DVD Jon busts Apple's iTunes FairPlay

A hacker who as a teen cracked the encryption on DVDs has found a way to unlock the code that prevents iPod users from playing songs from download music stores other than Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes, his company said on Tuesday. Jon Lech Johansen, a 22-year-old Norway native who lives in San Francisco, cracked Apple's FairPlay copy-protection technology, said Monique Farantzos, managing director at DoubleTwist, the company that plans to license the code to businesses. ...more

Vista's OS X similarities could encourage switching - analysts

Microsoft Vista's 'uncanny' resemblance to OS X could backfire on Microsoft by making the switch from PC to Mac comparable to upgrading from Windows XP, according to analysts at JMP Securities. 'We believe that the fact that Vista is designed to be much like Apple's OS X will, in the consumer's mind, make the transition from using XP to Vista very comparable to making the transition from XP to Tiger,' the investment banker said. And the effect could be exaggerated once Apple replaces Tiger, the current version of OS X, with Leopard in the spring of 2007. ...more

Microsoft kicks off TechEd with Visual Studio 2005 Team System

Network security and software development were the keynote announcements on the first day of Microsoft's TechEd show in San Diego, California. Following Microsoft's current emphasis on the security of its products, HP and Microsoft are to develop and market a hardware security system, known as the 'HP ProLiant DL320 Firewall/VPN/Cache Server running Microsoft Internet Security & Acceleration Server (ISA) 2004'. 'Businesses must remain securely operational in the face of ever-increasing security threats,' said HP's VP of enterprise Microsoft services, Rick Fricchione. ...more

iPod mini audio problems surface

The first signs of dissatisfaction with Apple's iPod mini surfaced over the weekend, with users reporting a crackling noise when any buttons are pressed. A number of mini owners have found that the problem starts to occur after about five weeks, though Apple has been happy to replace affected units. The reports have been made via a thread in the iPodlounge forums; one account, posted by raul, says, 'the life expectancy for the mini is between 35 and 40 days; my new one is doing ok, but now i have that feeling that it will happen again. ...more

NTL and AOL agree Web deal

NTL and AOL have agreed a deal whereby AOL will get be allowed to use NTL's phone network to deliver its services. Currently users with NTL phone connections can only get access to AOL's pay-as-you-go Internet service. With this agreement they will gain access to AOL's popular unmetered offering, currently only available on BT phone lines. ...more