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OT - ? 21:05 05Oct2004 DJN-WSJ(10/6) Microsoft Targets Home Networking
WSJ(10/6) Microsoft Targets Home Networking
(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Robert A. Guth
Personal computers have rapidly turned into storage vaults for digital music, photos and videos. Now computer industry giants are rolling out new ways to let that content roam through the house.
Next week, Microsoft Corp. will showcase devices that allow users to ship digital content from PCs to televisions, stereos and other consumer electronics in different parts of the home. Starting mainly with music, the goal is to get digital files to the places where people relax and entertain, instead of restricting content to where they do their computing.
Unlike the devices that are already on the market, the latest crop from Microsoft works with
copy-protected music purchased on for-pay services like Musicmatch.
Apple Computer Inc. has a big head start in the music field. It already has a popular digital music download service, the pocket-sized iPod player and a new wireless networking gadget called
the Airport Express for beaming music from PCs to home stereos. A number of other competitors, from consumer-electronics giant Sony Corp. to computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., are pushing gadgets this fall to serve up digital media in the living room.
Microsoft hopes to jump into the lead with its new offerings. Its Windows Media Connect software will allow televisions, stereos, DVD players and other consumer gadgets to play back digital media stored on PCs running the Windows XP operating system. Consumers will use a remote control to actually move the content around.
Microsoft will also give new details on its Media Center Extender, the company's design for hardware that gives a TV a simple menu for accessing digital media stored on a PC running Microsoft's Media Center software. To date, the menu has only been available on the Media Center PCs.
Also next week, consumer-electronics companies partnered with Microsoft are expected to unveil music players that work with Microsoft's latest digital-media playback software. Microsoft is positioning the devices as rivals to Apple's iPod. The first to hit store shelves, the Rio Carbon, began selling last month and can store five gigabytes of music. The devices enable consumers to download copyrighted music from subscription services such as MusicMatch.
"It's really the beginning of an era that we've been pushing for awhile," said Microsoft Vice President Amir Majidimehr. "The user has this freedom of access to their content anywhere they want to go."
In order to use the Microsoft devices, you need to have Windows XP machines, which started selling in 2001.
The new home products are designed to distribute various types of digital media. But technology and media companies see digital tunes as the first major battleground for getting their technologies and services established as standards.
Apple has already has sold 125 million songs online, far more than its rivals, while its iPod remains the best-selling digital-music player. The company in July took another step, rolling out the Airport Express, a small box that plugs into a wall outlet to extend a home wireless network. By plugging a stereo into the $129 device, and using software called AirTunes, songs stored on a
consumer's Mac or Windows PC can be played in the living room.
Ole Jacobsen, an editor at a technical journal in San Francisco, stores 4,270 songs on his PowerMac in his home office. He beams his favorite organ music to his Sony stereo in the living room using the Airport Express, which is says is a "pretty painless" way to ship music around the house.
But he has one complaint: The Airport Express doesn't have a remote control or a menu so he has to walk back to his home office to change music. "You can't control what songs you're listening to once you've started listening," he says.
Microsoft, which last month introduced its own online music store, hopes to exploit the shortcoming in Airport Express with its new products, which will come with remote control. Mr. Majidimehr says Microsoft's partners next week will show audio products, like digital audio receivers, that use the technology. He expects TV makers to begin using the Connect technology starting next year.
Pricing for the new products isn't available yet. Currently, electronics makers including Slim Devices, Netgear Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc.'s Linksys sell devices to wirelessly link PCs and consumer-electronics equipment that typically cost between $130 and $300. But those devices can't handle copy-protected music.
Sony, meanwhile, is trying to exploit its TV expertise. The Japanese giant, which also recently announced an online music store, is pushing RoomLink, its own a network media receiver that allows people to transfer digital media from a Sony VAIO-brand PC to a TV or stereo. The device, which is about the size of a paperback book, hooks up to a TV or stereo system through standard audio
and video cables.
