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rooster, regarding Dell mobile endeavor...
I concur.
Gates declares death of passwords
New Microsoft ID passes make .Net centre of world
By Guy Kewney, Techworld
Bill Gates has made .Net the way into Microsoft - literally. Smart cards from Axalto have been commissioned as ID passes for all employees around the world, and the cards will be used to gain access to the buildings, as well as to get into software.
"The move towards smart cards is the way forward," said Gates in his keynote at IT Forum, in Copenhagen this morning. "The idea is to have a smart card that connects up in the best way - a .Net based smart card."
Microsoft partner Axalto "has done a super job on this", said Gates. "We will be using their smartcards internally - each employee will use those to get in and out of the buildings as we used to connect to our machines. We're requring them. We will completely replace passwords."
By having .Net capability, said Gates, "we think this brings different logic down to the card itself, giving a richness and continuity to the platform that only exists in that .Net environment." Axalto said this was the first commercial deployment of Axalto’s .Net-based smart cards.
The Cryptoflex .Net powered smart card "is a secure, ultra-miniature personal computing technology that runs a small footprint version of the .Net Framework", said Axalto. The .Net-based smart card provides customisable two-factor authentication as well as full cryptographic capabilities, seamlessly via the standard Microsoft .Net programming tools and interfaces. Microsoft marks the first enterprise deployment of the .Net-based smart card.
According to Charles Fitzgerald, general manager of platform strategy at Microsoft, these cards are based on the ECMA standards, and now form the core Microsoft .Net technologies
Axalto VP Marvin Tansley said: "The best approach to Network access security is to add a microprocessor card into the authentication process. Supporting Microsoft .Net is a natural extension of Axalto’s commitment to innovation around industry standards which enable secure access for many with varied identity management solutions."
The timescale is due to be short: tens of thousands of Microsoft employees worldwide already carry a corporate access badge that secures Microsoft computer systems and facilities. The Axalto Cryptoflex .Net powered smart card to its employees will be universal for secure remote Network access in 2005.
According to Axalto's official announcement, Microsoft's selected .Net-based cards are smart IDs that support both physical and logical access on one smart card. A contactless (RFID) feature embedded in the card provides the physical access to buildings and offices.
"The logical access control is provided via a microprocessor contact smart card with specialized security features, large memory for application storage, and implements Microsoft .Net," said the company.
The implementation includes a MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) interpreter, application programming interfaces (system libraries needed for execution and smart card specific libraries for communication and security), and a converter that turns a CLI (common language infrastructure) compliant binary into a binary file for loading onto the smart card.
A set of relevant ECMA specifications and a comprehensive test suite that verifies compliance with the specs completes the package.
http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2627
rick5, you are correct on many fronts. eom
awk re: Embassy in mobile in 2005...
I concur.
ease2002, and it could be that Moore and Fish (et al, PTSC) are hoping to force the hand of Intel?
Or someone wants to dig deeper and buy out PTSC....
Relational Group, located in San Diego, was founded in 1988 by David H. Batchelder. Beginning with its core financial advisory expertise, the Group has grown to include Relational Advisors LLC, Relational Investors LLC, and Titan Investment Partners LLC.
Financial advisory services including mergers and acquisitions, financings, shareholder matters and restructuring crisis situtations.
Investment management of approximately $2 billion on behalf of institutional investors, targeted at proactively improving the performance of undervalued, publicly traded companies with market capitalization's generally in excess of $1 billion.
A small, private equity fund focused on expansion stage companies in need of both capital and board or management resources.
http://www.relationalgroup.com/
Patriot Scientific Corp. v. Fujitsu Computer Systems Corp., Matsushita Electric Corp., NEC Solutions, Inc., Sony Electronics, Inc., Toshiba America, Inc., Charles H. Moore, Technology Properties Ltd., and Daniel E. Leckrone
Patent Infringement
Beatie and Osborn LLP filed a complaint that Fujitsu Computer Systems Corp., Matsushita Electric Corp., NEC Solutions, Inc., Sony Electronics, Inc., Toshiba America, Inc., Charles H. Moore, Tehnology Properties LTD., and Daniel E. Leckrone.
The complaint states that each of these entities has willfully and deliberately infringed Patriot Scientific's patent entitled "High Performance Microprocessor Having Variable Speed Clock," referred to as the '336 Patent.
http://www.bandolaw.com/law/ViewAllClassAction?classActionType=Other
Looks like someone wants to settle. eom
PTSC has also filed suits against Charles Moore, Daniel Leckrone and Technology Properties Limited (TPL) relating to inventorship of the '336 patent. This case is being heard in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. In June 2004, suits against the five consumer electronics companies and the Intel case were stayed pending the outcome of the PTSC vs Moore/Leckrone/TPL. Currently, discovery is taking place with regard to the Moore et. al. case. We seek opportunities to settle this case using the court's alternative dispute resolution process, but are ready and able to take the issue through trial if settlement is not in the best interests of the shareholders. These actions are being handled on a contingency basis by our law firm and we are responsible for costs other than attorneys fees. Should a trial become necessary, we would expect it to occur in early 2005. After resolution of the inventorship issue, the Intel action will return to the forefront of our efforts. In April 2004, we notified an additional 174 companies of potential infringement. Although we cannot predict the outcome of any of these litigations, we believe in the strength of the PTSC patent portfolio and our legal representation, as well our legal position.
http://www.ptsc.com/press/press57.htm
and
Relational Advisors told the company that it represents Technology Properties Limited (TPL), Daniel Leckrone and Charles Moore in their effort to obtain PTSC ownership of patents US5809336, 6598148, 5440749, 5604915, 5530890, 5784584 and 5659703.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041111/flth008_1.html
Now that's what I'm talking about! eom
Atmel Extends Trusted Computing Standard To Embedded Systems
Atmel Delivers Hardware-Based Security For Gaming, Industrial Control And
Infrastructure With An Easy To Use SMBus Interface In A 6 x 6 Millimeter Package
Atmel recently announced the AT97SC3201S Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a
single-chip hardware security subsystem designed specifically for embedded systems, such as voting machines, gaming systems, PDAs, set top boxes, POS terminals, ATMs, portable mass storage devices, and industrial controls. Based on Trusted Computing Group industry standards, the new device offers embedded systems ultra-security that, until now, has only been available for personal computers.
Continue reading the full press release at:
http://atmel.cc/dbm83/l.php?2953&5725&ref=&FileName=embedded10_18.html&SEC_N....
http://atmel.cc/dbm83/l.php?2954&5725&family_id=620&family_name=Embedded+Security+
NTT DoCoMo, Intel and IBM Collaborate on Mobile Device Security Solution
, 11.01.04, 10:36 AM ET
Japan Corporate News Network
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 01, 2004 (JCNN via COMTEX) -- NTT DoCoMo (TSE: 9437), Intel and IBM have released a new security specification called for mobile devices called the "Trusted Mobile Platform."
