Microsoft makes its Black Hat stage debut

Microsoft yesterday made its stage debut at the Black Hat hacking conference to demonstrate its latest products and procedures, giving away preview copies of its flagship Vista system to several thousand security specialists with the invite to try and break in. In a first for Redmond, the company took part as a platinum sponsor and presented a series of briefings on its efforts in the security space and in particular, the new security technologies in Vista. Andrew Cushman, Director, Microsoft Security Response, Engineering and Outreach Team detailed Microsoft's security story from a historical perspective, while John Lambert, Security Group Manager, Security Engineering and Communications Group took the lid off Vista and talked up the lengths his company has gone to secure the system, including what he claimed is the world's largest commercial penetration test. ...more

My MP3.com, the second time around

The service that launched a thousand lawsuits against MP3.com has re-launched, but this time around no one is getting into any trouble. The re-vamped service is no longer a free-for-all. ...more

mmO2's quiet Revolution

The mobile operator rolls out interactive portal in preparation for mobile data boom In contrast with the closed Vodafone Live service, O2's Revolution will be open to anyone on any network. The operator is currently finalising the last of its 40-odd applications with which it is launching. The applications cost ?1. ...more

Sharp develops MPEG4 recorder

Electronics giant Sharp has exhibited a prototype MPEG4 recorder at the World PC Expo 2000. The exhibited model was only a mockup, but a spokesperson from Sharp said that the company hoped to release a unit for the consumer electronics market by the end of the year. Details are a little sketchy but it is hoped that the recorder will have inputs so that it can record analogue TV and video signals. ...more

Apple's Tim Cook provides recipe for iPhone success

Apple's ability to keep innovating and make the 'best' products is down to hiring people who want to make them and providing an atmosphere to challenge them to do so, Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer, said yesterday. Cook's remarks came at the beginning of a Q&A session at the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium, in which he discussed the forthcoming iPhone and the reasons behind many of the technology choices in the phone/iPod/communicator. Cook's boss, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, unveiled the iPhone at the beginning of the year, and yesterday Cook echoed Jobs' claim that it will revolutionise the phone market. ...more