Microsoft is also using the Los Angeles event to reinforce the role of computers in home media management. That strategy relies on Media Center PCs, which come with Microsoft software and lets users manage their content in categories such as "My Music" and "My Videos" for organizing content.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
OT - 00:14 24Sep2004 DJ Matsushita To Supply Cable TV Software, Equip To Comcast
DJ Matsushita To Supply Cable TV Software, Equip To Comcast
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.TO) said Friday it will supply software and set-top boxes for digital cable television services to Comcast Corp. (CMCSK), the largest U.S. cable TV operator, from 2005.
With the deal, the Japanese maker of "Panasonic" brand audiovisual products hopes to boost its presence in the U.S. cable TV market, where users are shifting to advanced digital services from analog ones.
Matsushita has been providing set-top boxes for analog-type cable TV services in the U.S., but its presence there is dwarfed by major U.S. makers such as Motorola Inc. (MOT).
"The shift to digital (services) is offering us a business opportunity" because we have strength in digital related technology, said a spokesman at the Osaka-based consumer electronics maker.
Matsushita aims to post sales of around Y20 billion in its cable TV equipment related business in North America in the year ending March 2008.
For the current fiscal year, Matsushita's global sales in the business, which is mostly in Japan, are expected to reach Y23 billion, it said. The company forecasts group sales of Y8.8 trillion this fiscal year.
Comcast will install Matsushita's software in digital cable TV set-top boxes to be built for the cable TV operator. It will also purchase Matsushita-made set-top boxes that contain the software.
Matsushita said it expects to sell about 300,000 units of the set-top boxes next fiscal year.
The software will conform to North American standards for digital cable TV services, Matsushita said.
With a set-top box, or receiver, equipped with the software, consumers can use a variety of interactive services, such as video on demand, an electronic program guide, home banking and interactive games, and other e-commerce
applications.
-By Kanji Ishibashi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; kanji.ishibashi@dowjones.com
-Edited by Kirsty Mackenzie
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Friday, 24 September 2004 00:14:49
Of course it is. If I were you I would get out of this
stock as soon as possible and forget it ever existed
23:03: WSJ(7/16) New Microsoft System May Challenge Apple's iPod
WSJ(7/16) New Microsoft System May Challenge Apple's iPod
(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Nick Wingfield and Ethan Smith
APPLE COMPUTER Inc.'s success in the online music market seems to have settled an
industry debate, showing that more consumers prefer to own music outright rather than rent
access to a smorgasbord of songs for a monthly fee. But a new technology from an old Apple
nemesis -- Microsoft Corp. -- may give a big boost to the rental approach in coming months.
The Microsoft technology is likely to be the first in a series of more vigorous
challenges to Apple's position in the music market, including a raft of new audio and video
gadgets due out by Christmas that will compete with Apple's hit iPod music player. Microsoft
itself plans to compete directly with Apple's iTunes Music Store through a music retail Web
site expected from its MSN division as early as the fall.
Microsoft's greatest impact on the market, though, may come with the release of the new
version of its widely used software for preventing music piracy, called Windows Media
Digital Rights Management. One of the most intriguing uses of the technology -- better known
inside the industry by its code-name, Janus -- is that it will let subscribers to music-
rental services, for the first time, transfer their song collections from their PCs directly
to portable audio players. That capability has been a key missing feature of such services.
Roxio Inc.'s Napster, Musicmatch Inc., Loudeye Corp., MusicNet and other Apple rivals
in the online-music market say they plan to use the Microsoft technology beginning late this
year or next year. The Microsoft system "will be hugely important in terms of consumer
acceptance of the subscription model," says Chris Gorog, Roxio's chief executive.
Subscription music services have been slow to take off. For a flat fee, usually about
$10 a month, they let consumers listen to as much music as they want on their PCs, as long
as they remain paying members. If users cancel their subscriptions, the music becomes
unplayable. (With the coming Windows software, subscribers will need to periodically plug
their portable player into their Internet-connected PC to reauthorize their songs.)
Some subscription services offer users the option of burning songs to a CD for an extra
79 or 99 cents a track, and an enterprising customer could then transfer that music to a
portable MP3 player but first would have to "rip" the CD version of a song back to their
PC's hard drive.
In contrast, Apple's iTunes charges users 99 cents to buy a digital copy of a song,
which is theirs forever. ITunes users can burn the music to a CD or transfer it to an iPod
at no added cost or hassle.