The specification has defined a set of hardware and software components that can be constructed to build devices offering different levels of security. Trusted Mobile Platform builds on well established, strong security techniques and applies them to the hardware and software architectures to define a trusted execution environment that protects the device both at boot time and during runtime.
This can help make advanced mobile-commerce services such as electronic tickets and e-wallets for online purchases more secure and help protect against viruses and other software attacks.
Details are publicly available at http://www.trusted-mobile.org/ for industry review.
By Dale Hug, Staff Writer, newsroom@japancorp.net
Copyright (C) 2004 Japan Corporate News Network. All rights reserved.
(C) 2004 Japan Corporate News Network. All Rights Reserved
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/wireless/2004/11/01/wirelesscomtex_2004_11_01_jc_0000-229761-...
NSA recommendations for OS X protection...
http://www.nsa.gov/snac/
and
http://www.nsa.gov/snac/os/applemac/osx_client_final_v.1.pdf
awk, wasn't a Finread application demonstrated with...
...orange/France Telecom recently?
A thought consider is this:
If they are delivering on the business plan and there are revenues coming, they could seek a private placement to buy back shares.
even a small buy-back could send a critical message to the markets. eom
I hope that SunnComm will start buying back shares...
...if they don't we will continue to have too many shares out there.
Kevin, of particular value is protecting...
...the 'address' number of the phone. Apparently there is a huge black market in Europe for stealing phones, altering this number and redistributing the phone for free usage.
Easy and Secure Setup of Personal Wireless Networks
Amol Kulkarni and Jesse Walker
Wireless networks are becoming less expensive and more readily
available, but configuring one can be a daunting task for the average
user. Intel is working on a solution to make wireless network setup
easier and more secure.
http://intel1.m0.net/m/s.asp?HB16335165693X4157589X510899
awk, yes...
...and consider the architecture/infrastructure, particularly for services.
lugan, my response...
Watch the mobile space carefully and closely.
Having to be careful here with this post, but...
...I sat in on the Digital ID World presentation yesterday evening.
Suffice it to say that we are in the sweet spot. I was very heartened by what I saw and heard, particularly amongst the participants after the presentations. This is all I can say.
OT...NTT DoCoMo, Intel and IBM Collaborate to Enhance Mobile Device Security
Wednesday October 27, 1:57 pm ET
Companies Introduce 'Trusted Mobile Platform' Specification
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2004--NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Intel Corporation and IBM released a security specification called "Trusted Mobile Platform." The specification can help make advanced mobile-commerce services such as electronic tickets and e-wallets for online purchases more secure and help protect against viruses and other software attacks.
Ad Feedback
Trusted Mobile Platform has defined a set of hardware and software components that can be constructed to build devices offering different levels of security. Trusted Mobile Platform builds on well-established, strong security techniques and applies them to the hardware and software architectures to define a trusted execution environment that protects the device at boot time and during runtime.
These components function together to limit the potential damage from malicious applications and to enable a rich set of security services. In addition, Trusted Mobile Platform has defined a protocol that allows the security state of a device to be shared with other devices in the network, enabling device level trust to be extended into the larger network.
"The Trusted Mobile Platform provides a new foundation for mobile devices," said Takanori Utano, executive vice president and chief technology officer of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. "The goal of our joint research was to provide an open and secure architecture for future wireless data services."
"This collaboration directly enhances handheld architectures to provide the trusted capabilities vital for widespread adoption of mobile commerce and enterprise usage," said Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Communications Group.
"Mobile security is more than just protecting against new viruses, worms and attacks; it's about protecting critical business assets and information," said Alistair Rennie, vice president, Sales and Marketing, IBM Pervasive Computing. "IBM is working to bring security specifications, such as the Trusted Mobile Platform, to standards bodies, with the hope security will become more embedded across a broad range of business systems."
The Trusted Mobile Platform specification incorporates the latest security technologies and controls. Through tamper-resistant modules and by enabling domain separation, a trusted platform will be able to protect data from potential viruses spreading from one application to the next. In addition, the authorization and management protocols provide companies with higher levels of security for wireless delivery of new software to employees.
Each company has contributed unique and valuable skills to the collaboration. NTT DoCoMo brings the requirements for platform integrity and security based on its knowledge of wireless networks. Intel brings its knowledge of silicon designs and expertise in architecting wireless devices. IBM is contributing its vast experience in business security and pervasive computing.
The specification is available at www.trusted-mobile.org/ for industry review.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/041027/276320_1.html
OT, rooster, don't you just...
...hate Apple! I love that article.
HHAHAHAHAAHAHA!
EMI and Janus...
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/37361.html
Media Centers don't yet support digital cable or satellite TV elegantly. It's not a technology problem. Rather, the approvals aren't yet in place from the providers. The next-generation music service from Microsoft, code named Janus, is held up by approvals as well (in this case from EMI). In this new world it is content owners, not just technology providers, who create the drag on new products. These content owners are very concerned with media theft and adequate pricing.
Automotive support is still light, but you can use a portable media center or a compliant digital music player. However, OmniFi, whom we mentioned in an earlier column, was there. This suggests that a more integrated solution is coming.
We are still missing a true media server , though the HP product is close, and you can expect improvements to both still picture and video editing. There is one interesting dynamic to consider: Initially there will be a need for much larger and more resilient storage, but eventually on-demand services like Microsoft's Janus (once approved and integrated) may actually reduce our need to store commercial music and movies.
OT, OT...PHILIPS CONNECTS COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE DIGITAL HOME
Introduces InnoHub as part of USD 90 million investment in Singapore to accelerate Connected Planet strategy
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) today announced its participation in the Connecting the Community pilot project that is being planned by the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). Philips also introduced InnoHub, an integrated test bed facility to test and fine-tune products developed at the Philips Innovation Campus (PIC) in Singapore. Philips last year committed USD 90 million for the development of products and test bed facilities in Singapore as part of its Connected Planet strategy.
Philips through the Connecting the Community project will team up content and service providers to equip selected households with both wired and wireless broadband and connectivity products. During this six months pilot project, residents that volunteer to participate will experience relevant interactive services linked to their local community, including e-health, e-learning, e-security and digital entertainment applications.
One of the major trends that will impact consumers in the next few years is the consumerization of healthcare. People are beginning to take an active role in keeping themselves out of hospital, and taking care of their own health within the home. One of the applications Philips will explore during the Connecting the Community project is delivering personalized healthcare to the home over broadband in order to help meet consumers' rising demand for healthcare.
