
attract new customers.
Mannesmann
will begin offering unlimited DSL service in Germany for
49 DM per month (about US$22).
Dot-coming down to Earth
ZDNet
reviews a history problems on Linuxcare, which canceled
its IPO and began laying off employees and management.
Putting away childish things department: Disney
is shutting down its Toysmart web site. Nickelodeon's
Red Rocket toy site closed last week, and this week
KBKids.com
laid off a third of its staff.
AltaVista,
PetPlace, carOrder.com and Total Sports also announced
layoffs this month.
Segue
The San Jose Mercury News examines the
potential for doing business over web-enabled cell
phones.
Wireless
The number of web-enabled
cell phones in Japan will top 10 million by the end of
May.
NASA is moving into the IP-connected world by adding
IP protocols to its satellites.
eWEEK's John Dodge argues
for the addition of E911 to cell phones. E911 allows you
to contact 911 and transmit your coordinates via GPS.
Computer security and privacy
The Federal Trade Commission is asking
Congress to enact laws to protect consumer privacy on the
Internet. The commission's 200 page report concludes
that industry self-regulation hasn't worked.
A
Canadian teen has pleaded guilty to hacks on NASA,
Harvard and MIT.
Wondering How
to Hack a Bank? Forbes has all of the information you
need.
AntiCode.com
contains a database of known security exploits by operating
system, similar to rootshell.
Friday, May 26
Let your /usr/bin/finger do the walking
The
US House of Representatives has voted 420-2 to rescind an
1898 tax on phone service. If the measure becomes law,
it will save the average home with a single telephone about
$24 a year. The savings increase for Americans with extra
phone lines, pagers and mobile phones. The measure was
positioned with Internet access in mind.
SBC Communications has asked the Public Utility
Commission of Texas to investigate Road
Runner's practice of having its employees order SBC DSL
lines, then cancel the orders. The technique is believed
to be a probe of SBC's DSL availability. Road Runner
originally admitted to placing and canceling the orders, but
claimed it was a mistake. In a letter to Congress read in
the House yesterday, RoadRunner parent company Time-Warner
apologized for what it called inappropriate actions in
Texas.
Some
free DSL services have hidden costs and privacy
problems. One provider uses a point system, where users
earn points toward their bill by viewing ads: if a user
doesn't use the system enough, he would have to pay part of
his bill.
Robots in our lifetime,
or, 'Jane, stop this crazy thing!'
A report from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation suggests that robots
could take over some of the most dangerous mining jobs from
human workers. Manuel Rossetti of the University of
Arkansas studied the delivery of specimens and medicine in
hospitals, and concluded that delivery
robots could save a hospital $600,000 over five years.
Spectators at this week's National Restaurant Association
got to see Flipper,
the hamburger- and pancake-flipping robot. Flipper is
available on a five year lease for $150,000, which includes
a grill, steamer and maintenance.
More wacky financial news
American
Express will stop processing orders from porn sites.
AmEx says the decision has nothing to do with prudery and
everything to do with the number of customer disputes over
billing at such sites.
Corel
has found CN$15 million in funding. The company was on
the verge of running out of cash, and had warned investors
that it could be broke as early as July if additional
funding wasn't obtained.
|