Apple executives have said consumers don't want to rent music and they have no
intention of offering such a service. "Music isn't like a video," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said
last year by way of criticizing subscription services. Even companies like RealNetworks Inc.
and others with subscription-music services have acknowledged the appeal of Apple's approach
by also offering their own 99-cent song stores.
Still, advocates of subscription services say consumers are warming to their all-you-
can-rent approach. RealNetworks has been adding about 100,000 subscribers to its music
services a quarter and now says it has more than 450,000 members. The company says it plans
to offer subscriptions that work with portable music players in the future, but it hasn't
decided whether to use Microsoft's technology or another.
Subscription services, supporters also argue, are a more compelling alternative to the
free -- and often illegal -- music-swapping offerings of Kazaa, Morpheus and other file-
sharing programs. The argument goes that if music fans are going to pay for tunes it's more
appealing to pay $15 a month for all the songs that can fit on a machine than to pay 99
cents per song to Apple.
Subscription services have added appeal for the companies that offer them: They are far
more profitable than selling 99-cent downloads. Apple itself has said it makes little or no
profit on song sales because of the relatively high wholesale cost it pays for the music.
Apple essentially uses iTunes as a lure to sell iPods, which are profitable.
Apple's rivals say they may soon have an advantage: They gleefully point out that
filling up the largest iPod with songs purchased through iTunes would cost on the order of
$10,000. With the new Microsoft technology, users will be able to fill up their portable
players with as much music as their devices can hold -- several thousand songs -- for $10 to
$20 a month, industry executives and analysts predict. (But they need to keep paying that
monthly fee forever or their music self-destructs.) Customers will be able to swap out songs
at any time, though the music will play only as long as the customer pays the monthly fee.
"It totally changes the way music gets consumed," says Ole Obermann, general manager of
Anderson News Co.'s Liquid Digital Media, which operates an Internet music store for Wal-
Mart Stores Inc.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to speculate on what impact the Microsoft technology may
have on Apple, though she said the company has no current plans to change its approach to
selling music.
Of course, success for Microsoft's technology is far from certain and depends largely
on whether the company and its online partners can make the software easy to use, which is
no easy feat. Apple's success has stemmed in part from the relative simplicity of its
system: The iTunes Music Store is tied very tightly with the company's iPod, the only
portable device the music site works with. Microsoft's task is more complex since it doesn't
make portable music players itself but instead works with a wide range of such makers,
including Digital Networks North America Inc., which makes the Rio player; Creative
Technology Ltd. and Samsung. Digital Networks says Rio devices that use the Microsoft
technology are due out in the fall.
The new Microsoft technology was a tough sell, at first, for the recording companies
that must grant online music retailers permission to use their songs. The recording
companies worry that allowing consumers to tote around as much music as they want for a flat
monthly fee could cap their revenue, especially in the case of hard-core music fans who
would otherwise buy scads of CDs. "There have been some concerns raised about how its going
to effect their current business model," says Troy Batterberry, group program manager for
Microsoft's Windows Media group.
Gradually, though, critics of the Microsoft technology seem to have lost out to
recording-industry executives who see it as a good way to bring in steady revenue. Research
firm NPD Group estimates that consumers who buy music spend $4.66 per month on average on
CDs -- nowhere near the roughly $15 a month the subscription services are expected to
charge.
Furthermore, the way subscription revenue gets apportioned under the agreements between
music companies and the services will give the record companies a payment -- albeit a tiny
one -- each time a user listens to one of its offerings. Kevin Ertell, senior vice president
of Tower Records' online operations, which plans to launch a subscription-music service this
year, believes this arrangement will make subscription services attractive to music labels
in the long term. "You're getting paid every time" someone listens to a song, Mr. Ertell
says. "If it's a favorite, you're getting paid and paid and paid."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12Jul2004 DJN-DJ THE SKEPTIC: Music Industry's Interoperability Headache
DJ THE SKEPTIC: Music Industry's Interoperability Headache
By Matthew Curtin
A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN
PARIS (Dow Jones)--In its latest ads for its new DVD-based handycam, Sony is
quick to point out that one of the machine's advantages is that it records in a
format so that "you can share your films with everyone."