Elderly patients have the potential to skip or forget the medications they need to consume for their chronic condition, for instance, diabetes and hypertensive medications. In response, Philips is considering to introduce an e-health application in the form of a pop-up window that appears on the patient's TV screen, with a ringing alarm, so that the patient would never miss a medication reminder. The pop-up window could also contain useful information on the medication and how to consume it. At present, Philips with its service provider can deliver this type of service through a mobile phone via SMS.
"We believe e-health services over broadband is one of the driving forces for establishing connected communities where patients are empowered to manage their health more effectively, and in the process help healthcare providers control costs," said Andreas Wente, President and CEO of Philips Electronics Asia. "These personalized healthcare services would not only aim to help people with chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure manage their health more effectively, but ultimately help in maintaining a healthy digital lifestyle - for example, delivering weight management or employer health programs via a broadband enabled TV."
The InnoHub supports the Connecting the Communities initiative by creating a linked environment of communication devices and home entertainment appliances that speak to one another, creating greater personalized control, productivity and convenience for consumers.
Complementing the in-house InnoHub facility, the PIC also has connected systems installed in a number of digital homes throughout Singapore. Reaching beyond the lab and into the living room, Philips is uniquely positioned to make humanized technology a seamless part of consumers' everyday lives.
"This collaboration in Singapore embodies our vision of an emerging Connected Planet since it observes the daily habits and routines of normal families and, more importantly, identifies how their natural behavior responds to the latest state-of-the-art connectivity solutions," said Cesar Vohringer, Chief Technology Officer, Philips Consumer Electronics. "Through an understanding of how these families interact not only virtually within the home but now through their communities, Philips can further realize its new brand promise by applying these discoveries in the creation of products that are advanced, easy to experience and designed around these consumers."
Philips will leverage InnoHub to further broaden its application of wireless, broadband and mobile enabling technologies to provide seamless accessibility to entertainment, information and services.
The InnoHub will also function as an idea management facility. Having raw technology and creative ideas alone does not guarantee commercial success of innovations. Ideas need to be filtered and analyzed for technical feasibility and developed into consumer centered and commercially viable innovations. With an IP portfolio of more than 100,000 patents, Philips is hardly short of technology. InnoHub aims to leverage on this inherent strength to create new business opportunities from existing and new technologies.
Since the inception of the Philips Innovation Campus in Singapore, it has been growing steadily with a variety of new development activities. The Campus, which has some 1,200 design and development engineers, will see its role and activities expanding as a direct result of the Connected Planet initiatives taking place in Singapore.
For further information, please contact:
Sajin Varghese
Philips Corporate Communications
Tel: +31 20 59 77425
Email: sajin.varghese@philips.com
Boey Taik Boon
Philips Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 68 82 57 21
Email: boey.taik.boon@philips.com
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 29 billion in 2003. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 166,800 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Philips and certain of the plans and objectives of Philips with respect to these items. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
--
To modify/cancel your subscription to receive Philips' corporate press
releases by e-mail, go to http://mailinglist.philips.com/
As much as I hate to admit it...
APPLE IS BACK!
Actually, I love admitting that. I have been waiting a long, LONG time to say that.
Dell, who's your daddy?
AT&T to use OS X internally? eom
OT Vacationhouse, paying for music is part of the iPod phenom. The iTunes (as a software platform) music store is tied to the iPod (as a HW platform) by a primitive DRM. This DRM is hackable and a buyer of the music through the software platform could hack it and share it.
Balmer needs to prove his assertion that iPod owners are hacking the DRM and distributing the music to other iPod users.
Monkeyboy has said some stupid things in the past ("developers, developers, developers, developers"), but claiming that iPod users are crooks stealing music is absurd at least and perhaps criminal on his part at best?
OT, Balmer says that iPod users are crooks stealing music...
...I completely disagree. I challenge him to inspect my iPod. Maybe Stevie-poo wants a TPM in the iPod?
BTW, is there a similarity between his claims and Howard Dean?
http://www.flamingmailbox.com/maccomedy/movies/balmer.html
Balmer, the only thief I see...
http://www.flamingmailbox.com/maccomedy/movies/balmer.html
OT... nice report on the Biometric IBM ThinkPad T42
[I highly recommend a read of this article at the link at the bottom because there are some great pictures.]
Last week I attended an IBM briefing, held at The Clink Museum near London Bridge. The Clink was an old Prison and the museum is full of gruesome memorabilia relating to the bad old days of sadistic incarceration. The reason that IBM chose this particular venue is because the theme of the evening was security, and what better place to talk about security than in a prison?
IBM had a lot to talk about when it came to security, but the most interesting part of the presentation was the announcement that the T-Series of ThinkPads were going to be equipped with biometric security in the shape of a fingerprint scanner. On display were two pre-production T42 notebooks, complete with the foresaid scanner, and while other journalists were busy scanning their fingertips, I was negotiating the release of one of the imprisoned notebooks. Thankfully the negotiations were successful, and a prototype T42, with integrated fingerprint scanner, was set free and shipped to the TrustedReviews office the next day.
So, sitting in front of me right now is a notebook very similar to the ThinkPad T42 that I reviewed a few weeks ago. However, just below the cursor keys is a slim, and very unobtrusive fingerprint scanner. IBM has chosen to go with a swipe-scanner rather than a touch-scanner, for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that a swipe-scanner provides better security. Because you have to drag your fingertip across the scanner, there is no way to "lift" a fingerprint from the surface. Your fingertips contain oil, which is why you leave fingerprints on surfaces when you touch them, and why cat burglars always wear gloves in the movies. With touch-scanners, you will leave a pretty accurate impression of your fingerprint on the surface of the scanner itself, and if someone really knows what they're doing, they could remove that print and use it to fool the scanner into thinking that they are you. The second reason for going with a swipe-scanner is that it can be far smaller than a touch-scanner, since it doesn't have to accommodate your whole fingertip. The third and final reason is that touch scanners have a habit of getting dirty, and need to be cleaned regularly to maintain an accurate read of your fingertip. Swipe-scanners can take a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of drawing your finger across the surface smoothly, you won't have a problem.
The capacitive sensor technology in the fingerprint scanner, senses the patterns of electrical resistance caused by the ridges and furrows in the fingertip. Multiple readings of the fingerprint are taken while it is slid across the surface of the scanner. All the readings are then combined to form an accurate image of the swiped finger.
When I first booted up this special ThinkPad T42, I was greeted with the "IBM Fingerprint Software" window. This is where you can configure the fingerprint scanner and enrol the fingers that you wish to use. The first thing I did was to enrol one of my fingers in the Power On security section. This would allow me to protect unauthorised booting of the notebook with a fingerprint instead of a password. When you enrol a finger, you have to scan it three times successfully. Once that is done, the software amalgamates all three images into a single image, to which it will compare any scans that it receives in the future.
