From a CNET News.com report: “Compaq Computer is taking on those annoying wireless notebook modems by creating integrated modules that will let consumers more easily snap on connections for Bluetooth or cellular communications. In the second quarter of next year, Compaq will release notebooks with a feature called Multiport, which lets people slide integrated wireless modems or other devices onto the back of the screen, the company told CNET News.com on Tuesday.”

CNET reports that Tim Bray, the co-inventor of Extensible Markup Language (XML), has launched a new venture called Antarcti.ca that is creating new
technology aimed at rendering computer networks in the form of 2D and 3D maps.

The world’s first cybercrime treaty is being hastily redrafted after
Internet lobby groups assailed it as a threat to human rights that
could have “a chilling effect on the free flow of information and
ideas”. ZDCOUK reports.

Fairfax IT reports that a new high speed connection between the US, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia is going live tomorrow, and should help reduce the connection speed bottleneck suffered by Australia and its neighbours.

Leading European security experts have warned that viruses may be spread through the use of public keys, reports Silicon News.

Oracle launched a direct attack on rival Microsoft, with new software for computer servers that eliminates the need for an
operating system like Microsoft’s flagship Windows 2000 software, reports Mercury Center.

ftobin dropped in to let us know that Netscape reports that Netscape 6 is available.

MSNBC is kind enough to inform us: If a category or class is added to Pocket
Quicken 1.01, it may not appear in the desktop
version of Intuit Quicken.

Aldec Inc., a longtime provider of FPGA design tools,
will make its first foray into the ASIC market this week with Riviera, a
Linux-based mixed-language simulator. Riviera simulates VHDL, Verilog and
EDIF and comes with an HDL editor and source-level debugger, reports EEtimes. The simulation engine underlying Riviera is from Active-HDL, Aldec’s Windows
NT-based simulator. But Riviera is not a Linux port of Active-HDL, said Aldec
marketing vice president David Rinehart. “It’s native Linux. It’s the first step as we
move toward a Unix-based verification suite.”

From IDG.net: In places like China and Vietnam, low wages mean that some people
can’t afford brand new machines or proprietary operating systems
such as Microsoft Corp.’s Windows. However, they can afford older,
used machines, Jon ‘maddog’ Hall of non-profit organization Linux
International said at the “International impact of Linux” panel
discussion at Comdex. “Unfortunately, many of these systems aren’t powerful enough to run
Windows Me, or even Windows You,” he joked — but they do have
enough power to run Linux.