If only Sony took that approach to all its products.
A customer buying a Sony digital Walkman has no such luck, because it plays only
music digitized using the Japanese company's proprietary Atrac 3 technology.
So there's no point in buying a Walkman in the hope that it can play music
downloaded from Apple's iTunes musicstore, or the number of other online
retailers who use Microsoft's Windows Media Audio technology to digitize the
music they have for sale. But then Apple's iPod musicplayer can't player
WMA-encoded music bought from non-Apple stores either. And a musicplayer from
Philips or Creative won't play music encoded in the AAC format Apple uses.
The lack of interoperability of digital music standards mightn't be bad news
immediately for Apple or Sony, both of which have loyal consumer followings.
Sony is just trying to catch up with Apple, having belatedly realized music is a
great way to shift hardware, as the runaway success of the iPod has shown.
But for the music industry, it surely threatens to choke off what otherwise might
be a remarkable recovery in their fortunes that have been sapped so badly by
physical music piracy and the paranoia about peer-to-peer file-sharing.
Legal downloading of music is gathering a head of steam. Apple celebrated the
downloading of 100 million songs from iTunes at the weekend - admittedly helped
by special promotions - as it prepares to roll out its iPod mini internationally
in July. The launch was delayed because the company underestimated U.S. demand
for the machine.
The music companies themselves are getting to grips with their costs, which they
let get out of hand during the boom years of CD sales. EMI has arguably led the
way, but the decision by Universal Music to let the presidents of its DefJam and
Motown units go suggest the Vivendi subsidiary is also getting serious about its
cost base.
With the E.U. approving the merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit
last month, the industry's rearguard action is starting to look more credible.
That said, the economics of digital downloading are such that it's only huge
volumes of online sales that are going to make a big difference to the music
companies fortunes, even as Apple and co. shift musicplayers.
It's here where the lack of interoperability is going limit digital downloading
to the enthusiasts, particularly when there such big holes in the music
catalogues offered online - compared with big music stores, specialist retailers,
or the peer-to-peer networks.
Music from The Beatles is notoriously absent from the official online retailers,
but so are several other big stars, particularly for customers outside the U.S.,
or fans of non-U.S. or U.K. artists. Independent labels are relatively poorly
represented, and there are slim pickings outside the pop-rock genre.
It may be time for the music industry to take the offensive by putting pressure
on hardware makers and software companies to agree common standards. That's no
doubt a tough idea for Apple to accept, as the uncontested leader in the sector
so far - though that's partly because it took the plunge by adapting its iTunes
software for PC use - but ultimately the only way the equipment makers and music
industry are going to both win out of digital downloading.
(Matthew Curtin has been a financial news reporter since 1990, and has reported
on international finance and business for Dow Jones Newswires - from South
Africa, Singapore and now Paris - since 1994. He can be reached at +331 4017 1740
or by e-mail: matthew.curtin@dowjones.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
barge - I am glad you've picked up this.
I did not want to point out these connections,
but this is exactly what I had in mind when reading
this article.
Also, with the upcoming media circus in Greece in
August, creates a lot of suggestions.
00:01 09Jul2004 RTRS-Amazon to take pre-orders for Portable Media Center
SEATTLE, July 8 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> said on Thursday that online Web shopping site Amazon.com Inc. <AMZN.O> will begin taking orders for Portable Media Centers, a new line of portable devices for listening to music and viewing video content.
The world's largest software maker, which developed software for the new handheld multimedia devices, also said that Major League Baseball games and footage would be available for download to the devices, which are scheduled to be shipped later this summer.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has been working since early 2003 to get device manufacturers to put the Portable Media Centers on the market in order to compete against Apple Computer Inc.'s <AAPL.O> popular iPod portable digital music player.
Two Portable Media Center models will be available for pre-order from the Web's biggest retailer at www.amazon.com/portablemediacenters.
Creative's Zen Portable Media Center and Samsung's YH-999 can be pre-ordered for about $500, which each come with 20 gigabytes of storage for music, photos and video. Microsoft said the Zen Portable would be delivered in late August while the Samsung model would ship in September.
Microsoft said that new Portable Media Center users will be able to download content from MLB.com, the official league Web site, in addition to transferring their own video and audio content onto the devices from personal computers.