Now, the Power On password has to be enabled in the BIOS for the Power On fingerprint security to work. However, when I enabled this, it ended up asking me to swipe my finger and then ask me for the password as well. However, after a couple of reboots and a bit of BIOS fiddling, this problem resolved itself. Then when I switched on the T42, I was asked to swipe my finger and when the Power On password screen appeared, it instantly registered "OK" as if I had just input the correct password and the boot continued.
Of course since the Power On security layer is something that occurs well before Windows has started up, the fingerprint data can't be stored in a Windows file or folder. Instead, the fingerprint scanner itself stores the fingerprint data and retrieves it when the Power On security request is made. You can store a total of 21 profiles in the scanner, which should be more than enough, unless you share one notebook between a score of users. If you're worried about someone extracting the fingerprint data from the scanner and breaking your security, dont be. The scanner only stores a tiny amount of data for each fingerprint, just enough to ensure an accurate match, and nowhere near enough to recreate a complete fingerprint.
You can also apply fingerprint authentication to your Windows login. However, to save you having to swipe your finger twice and wear it out, you can tell the fingerprint software to automatically login the user that passed the Power On authentication. If more than one person uses the notebook, you can quickly and easily switch between users with the fingerprint scanner instead of passwords.
For an IT manager, biometric security will make life much easier. Gone will be all those phone calls from users who've forgotten their passwords. And there will be no more worries about insecure passwords, or even keystroke loggers, trapping passwords and passing them onto hackers and fraudsters.
But the fingerprint scanner is not the only security enhancement that IBM has implemented into the latest T-Series ThinkPads. IBM has partnered with data security specialist Utimaco, to ensure that ThinkPad users can keep their data safe, no matter how careless they may be with it. Utimaco SafeGuard Easy will keep every byte of data on your notebook encrypted, so that even if your machine is lost or stolen, no one can get access to the data stored on it. Unlike many encryption solutions, SafeGuard Easy does not need any user intervention, since the level of encryption can be configured so that everything you save to your notebook is safeguarded. I was concerned that keeping the entire contents of the hard disk encrypted could have an adverse effect on the performance, but Jackie Groves, Managing Director of Utimaco, assured me that the performance hit will be no more than two per cent and completely transparent to the user.
But what makes SafeGuard Easy so special is that it works with IBM's own Rescue and Recovery utility. The problem with encrypted data is that when you try to restore an image of an encrypted hard drive, all the data, including the boot records just look like garbage to the restore program. But with SafeGuard Easy, you can keep the entire contents of your drive encrypted, and still be safe in the knowledge that should your hard disk crash, you can restore all your data to a new drive despite the fact that it's encrypted.
Talking of Rescue and Recovery, the T42 in front of me also utilises IBM Rescue and Recovery v2.0. Building on features of the original Rescue and Recovery, version 2.0 makes it even easier for a ThinkPad user to stay productive. The Rapid Restore feature is of course still present, and allows users to restore to a working version of their operating system if something untoward happens. But for IT managers, it's now possible to send fixes and critical updates to users, and if they don't install the required content they will be removed from the network until their machine has been made "safe".
Of course these days, it's not just the data on your hard disk that you have to worry about. With so many forms of removable storage available, you need more than just your hard disk protected. Thankfully this latest T42 won't just encrypt data on its own hard disk, it will also be able to encrypt any files that you transfer to a USB flash memory key, or a removable hard disk, or even a CD-R disc. You can choose to encrypt the whole device or media, or you can create encrypted partitions, so that there is an area that can be read by other machines.
OK, so what's this pre-production T42 like apart from all the new security stuff? Well, pretty much every bit as good as the last one I looked at, or to be honest a little better. One of the things that disappointed me about the production T42 model I reviewed, was the relatively low screen resolution of 1,024 x 768, especially since the pre-production T42p I looked at sported a 1,600 x 1,200 screen. The model sitting in front of me right now has a 15in screen like the last two units, but has a resolution in between the two, at 1,400 x 1,050. This gives you a far more acceptable amount of desktop real estate compared to 1,024 x 768, especially when you consider the large physical size of the screen.
The keyboard is up to the usual IBM exemplary standard (despite being of US layout), with long travel, solid break and the feeling that every single key is individual. There isn't the slightest hint of keyboard flex, and typing is, quite simply, a joy. There's the superb IBM TrackPoint gracing the centre of the keyboard, for accurate pointer manipulation without having to remove your hands from the keyboard. But, if you happen to prefer touchpads, there's one of those too.
As always, connectivity is very well catered for. There's an integrated Gigabit Ethernet adapter and a 56K modem. But if you're not a fan of wires, there's an 802.11a/b/g WiFi adapter, covering all the available standards. If you need to connect to your mobile phone you can use the integrated Bluetooth support or even the IrDA port if you prefer to go "old school".
On the right of the chassis you'll find the CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive and a D-SUB port for connecting the notebook to an external monitor. On the left there are two PC Card slots, two USB 2.0 ports, an S-Video output, Ethernet port, a modem connector and mic and headphone sockets. At the rear is a parallel port and the power socket.
Inside, there's a 1.8GHz Intel Pentium M CPU, backed up by 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard disk, while graphics come courtesy of a more than capable ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 chipset. Since this is a pre-production model, I wasn't able to run any benchmarks on it, so I have no idea how it performs or what the battery life might be like. That said, I don't imagine that it will be too different from any other ThinkPad T42 with similar components.
I will hopefully have a full production version of the updated ThinkPad T42 soon. Once that appears I'll be able to test it properly and see whether the new security measures do affect performance in any way. But with mobile computing becoming more and more common, any features that enhance the security of your data can't be a bad thing.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=36&page=1643
Consortium Targets DRM Interoperability
Business - NewsFactor
NewsFactor
Jay Wrolstad, www.newsfactor.com
Seeking hardware and digital content that play well together, some top media and technology firms have established the Coral Consortium.
If all goes according to plan, the group will create a common framework for multimedia content delivery that supports an array of DRM (digital rights management) technologies.
Founding members include Hewlett-Packard, Intertrust Technologies, Koninklijke Philips Electronics, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Samsung, Sony (NYSE: SNE - news) and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Notably absent are Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news), two major players in digital-media delivery.
Confusion Among Consumers
While consumers have a plethora of channels to acquire music and video, proprietary technologies are common among providers, who closely guard their content. Consequently, content protected by one DRM technology often cannot be played on a device that supports a different standard.
"Interoperability was not an issue as these channels were introduced, because each content provider trusted its own DRM technology. But consumers are confused because they download music from one source that they can't use," Jack Lacey, president of Coral, told NewsFactor.
A single DRM standard is impractical, he said, because each technology allows providers to create a separate, safe business model. Coral's response is to isolate content interoperability from DRM technology through a set of specifications that establishes common ground among different DRM offerings.
