Thunderbird 1.5 flies the Mozilla nest

Mozilla has released Thunderbird 1.5, the latest version of its email client and companion to its Firefox Web browser. The release integrates Mozilla's new software update technology, with more prominent notification of new updates and improved support for extensions. ...more

Airbus banks away from support for Microsoft in EU legal battle

Airbus has withdrawn its support for Microsoft in the software maker's ongoing legal battle with the EU. The company is believed to be annoyed that its support for Microsoft was made public last week, but precisely why it has changed its mind is unclear. It is possible that the EU applied some pressure - as it is currently negotiating on behalf of the aircraft manufacturer in an attempt to secure an equal competitive footing with its main US rival, Boeing. ...more

Yahoo! and MSN talk beta

Yahoo! and Microsoft have begun a limited public beta test of interoperability between their instant messaging (IM) services. The trial service lets users of Windows Live Messenger, the successor to MSN Messenger connect to Yahoo! Messenger with Voice, in preparation for the worldwide launch of what will be the world's largest consumer IM community, with close to 350 million accounts. 'This first-of-its-kind interoperability between consumer IM leaders Microsoft and Yahoo! gives our customers tremendous control, convenience and freedom in their Web communication experiences with Windows Live,' said Blake Irving, corporate vice president, Windows Live Platform at Microsoft. ...more

iPod thefts push street crime spree

iPod thefts have contributed to a significant rise in street crime, according to the police. In some parts of the country the number of muggings was up by 40 per cent in 2004 and by an average of five per cent across England and Wales. In addition to iPods and other MP3 players, the police also identified the latest Internet-enabled phone models as a favourite target for thieves. ...more

Secure Shell found to be not so secure

A number of vendors' versions of the Secure Shell transport layer are open to attack, a company has found. The SSH transport layer is the source of a whole range of security options which are supposed to protect networks from attack. Among the options SSH provides are strong encryption, cryptographic host authentication, and integrity protection. ...more