((Reporting by Reed Stevenson; Reuters Messaging: reed.stevenson.reuters.com@reuters.net; email reed.stevenson@reuters.com; Tel: +1 206-652-2326; editing by Carol Bishopric))
Logain,
There will never be any news coming from Wave, ever.
If I where you I would dump all my shares, before it's
too late.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- International Business Machines Corp opened a test center for radio tags in Nice, France on Thursday to keep up with fast growing interest from retailers, manufacturers and transport firms.
Radio tags, supercharged versions of the barcode, can help to track goods, automate banking services, improve product quality and ultimately even prevent someone from washing a new red t-shirt with the white laundry.
"This is acknowledgment that the market is moving so fast that we need more resources," said Faye Holland, IBM's global chief of radio frequency identification, or RFID, business. Some 1,000 IBM employees work part-time or full-time on RFID.
Top retailers like U.S.-based Wal-Mart, Germany's Metro and Britain's Tesco have said they will use the chips that allow product information to be read automatically and wirelessly by readers built into cargo docks and cash tills or the doors of offices and buses.
The U.S. Department of Defense is planning to require its suppliers to attach RFID tags to their shipments.
Holland said potential customers include all major ports, airports and airlines in Europe and the Asia Pacific region to tag and track baggage and cargo.
"We're talking to all major ones," she told Reuters in an interview.
"Still in 2004 and early 2005 there will be lots of pilots, but by mid-2005 I expect to see a lot of real implementations," Holland added.
Standardization
Commercial adoption is expected to accelerate after this summer, when new standards will be introduced to regulate radio frequency bands.
IBM's new test and interoperability lab is another effort to make sure that chips, readers and software work together.
The company has also opened test centers in the United States and Asia, but IBM's Holland said Europe was ahead of those regions in terms of acceptance and interest.
Concerns about privacy, a big issue in the United States, appear to be less prominent in Europe where strict privacy laws have been implemented, she added.
Mass adoption, when every item from stockings and milk carts to credit cards and aircraft engines are labeled with the chips, is still some time away because they are currently priced between 0.10 euro and 0.50 euro ($0.12-$0.61), others said.
"We don't see item-level tracking within next 10 years. But you will see us on high-level items, like jewelry and consumer electronics," a spokesman for Philips' semiconductors unit said.
Dutch electronics maker Philips is one of the producers of RFID chips. Together with Japan's Sony Corp, credit card company Visa and handset maker Nokia it is pushing an advanced version called Near Field Communication which can be used for wireless electronic payments and other transactions by using a phone.
Fifty percent of all items will be tagged by 2005, IBM estimates, which is when billions of products will be smart enough to know what they are and when they were manufactured.
IBM said it is also talking to all major pharmaceutical companies to find a better way to track and control drug shipments. It is adding temperature sensors for new biological drugs that need to be stored in fridges all the time.
go-kitesurf, exactomundo.
check post #46061
barge, actually I think it is descriptively very specific,
however if you like me to expand on it,
back-end service - means collect info on who bought and/or sold digital information, how much of
digital information, and FOR how much. In other word the bookkeeping. In other words guess who will be doing the digital metering.
advanced online purchasing system - means wave will be selling their own staff, plus other people will be selling staff
using their advanced online purchasing system.
secure electronic commerce systems that distribute and sell digital information - I think this one speaks for itself.
Also, the combination of the items above points to the fact that wave is sticking to it's strategy, - first create dependence
on wave's hardware/software specified security (not for free of course) but the main push is money for services.
barge, I think you missed my point a bit,
If you had a chance to look at the Wave's open positions descriptions for the last few year,
it was bunch of FINREAD etc.
Now it is
back-end services
advanced online purchasing system
secure electronic commerce systems that distribute and sell digital information.
If this is not a pointer to the companies market direction, I do not know what is.
Doma, this is how:
following quotes from descriptions of Wave software engineering open position:
"Analyze, develop, and implement web-based multi-tier server framework, which will provide licensing services, back-end and software maintained services for Wave Embassy security applications. Develop products and systems for large-scale, configurable, commercial software
Responsible for designing, coding, testing and implementing software technology for an advanced online purchasing system that empowers users to secure, distribute and sell digital information.