Building Trust
"We want to bring together all of the participants in the value chain and, ultimately, provide a unified experience for consumers," said Lacy. That, in turn, will spur sales of hardware, music and video, and multimedia services.
In effect, the group will develop digital-media interfaces that provide "trusted communities" for content providers, device manufacturers and service providers, Lacy said. Coral will provide interoperability for secure content distribution over both Web and home network-based devices and services.
As for Apple and Microsoft, Lacy said those companies are encouraged to participate and will be offered Coral's specifications when they are introduced.
Apple, Microsoft Not on Board
Apple has shown no sign of cooperation thus far regarding the company's iTunes music service and FairPlay DRM code that limits iPod users to iTunes content. When RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK - news) recently introduced its Harmony digital-music software, which lets consumers play songs from Real on the iPod, Real was accused of hacking technology from the iPod's DRM application.
And Microsoft recently rolled out a new version of its Windows Media digital-rights management (DRM) software. Early adopters of the platform comprise a veritable Who's Who in the entertainment and online media world, including America Online, Disney, CinemaNow, MovieLink, MusicNow, Napster (news - web sites) and VirginMega France.
Other users include consumer electronics device manufacturers Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - news) and Samsung and chip-makers Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) and SigmaTel.
The first step for Coral, Lacy said, is to analyze various digital-media usage scenarios, such as an individual downloading content from a mobile phone and then trying to play it on a PC, to determine the best way to offer interoperability.
The first specifications from the Coral Consortium are expected next year.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20041004/bs_nf/27327
OT...Consortium Targets DRM Interoperability
Business - NewsFactor
NewsFactor
Jay Wrolstad, www.newsfactor.com
Seeking hardware and digital content that play well together, some top media and technology firms have established the Coral Consortium.
If all goes according to plan, the group will create a common framework for multimedia content delivery that supports an array of DRM (digital rights management) technologies.
Founding members include Hewlett-Packard, Intertrust Technologies, Koninklijke Philips Electronics, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Samsung, Sony (NYSE: SNE - news) and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Notably absent are Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news), two major players in digital-media delivery.
Confusion Among Consumers
While consumers have a plethora of channels to acquire music and video, proprietary technologies are common among providers, who closely guard their content. Consequently, content protected by one DRM technology often cannot be played on a device that supports a different standard.
"Interoperability was not an issue as these channels were introduced, because each content provider trusted its own DRM technology. But consumers are confused because they download music from one source that they can't use," Jack Lacey, president of Coral, told NewsFactor.
A single DRM standard is impractical, he said, because each technology allows providers to create a separate, safe business model. Coral's response is to isolate content interoperability from DRM technology through a set of specifications that establishes common ground among different DRM offerings.
Building Trust
"We want to bring together all of the participants in the value chain and, ultimately, provide a unified experience for consumers," said Lacy. That, in turn, will spur sales of hardware, music and video, and multimedia services.
In effect, the group will develop digital-media interfaces that provide "trusted communities" for content providers, device manufacturers and service providers, Lacy said. Coral will provide interoperability for secure content distribution over both Web and home network-based devices and services.
As for Apple and Microsoft, Lacy said those companies are encouraged to participate and will be offered Coral's specifications when they are introduced.
Apple, Microsoft Not on Board
Apple has shown no sign of cooperation thus far regarding the company's iTunes music service and FairPlay DRM code that limits iPod users to iTunes content. When RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK - news) recently introduced its Harmony digital-music software, which lets consumers play songs from Real on the iPod, Real was accused of hacking technology from the iPod's DRM application.
And Microsoft recently rolled out a new version of its Windows Media digital-rights management (DRM) software. Early adopters of the platform comprise a veritable Who's Who in the entertainment and online media world, including America Online, Disney, CinemaNow, MovieLink, MusicNow, Napster (news - web sites) and VirginMega France.
Other users include consumer electronics device manufacturers Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - news) and Samsung and chip-makers Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) and SigmaTel.
The first step for Coral, Lacy said, is to analyze various digital-media usage scenarios, such as an individual downloading content from a mobile phone and then trying to play it on a PC, to determine the best way to offer interoperability.
The first specifications from the Coral Consortium are expected next year.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20041004/bs_nf/27327
eamonnshute, that is very interesting indeed. eom
cpa, admission of a problem...
...is the start to recovery.
Stan, I'm your biggest fan.
OT SSP-Litronic...
Smart Cards Gear Up For Biometrics
Smart cards, currently a favorite of governments and large corporations, are getting more powerful, incorporating Java and USB technologies.
by Mathew Schwartz
9/29/2004
Will you soon be waving a smart card to gain access to the corporate network, restricted applications, and the front door?
The short answer is no. While every security manager might wish a smart card—and two-factor authentication—upon their constituency, experts say the cards are the provenance of larger organizations and the government.
Today, 87 percent of the smart card market—a percentage practically unchanged since 2001—revolves around the SIM chips in mobile phones, plus improved credit and debit cards, notes Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels in a recent research brief, “Who’s Who in Smart Card Technology in 2004.” In fact, “such potential smart card deployments as Internet and corporate IDs (using digital certificates), loyalty cards, local transit cards, and government or government healthcare ID cards have been slow to take off,” he notes.
Employee ID cards are the provenance of the U.S. government, and “a small number of large multinationals,” he says. Still, this is a formidable market, and as it grows, standards may make it easier for other companies to invest in the cards and integrate, out of the box, with business partners’ smart card infrastructures.
To discuss smart card use, especially by large organizations and the U.S. government, Security Strategies spoke with James Prohaska, the vice president of business development for SSP-Litronic, which recently released Forté, a smart card that uses Sun’s Java Card technology. SSP’s clients include U.S. government agencies, Microsoft, VeriSign, Lockheed Martin, and Bank of America.
Who’s leading the corporate and government smart card push?
The U.S. has really led that because of what’s going on in terms of the government.
You mean with the DoD’s Common Access Card?
That’s where a lot of [initiative] came from, because part of that credential—as part of the DoD program—was to convey a PKI certificate, which then not only allowed you to go into commissaries but also allowed the various members of the [armed forces] to be sure they can sign and encrypt e-mail and … you can protect yourself going into protected government sites.
This established a real requirement that had tied to it, from the government’s perspective, a real return on investment. Now they could go, with the Government Paperwork Reduction Act [in mind], … and say when we’re providing information to citizens, or providing information on a practical or tactical level, digitally, [thanks to the card].
So the smart card trends are really being driven by the government, because yes, smart cards are important. But if you don’t have an infrastructure to support it … it doesn’t matter that you’re carrying your credentials around.
Why offer smart cards with Java on them?
Until recently, everybody … had their own smart card, and because it actually had a processor on it, it had its own operating system (OS) … [So] you had five or six different cards, and each is interfaced to ubiquitously, and that … becomes a problem as you expand the infrastructure.
