Tuesday, August 15

The Israeli government is getting flak for not encouraging broadband access.

Free ISP Bluelight.com has bagged US$80 million in funding.

Verizon will merge its DSL operations with NorthPoint Communications.

A UK government study found that use of hands-free mobile phones can "substantially" reduce radiation exposure, though exact figures weren't given. A British consumer group found that some hands-free sets can actually increase exposure.

The US PlayStation 2 isn't out yet, but people are dissing the Japanese PlayStation 2 for poor graphics and playability.

Former Infoseek exec and convicted pedophile Patrick Naughton will get a reduced sentence in exchange for creating tools to help authorities catch other pedophiles.

E-tailer ValueAmerica has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The longtime business-to-consumer player will close its Internet sales site and lay off 185 employees.

Microsoft Windows will be used to run some upcoming US aircraft carriers. We can just see it now: "Dr. Watson has detected an error in missile_launch.exe."

Computer security and privacy

Dan Brumleve discovered a whopper of a Netscape bug. Using a Java applet he calls Brown Orifice, a malicious user can turn a user's copy of Netscape into a web that can serve up the content of the user's hard drive.

Private security consultant Eric Murray claims that one out of three web sites that use SSL data encryption have weak encryption. Weaknesses ranging from outdated security certificates to readily-cracked 40-bit ciphers to self-signed security certificates (meaning that there is no third-party identity verification). His informal study (there was no editorial review and his report is rife with spelling errors) examined 8,081 web sites.

AOL plans to remove Netscape's SmartDownload feature, following a class action lawsuit that alleged AOL's Netscape subsidiary could use the feature to track files the user had downloaded.

Records of your online purchases may be sent to an anti-fraud agency. MSNBC reports on Cybersource and similar companies whose mission is to prevent credit card abuse. In doing so, the companies collect data warehouses of consumers' online purchases. Some companies make mention of the antifraud agencies in their privacy policies, but most don't. In many cases, e-commerce sites are unaware that CyberCash and other third-party payment verification services use Cybersource.

USA Today looks at an idea long advocated at 56K Plaza: swap your grocery store discount card with friends to confuse marketing databases.

Two Kazakhstanis who tried to extort $200,000 from Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg News have been arrested. The pair had broken into Bloomberg's computer systems and had threatened to reveal their exploits.

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Friday, August 18

Techpages uncovered and then leaked the existence of AOL client software for Linux. It's been known for some time that AOL was developing Linux software for use on a low-cost, Linux-based appliance being developed with Gateway.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the DVD industry, finding that computer code is not protected speech.

Jay Cohen is the first US citizen to go to jail for Internet gambling. His offshore gambling operation was based in Antigua, supposedly a haven for activities that run afoul of US laws. Cohen received a $5,000 fine and 21 months in prison.

New research finds that teenagers click banner ads the least, while kids 11 and younger click the most.

ISP news

Shares of most ISPs are down more than 70% from their 52-week highs. CNET examines the troubled state of the ISP market.

Southwestern Bell DSL is facing a class-action lawsuit brought by customers who believe the company is throttling back their bandwidth in violation of the company's terms of service.

Cable modem ISP Comcast is catching heat for banning VPN software, which allows telecommuters to connect securely to their office network.

The BBC has been unable to find anyone who uses AltaVista's unlimited UK Internet service, leading some to believe that the service has never actually been turned on. 

Wireless

Sprint is buying $200 million worth of Lucent equipment and services to help build out Sprint's Internet access and services.

David Carnoy of CNET reviews two new wireless web phones: the Ericsson R380 and the Sprint TP3000, which features a touchscreen and stylus.

Lycos is preparing a new voice portal that will allow consumers to retrieve stock quotes, movie listings and other information from their telephones. The system relies on voice recognition, and is similar to offerings from rivals such as Tellme and BeVocal.

E-commerce slide

Living.com is out of business. The company filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and laid off . Living.com backer Starbucks coffee has written off their $20.6 million investment.

Toys "R" Us is turning over most of its online operations to Amazon, and continues to face losses and lawsuits.

Living.com had agreed to pay Amazon $145 million for a presence on the Amazon web site. Forbes believes that Amazon has trouble selling expensive items.

ValueAmerica has closed its web site, filed for bankruptcy and laid off its employees.

For more dot-com bad news, visit fuckedcompany.com.

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