Responsible for designing, coding, testing and implementing advanced embedded secure electronic commerce systems, which enable users to secure, distribute and sell digital information."
Here is one,
following quotes from descriptions of Wave software engineering open position:
"Analyze, develop, and implement web-based multi-tier server framework, which will provide licensing services, back-end and software maintained services for Wave Embassy security applications. Develop products and systems for large-scale, configurable, commercial software
Responsible for designing, coding, testing and implementing software technology for an advanced online purchasing system that empowers users to secure, distribute and sell digital information.
Responsible for designing, coding, testing and implementing advanced embedded secure electronic commerce systems, which enable users to secure, distribute and sell digital information."
speak for themselves.
Snackman, more importantly, why?
This many shares, that many shares...
Forger this crap.
Are we connected to this in any way (may be CUB)?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108289,00.html
NEW YORK — Going to the airport soon could resemble a scene from "Mission Impossible" — security personnel snap your photo and scan your fingerprints, analysts run your name through a web of computer systems and the government assigns you a color to designate your threat potential.
Some of these security efforts are already in place for foreign visitors but some say the federal government is looking at a variety of homeland security technologies to broaden and intensify their reach. And some groups and lawmakers want to ensure these new technologies don't infringe upon privacy rights.
The first part of the system is already in place. Called US-VISIT, which operates in 115 airports and 14 seaports, the government is using biometrics (search) — technology that identifies people using biological traits, such as those based on retinal or iris scanning, fingerprints, or face recognition — to verify the identities of many foreign visitors with non-immigrant visas.
Digital fingerprints and photographs are recorded and terror watch lists are checked to make sure potential terrorists don't enter the country.
"I think you're seeing with the US-VISIT just the first step in a series of steps so we get a fully integrated record of who comes into the country and who leaves," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (search) said in a recent interview.
Some of the other steps include:
— Install biometric equipment and software at all ports of entry to verify visitors so biometric passports complete with a smart chip and full-face image can be used. The deadline for this to take place is Oct. 26.
— Require foreign visitors with visas to do a finger scan as they leave the United States, not just when they arrive in the country. The initiative is currently being tested at Baltimore-Washington International Airport using kiosk scanners.
— Expand the use of smart cards — a credit-card sized plastic card with an embedded computer chip that can either be a microprocessor or a memory chip. The chip connection is either via direct physical contact or remotely via an electromagnetic interface.
— Create a Transportation Worker Identification Credential — a smart card to be issued by public and private employees who have access to secure areas of ports, railways and airports. TWIC production has begun in some areas of the country.
— Authenticate the identity of airline passengers by checking their records — name, address and date of birth — against commercial databases and terror watch lists. Each passenger will be labeled — green, yellow or red — depending on their threat risk.
"When there's a green light, all that [passenger] information that went into analyzing that passenger, it goes away, disappears," said Peter Kant, vice president of Jefferson Consulting, which represents several companies working on the program, which is known as CAPPS II.
"But when there's a red light, that's when they're detaining the passenger and all those bells and whistles happen and that information will be used for legal reasons," Kant continued.
Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, airlines conducted a passenger screening known as CAPPS I — the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (search). CAPPS II, the next-generation system, will replace that and will be government run.
The General Accounting Office is studying that program's privacy implications and effectiveness before Congress gives it the go-ahead.
"The public understandably wants to know if CAPPS II is going to require all airlines to disclose, on a regular basis," said David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (search) (EPIC). The federal Transportation Security Agency said that could be as early as next month.
Going Behind the Scenes
But there are also some efforts travelers likely won't notice as the government tries to determine who is and isn't potentially dangerous.
"I think the technology that will have the most impact are the technologies that you don’t see," said Laurance Alvarado, managing director of global trade management for BearingPoint, which has been awarded a $13.8 million contract by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to boost cargo security.
There's much interest, for example, in using radio frequency identification (RFID) to track cargo through supply chains. Wal-Mart currently uses this tracking system.
"It's the ability to take different types of information and be able to share that information almost on a real-time basis at all ports of entry," Alvarado said.