So … under the auspices of Sun and some university studies, [a group] came out with a virtual card or OS, something like the Java-based technology.
This is “Java Card” technology?
Yes … There’s Java on your system, then the actual technology on your smart cards is called Java Card. The neat thing about that is … if you have those applets—little programs that are Java Card based—and if you load those onto a standard platform, all you’re doing now is interfacing to that application, instead of having to interface to everyone’s OS. So … it really helps protect everyone’s investment in the smart card industry.
Would these smart cards with Java also function across government agencies?
That is correct … as long as they adhere to both standards. The government has actually come out with the GSC-IS (the Government Smart Card-Interoperability Specification) to make sure that not only do the cards interoperate, but the programs are written correctly.
How effective is the GSC-IS standard?
As is often the case, you’ll always find some exception somewhere. As far as me saying this is great, we’re all going to jump over the rainbow, some bug could always rear its ugly head … but we’re getting there.
How much variety is there in features for cards implementing the GSC-IS standard?
Well, for example, [SSP’s] NetSign Enterprise works with anyone else’s cards, and works with a whole plethora of other applications. But one of the things we started seeing from a government, as well as a corporate world with [high-value] assets—like financial organizations—was they wanted to be able to go to a higher level of assurance, with the type of credentials they were using, and the smart cards that they were putting those credentials on.
Why are larger organizations and government agencies pushing for improved credentials?
The higher the value of the data, the more [your attackers] are willing to invest to get that data. So what we’ve been doing is, in conjunction with people in the federal government, and also some companies that have some very highly valued electronic assets, is we developed what we call our J-Forté card. To quote Emeril Lagasse, we sort of take it up a notch … [with] everything from random-number generation, to the way the information is protected in the cards, to not only data, but data pointers, being properly obfuscated, to the way there are the appropriate fiscal protections on the smart card. It also has a significantly higher degree of processing as well. Eight- or 16-bit processors are standard, and we use a 32-bit RISC processor.
[Also] not only do we have the ability to communicate via the ISO specification, which is a serial interface, you also have the ability to interface with our card via USB, and the important thing is it’s not USB to serial to the terminal, it’s USB to terminal. You can actually communicate to the card at about 12 megabits per second, which is a whole lot faster. So now you not only have the strength of the background processes … but you also have a method of performance where you not only have a way to contain the credentials, but also a way to use them.
What’s an example of how the processor and USB speed increase will help?
Let’s say you’re storing a lot of biometric information on your card … You can [add storage, and also] store more information on the card, so you’d be able to communicate faster. The other thing is you have various cryptographic functions which are very memory intensive, and rather than having to take your key, transfer it to the client PC, and let the PC do all its decryption [in an unencrypted space]… all that is now taken care of on the smart card itself.
We heard from [customers] that they wanted to make sure they had more performance and a higher degree of process integrity. They also wanted to have the expandability, and … use it with all different types of applets. Also it [needed to be compatible] with government and industry-standard credential-issuing services. As people start going to biometrics, the higher performance is going to become more and more important.
How does the card invoke biometric passwords?
Built into the functions of the card, the application can, say, go and ask for a PIN, or go and ask for a biometric.
If these cards use Java, can they be updated?
Unlike almost any other card out there … after you’ve issued it, we have the necessary processes [to] update various algorithms and processes securely in the field, so you don’t have to reissue the smart card, or throw it away, or what have you. That’s been very well received.
What’s the potential market for a higher-assurance smart card?
Some of the places we’re focusing on are the areas that are looking for a higher-assurance token and a higher-assurance infrastructure, such as the Department of Homeland Security, the DoD, plus transportation, and law enforcement. I can tell you that [our technology is] being looked at not only by law enforcement community, but also by DoD at various levels.
http://www.esj.com/news/article.aspx?EditorialsID=1135
Industry sources interviewed by The Register say it's very likely that 2005 will see every single release sold by BMG ship with SunnComm's technology. Jacobs also hints at a similar deal with another major label.
Some insiders within the industry say that SunnComm's DRM technology is far superior to that of MacroVision in that it allows for more customization into how many times a CD can be copied onto a PC or moved to a portable device.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/27/sunncomm_death_or_glorry/
Is SunnComm a sham or the next, big DRM success?
By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Published Monday 27th September 2004 20:09 GMT
Feature
You might expect one of the world's leading digital rights management (DRM) technology makers to have a rich history in either the computing or music fields or both. This is not the case for SunnComm International Inc. Instead, the firm's experience revolves around a troubled oil and gas business, an Elvis and Madonna impersonator operation and even a Christmas tree farm.
SunnComm rose to national prominence in the Fall of 2003 when a Princeton University graduate student managed to undermine the company's CD copy protection technology simply by holding down the Shift key on his computer when inserting an album. Countless news organizations, including this one, mocked SunnComm and music label BMG for distributing such thin CD protection, even though the average consumer would be unlikely to employ the Shift key block. The incident created a tight link between SunnComm and the word incompetence, prompting the company to issue legal threats against the Princeton student.
SunnComm's suggestion of a lawsuit garnered even more negative press, as researchers rushed to point out that the student had every right to examine the DRM technology as part of his computer science studies. This prompted SunnComm to pull back on the lawsuit threat and focus instead on doing business as usual and improving its technology.
A less publicized but more complex battle has been taking place between SunnComm and what seems to be a small group of disgruntled shareholders. These apparent SunnComm investors have filled Internet message boards with detailed information that basically claims the company is at worst a sham and at best a deceptive business. The postings describe a string of odd acquisitions, somewhat misleading financial press releases and dubious product announcements that should have the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) kicking off an Enron-like crackdown, according to the SunnComm haters.
After reading hundreds of pages of SEC filings and other SunnComm documents, we were quite shocked when an actual human answered the company's main number. The case made by the shareholders - one of whom has spent four weeks e-mailing us information about SunnComm - made it seem like a stuttering voicemail message would be all the company could afford in the way of a receptionist. Instead, a lass fielded our call with total competence, saying CEO Peter Jacobs was out of town but would return in a couple days.
After significant effort on our part, The Register eventually managed to secure Jacobs on the horn - about a week after the first call. The fact that he even took the call was impressive given our punishing treatment of the Shift key debacle.
"Everyone told me not to talk to you," Jacobs began. "They're afraid you'll do a real hatchet job."
This wasn't the most pleasant way to begin a grueling, accusatory interview, but Jacobs' unease made sense for the obvious reasons. He was well aware of the skewering SunnComm was taking on the investor message boards and beyond that knew that The Register tends to dismiss DRM technology as a type of pointless CD cancer that will stop people from enjoying the free exchange of culture they've come to expect.
