read on fellow listers just another reason why not to worry about installing micro blah windbags xp ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2001 22:43:04 +1000 From: Samantha <samhowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: shauno at goanna.net.au Microsoft is spending at least $250 million to market its new Windows XP operating system, which has gotten some good reviews, but also plenty of criticism from rivals who say it is designed to push smaller firms out of the Web software business. XP integrates features such as a media player and a chat application, two items that have been provided by third-party software firms before. Privacy advocates are also wary of the way XP allows users to update its software: To get a special activation number from Microsoft, consumers must provide the company with information about themselves and the configuration of their computer. Changing too much hardware in the machine could render XP useless. When the new operating system is installed, it also asks people to sign up for Microsoft's Passport service, a password collector and electronic organizer that some say is intended only to keep computer users well within Microsoft's computing world. Michael Robertson, the founder of MP3.com and one of the loudest voices in the fight between the music industry and file-sharing sites, plans to take on Microsoft with a new operating system of his own. The software, known as "Lindows," would combine the Unix-based Linux operating system with a graphical interface that looks like Windows, and a layer of translation code that would allow the OS to run both Windows and Linux programs. The Wall Street Journal reported that Robertson expects to ship the new OS early next year. It is expected to cost consumers $99, and the software will be designed to be downloaded, the Journal reported. A news release about Robertson's plans is available at Lindows.com. Richard A. Clarke, the adviser for cyber-security in the newly created Office of Homeland Security, wants the government to create a second Internet, called Govnet, that would allow federal agencies to operate in security. But he hasn't ignored the need for more coordinated protection of the current Internet, according to The Washington Post. Clarke is among those urging industry to create a "first alert" system that would disseminate information about cyber-attacks so businesses could avert further damage. Computer security experts said the main problem in creating such a system has been the same for years: Corporations generally don't trust each other, and they are reluctant to share cyber-security information with one another. The FBI is attempting to change that with a public-private group called Infragard that allows the anonymous sharing of information about attacks, the Post reported. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5324 bytes Desc: URL: <http://linux-speakup.org/pipermail/speakup/attachments/20011028/c22f2a7e/attachment.bin>