Cargo security is a huge area of concern for government and industry because "the security hole is so large," Kant said.
Ports are looking at night-vision cameras that keep a watch on piers at night, swimmer-detection sonar and thermal imagers, among other things, according to Port Security Strategies. Remote-controlled vehicles also are being studied to inspect ship's hull for explosives.
Terror groups like Al Qaeda reportedly have thought of using combat swimmers to destroy or hijack ships.
Another method to deter terrorism is data mining (search), said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America (search). Data mining refers to any number of techniques where a database is used to look for hidden facts, details or relationships.
"What the data mining allows you to do is pull that together and say 'we've seen a major increase in HAZMAT activity in four cities' … individually, these cities may not think much of it ... but maybe the terrorists are actually probing the system," Miller said.
Or maybe there's a "major spike in fertilizer sales … that may be an indicator that there's a group of terrorists out there trying to imitate what Timothy McVeigh did and build a fertilizer-based car bomb," Miller added.
In 1995, McVeigh parked a moving truck filled with such explosives outside the federal building in Oklahoma City, which exploded and killed 168 people.
More sophisticated technologies used to detect substances such as chemical or biological agents also are in the pipeline, said Bruce de Grazia, chairman of the Homeland Security Industries Association (search).
"Detection devices they have traditionally had for those agents are big, they're slow and they have not been particularly accurate," de Grazia said. The Department of Homeland Security is looking for "some truly portable devices for biological agents that not only are less than the size of a room but also require far less of the agent to be able to detect it."
Privacy Concerns Pose Worries
But some technologies, such as those that use biometrics, are coming under fire for being too intrusive.
For example, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., wrote a letter to Ridge last month citing concern over biometrics-based technologies. Various privacy groups and other lawmakers have also said some homeland security programs need more congressional oversight.
But others say it's better to be safe than sorry.
"I think the American people are very open to these things," Miller said. "People understand we are living in a different time … as long as there's some rationale for it, I think people are going to be fairly accepting."
go-kitesurf,
thank you
Question to the board.
Does anybody know if wave will participate in 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas?
Snackman,
It does not matter.
I did not subscribe to ihub, so I do not have "ignore". So, occasionally
I experiment with the different ways to shut some of the real obvious idiots up.
Cypher, it is a dire situation. If I where you, I would sell all of my wavx holdings immediately.
Could it be that she is a moron?
Bearmove, if you are predictig $1 or lower, how about I will
buy some shares from you directly for $1.10? Is it a deal?
Do not forget Canada and its huge Ukranian community
Awk, thanks.
Awk, Subscribers? Is that more than just been registered and
able to login to this board?
Snackman, what about the "ignore". At this board it only let's you
put 6 names on the ignore. Is there a way to increase that
number?
There is ignore available in ihub.
Good, as long as the world wake up one day and find every (or nearly every) electronic device wave enabled
12:10: Trusted Computing Group to Highlight Mobile, Wireless Security Innovation
Trusted Computing Group to Highlight
Mobile, Wireless Security Innovations at Upcoming CTIA Wireless I.T. &
Entertainment 2003
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2003--
Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas
Oct. 21-23, 2003
The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) -- an open industry standards
organization whose specifications help vendors build products that let
users protect critical data and information -- will showcase a variety
of trusted computing applications and products during the CTIA
Wireless I.T. & Entertainment Expo 2003, Sands Expo & Convention
Center, Las Vegas, Oct. 21-23, 2003, Booth 535.
TCG members IBM, Infineon Technologies, Intel Corp., National
Semiconductor and Wave Systems Corp. will demonstrate various
implementations of security chips, firmware and software that enable
more secure data transmission and storage on computing systems.
A mobile device workgroup, chaired by Nokia, has been formed by
TCG and is seeking additional members to participate in development of
specifications and guidelines for trusted computing in mobile devices.
Nokia representatives will attend the event.
More information on TCG or the mobile workgroup is available at
www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.
--30--TWT/ix*
CONTACT: Trusted Computing Group
Anne Price, 602-840-6495
press@trustedcomputinggroup.org
SOURCE: Trusted Computing Group
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(c) 2003 Business Wire
Does wavx have dealings with EMC?
Question to the board.