With all this in mind, it seemed only natural that Jacobs would try to steer clear of any damaging issues and, like any good CEO, begin rattling off the merits of SunnComm's DRM software. The typical dance of probing journalist and dodging CEO would begin and then end in an hour with little progress made.
Almost disturbingly, Jacobs didn't dodge but immediately confessed to a long string of SunnComm cock-ups - many of which began before he took charge of the company.
"I came into the company like Harvey Keitel came into Pulp Fiction - to fix the deal," Jacobs said.
To be sure, this isn't clean up the two dead bodies in the car type of material, but it is the story of a company - stretched between Arizona and Nevada - with a twisted history. It's the story of a company searching for its identity in the most bizarre of places.
From faux Elvis to DRM in 80 days
SunnComm began life under a different name - Desert Winds Entertainment Corp. This company, headed up by Michael Paloma, provided Elvis and other impersonators for Las Vegas lounge acts and ended up running into serious trouble with the SEC in 1999. Government documents show that Desert Winds was charged with announcing a $25m deal with Warner Bros. when "no such contract existed." It's suspected that numerous insiders sold shares of Desert Winds when the stock rose based on the news of the Warner Bros. deal, and the SEC cracked down on Paloma and another Desert Winds associate Matthew Bardasian.
"Those were panicked moments," Jacobs said. "I was basically brought in to resurrect a company that was doing a poor amount of business and doing it poorly. I was asked by the stockholders to come in and make it better."
Jacobs took the helm of Desert Winds in March of 2000. Upon his arrival, Paloma agreed to step down, pay a $1m fine and never run a company again. He then left Desert Winds a couple of months later.
As CEO, Jacobs' first order of business was to get rid of 20 employees and to focus the company on a more profitable business than entertaining Vegas lounge lizards.
For a brief time, Jacobs and a consultant looked into buying a record company based in Colorado. (SunnComm's SEC filings are littered with payments to consultants for a host of legal and technical services.) Then a stroke of good luck nailed Jacobs in the face.
One of Desert Winds' employees had decided to leave the company and join a friend in a DRM venture. The friend had discovered a way to alter CDs and confuse them from making illegal copies. This was in April of 2000 - a time before peer-to-peer services such as Napster had really gained much public attention and before record companies were taking average consumer CD piracy terribly seriously.
Jacobs convinced the employee and his friend to stay on, and a new division of Desert Winds was born.
In July of 2000, Desert Winds officially changed its name to SunnComm in a transaction that sent 5m preferred shares and 2m shares of common Desert Winds stock to SunnComm with the deal being characterized as an acquisition. SunnComm then created a unit called Project 1000 - the DRM division - that would concentrate on selling what was called MediaCloQ.
"We shifted from content production to content protection," Jacobs said. "This was to show shareholders that we could be in a business that could be real. The purpose was to transition the company by getting the old people out and attracting enough funds not to have the company go under."
It's at this point that SunnComm began a series of fast and furious business dealings that have some shareholders terribly concerned.
For Jacobs, SunnComm's major mission was to transform into a clean, smooth-running business. He wanted to clear the company's name with the SEC and move from the so-called "pink sheets" to getting listed on a national trading market such as the Nasdaq.
SunnComm, however, ran into a complex set of problems as it applied for status on the OTC (Over the Counter) market. The SEC basically stepped in at the last minute of SunnComm's OTC filing window and made life difficult on the company, presumably becuase of past incidents. So, it changed up its strategy.
"One idea that our legal staff had was to buy a fully reporting public company," Jacobs said. "Once you merge into (the fully reporting company), no one can unmerge you."
The not so Quiet Tiger
SunnComm found its patsy in Fan Energy.
This firm's past goes back to the 1920s, when it started operations as an oil and gas exploration concern. The company stumbled along all the way until 2001 when it sold off all of its oil and gas assets for a mere $75,777 and acquired of all things a 3.5 inch floppy disk manufacturing firm. Fan Energy valued its disk manufacturing assets at $3.8m, although it never actually produced a disk and the equipment currently sits unused in a warehouse, according to SEC filings. This outcome isn't terribly surprising if you think back to the status of the floppy disk market in 2001. The technology had already been rapidly replaced by smaller disks and was facing CDs as the medium of choice for most PCs.
In a deal best described as unorthodox, Fan Energy agreed to acquire SunnComm's Project 1000 DRM technology for 23.8m shares of its stock. As it turns out, that gave Project 1000 - then a SunnComm subsidiary - the majority ownership (53 percent) of Fan Energy - the very company meant to be acquiring Project 1000. At this point, Fan Energy changes its name to Quiet Tiger and enters the DRM market.
There is where the shareholders get real angry, and things become rather complex.
A complaint allegedly sent to the SEC charges that Fan Energy/Quiet Tiger misrepresented the value of its assets - the $3.8m in floppy disk gear. There's no record that a single disk was ever produced, although Fan Energy does appear to have done one deal as a type of floppy disk reseller, generating only $4,000.
"It is without doubt that Fan Energy (now Quiet Tiger) had no serious business plan to manufacture floppy disks and the equipment was acquired for no other reason than to place an asset in their balance sheet that they could use to bolster the value of the company by misrepresenting its true value," the complaint states. "Additionally, SunnComm fortified the deception by stating they were committing to using 50 percent of the capacity and in turn caused its own shareholders to be deceived in regards to the true intrinsic value of the shares they were to receive as a property dividend."
Fan Energy's description of its floppy disk business is certainly questionable. In various filings, the company suggests that it could be a major player in a multi-billion dollar market and churn out as many as 500,000 disks per month. Given that the company never actually produced a single disk and that it admits at times to having no employees, it seems the investors have a point about Fan Energy not being a serious floppy disk contender.
Jacobs, however, insists that Fan Energy was intent on being a real technology company and was just searching for its niche. As soon as SunnComm/Project 1000 took control of Fan Energy, it wrote down the $3.8m in floppy disk assets to just $100,000.
"When we took it over, we were not in a position to question how they audited their stuff," Jacobs said. "As soon as we got in, we devalued those assets as fast as we could."
Quiet Tiger - the failed oil and gas / floppy disk maker - now functions as a DRM marketing company, hawking SunnComm's MediaMax technology. Quiet Tiger pays its owner SunnComm more than $100,000 a quarter to remain the "exclusive" dealer of MediaMax and covers all selling expenses for the technology. Bill Whitmore, SunnComm's former President, now runs Quiet Tiger, although Jacbos held the position of CEO for some time.
While SunnComm's critics charge that Quiet Tiger is more or less a fictional operation, Jacobs presents it more as a division that benefits both Quiet Tiger and SunnComm investors, which are more or less one in the same these days.
"We had to come up with ways to create value that were not traditional," Jacobs said. "Because of the profile SunnComm realized, Quiet Tiger has increased their volume, and its share price has gone up from a couple of cents to 8 or 10 cents. It's been a positive experience for them. They had no prospects before."