Does wavx have dealings with EMC?
Not to ignor this statement:
"This is just the beginning," Wood proclaims, promising new niche channels as well as technology that will let Mastery take its content and deliver it directly to a TV set, bypassing the computer completely. The new channels will be added on an ongoing basis. The new widgetry will be announced within six-12 months.
Is wavx in it in some way?
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030910/sfw049_1.html
Joint Solution Delivers End-to-end Security Infrastructure For Sensitive Applications and Data
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Decru, Inc., the leader in networked data storage security, today announced a joint initiative with Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW - News) to build secure application environments, and that it has joined the Sun iForce partner program. The Trusted Application Platform(TM) (TAP) integrates security capabilities from Sun and Decru that span servers, networks and storage, delivering unprecedented protection for sensitive data and applications. The TAP solution combines capabilities including role-based access controls, labeling, hardware-based encryption and key management, and secure logging to create the industry's most secure open systems platform for applications.
Enterprises and government agencies have grown increasingly concerned about the security of their critical applications and data. Key drivers for security investment include regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection, homeland security, customer privacy and internal controls. Historically, security solutions such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems have been deployed at the network perimeter, but these systems fail to address the 50-80 percent of attacks that originate behind the firewall (source: FBI/CSI). To make matters worse, the rapidly increasing storage demands of recent years have led many organizations to consolidate their data in networked storage, where a single breach can expose terabytes of sensitive information.
INSIDE THE TRUSTED APPLICATION PLATFORM
Effective application security requires protection of data in every segment of the system, including servers, operating systems, networks and storage. The Trusted Application Platform integrates the Sun Solaris (TM) Operating System (OS), including Trusted Solaris(TM) security features, with the Decru DataFort(TM) storage security appliance to create a secure, integrated application environment. Capabilities such as strong authentication, compartmentalization, auditing and fine-grain access controls are implemented across the TAP solution, and can be integrated for seamless end-to-end protection.
The Solaris OS coupled with Trusted Solaris OS features provides built-in security in a commercial-grade OS. Granular Role-based Access Controls (RBAC), label security, device binding and extensive auditing provide a highly secure environment for sensitive applications. A subset of these features is also available in the Solaris 9 OS. Solaris and Trusted Solaris have achieved Common Criteria certification at the EAL-4 level.
"The Trusted Application Platform builds on the unique strengths of Sun's Trusted Solaris OS to deliver military-grade security for government and enterprises alike," said Martin Hack, Senior Product Manager for Trusted Solaris at Sun Microsystems. "Customers are asking for end-to-end security solutions, and we believe the Sun-Decru solution can deliver exactly that."
Decru DataFort(TM) storage security appliances are integrated with the Solaris OS to enforce end-to-end compartmentalization, authentication, access controls and secure logging. DataFort provides strong wire-speed encryption and secure access controls for data in storage and in transit; the solution can be transparently deployed in SAN, NAS, DAS, and tape storage environments with no changes to servers, desktops, applications, or user workflow. DataFort is currently completing FIPS 140-2 Level 3 government certification for its secure hardware, cryptography and key management.
"The Trusted Application Platform addresses an urgent and longstanding challenge -- end-to-end security for sensitive applications," said Kevin Brown, vice president of marketing at Decru. "Working closely with Trusted Solaris security features, Decru DataFort extends security from the server to the entire storage network."
About Decru
Decru, headquartered in Redwood City, CA, develops storage security solutions to address a range of business needs for enterprises and government, including intellectual property protection, regulatory compliance, privacy, and internal controls. Decru DataFort(TM) protects the core of the storage network with a layer of strong encryption, authentication, access controls and compartmentalization. Decru DataFort appliances can be deployed transparently in SAN, NAS, DAS and tape backup environments, with no changes to servers, desktops, applications, or user workflow. Decru was founded in 2001, and has raised more than $45 million in venture financing from Benchmark Capital, Greylock, New Enterprise Associates, In-Q-Tel and others.
NOTE: Decru, Decru DataFort, and Trusted Application Platform are trademarks of Decru Corporation. Sun, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Trusted Solaris and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
I think it is the CUB news related.
This could be very interesting
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030812/tech_intel_phone_1.html