Millions today, nothing tomorrow
Beyond Quiet Tiger, SunnComm has had odd dealings with a number of other companies.
In 2000, it announced a $20m agreement to provide a Taiwanese CD-maker called Will-Shown with its DRM technology. Here, the disgruntled types charge that SunnComm made the arrangement sound like a done deal - a move that inflated SunnComm's value in the public eye. SunnComm, despite having almost no revenue, would later pull out of the lucrative contract, saying it wanted to focus on the "domestic market" first before expanding overseas - a rationale that doesn't sit well with its critics.
Behind the scenes, however, the deal went awry as SunnComm became concerned about entering the Chinese CD market. It was advised by government officials and a consultant that certain groups in China and Taiwan would likely try to break SunnComm's DRM technology.
"We went over there and had numerous discussions," said Anthony O'Brien, a one-time consultant for SunnComm. "My advice was not to do anything because the technology would only be used by companies to break it and abuse it. Everything was murky over there then, and no one could guarantee it could be protected."
This advice prompted Jacobs to pull out of the deal.
"Once we learned that, we told (Will-Shown) we were not ready to expand internationally. At worst, it's the worst example of our work to date," Jacobs said.
SunnComm's critics question whether or not Will-Shown even exists, but those interviewed for this story have documents detailing negotiations with the firm.
Another deal that has some concerned was a licensing arrangement between SunnComm and Dstage. The press release for this deal reads, "SunnComm, Inc. (OTC:SUNX), a leader in digital content security for optical media, today announced that it has licensed its Proprietary Copy Management Technology to Dstage.com, Inc. (OTCBB:DSTG) for a one-time fee of $4,000,000."
This statement makes the $4m sound like a cash pay out, but, in actual fact, SunnComm received shares of Dstage - a low volume, penny stock. SunnComm would later reveal this in another statement.
While SunnComm seems to have a dubious flair for aggressive language in its press releases, this deal again checks out with Jacobs' overall strategy of returning value to SunnComm shareholders. They received a piece of Dstage as a dividend - small dividend as it may be.
The most recent questionable SunnComm deal came in February of this year when it announced a planned purchase of the UK's Dark Noise. The British firm apparently had the technology needed to plug the Shift key problem, which SunnComm refers to as the "analog hole." This deal was covered in the mainstream press with Jacobs giving the Dark Noise technology a top notch rating.
"This stuff works," he told CNET. "The science is real. You can't hear it (the DRM technology) when (a piece of music) is being used properly, and you can do nothing but hear it when a song is copied improperly."
Dark Noise
In a statement announcing the buy, SunnComm presented Dark Noise as a proven player in the DRM market that was currently awaiting the approval of two patents for the analog hole technology. The Register, however, searched UK government filings and found that Dark Noise is a very small firm that has moved from office to office and is currently headquartered in Whitby, Yorkshire well outside of the London address claimed in the press release. We also searched three different patent databases in the Europe and the US and could fine no record of an application or approved patent for Dark Noise.
What's happened to the deal? Well, it appears to be falling through, according to Jacobs.
Dark Noise was unable to remove the "you can't hear it" part of its DRM from the CDs completely. "They had to get that out," Jacobs said. "They said it could be done, and we believed them."
SunnComm now believes the Shift key problem can be solved in-house and plans to do so by the fourth quarter, but it has made similar claims in the past. SunnComm has its Quiet Tiger arm simply licensing the Dark Noise technology instead of acquiring the company and then has researchers in Israel and at the University of Miami fixing the Shift key issue.
Beyond all of these deals, SunnComm's past and present are riddled with characters who have had various run ins with the SEC. For example, a July 2000 press release advises investors to call Mario "Ike" Iacoviello about SunnComm's shares, and Iacoviello is also listed as a contact in the Will-Shown press release. He's also quoted as a SunnComm spokesman in another CNET story about SunnComm.
In 1999, the SEC announced charges against Iacoviello for violating "the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws while employed as a registered representative with the San Diego branch office of La Jolla Securities Corp. by accepting undisclosed compensation for recommending and selling stock in RMS Titanic, Inc. to his clients." Iacoviello never admitted or denied wrongdoing.
Think of me as Santa Claus
Nothing presented to Jacobs during our multi-hour interviews came as a shock. SunnComm maintains that it's well aware of these investor complaints. Company executives would show up to meetings with the likes of BMG and often find glossy packages outlining the aforementioned gripes about SunnComm waiting for them, Jacobs said.
"I will disavow normalcy at every step of the way here," Jacobs said. "The first three years were like hell in the market."
To this day, Jacobs believes that that vast majority of large SunnComm shareholders have only benefitted from his actions, unorthodox as they might seem. He accused the angry mob of Internet posters as trying to short SunnComm's stock and take the company down for any number of reasons.
"What these people have done is gone from witnessing a traffic accident to causing a traffic accident," Jacobs said. "These people are not vested shareholders in the company, and they don't like how long it takes for a company to go away."
"I agree that much of the stuff could be read two ways," counters one of the SunnComm haters. "I think there are just too many incidents in their short history to put it all down to just bad management."
That said, most of those against SunnComm are primarily angered by the company's inability to get its DRM business moving. It has been promising major deals with labels for years.
Over this past year, SunnComm's DRM technology was found on the number one album in the US - the BMG produced Velvet Revolver release. Industry sources interviewed by The Register say it's very likely that 2005 will see every single release sold by BMG ship with SunnComm's technology. Jacobs also hints at a similar deal with another major label.
Some insiders within the industry say that SunnComm's DRM technology is far superior to that of MacroVision in that it allows for more customization into how many times a CD can be copied onto a PC or moved to a portable device.
Jacobs, who has a past running a successful Christmas tree farm in Oregon and was one of the first to sell prepaid phone cards in the US, is convinced that the next year will be a boon for SunnComm. He admits that DRM technology might not be the most attractive pursuit in consumers' eyes, but says there is no way to avoid it in this day and age.
After years of toiling, he expects SunnComm to end up owning the vast majority of Quiet Tiger and to have his fully-reporting dream fulfilled, which should please investors with Quiet Tiger appearing on a major exchange. This day will come when SunnComm can sign up the elusive "two majors" for its DRM software.
Jacobs comes off as a rare breed for a CEO. He came into a tough situation and admits many mistakes. All along, however, he believes SunnComm stuck to its vision and has just had a difficult time reaching its end goal.
Should SunnComm finally sign up a pair of major labels, then it would seem the company could be deemed a success. But until that happens, it will continue to be reamed across the Internet as a sham and a vacant shell of a business. ®
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/27/sunncomm_death_or_glorry/
The FTC and NIST want email authentication comments...
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040926192956299