BBC News: “Microsoft’s next generation console, the Xbox, will launch in Europe
on 14 March next year, at a cost of £299 ($433), the software
giant has announced.

The games console was unveiled at a glitzy ceremony in Cannes,
France, on Tuesday night.”

CNET News.com: “Microsoft, whose software has been at the center of several recent high-profile security
incidents, has decided to turn up the heat on those the company considers at least partially
responsible: security firms and hackers who release sample programs to exploit software
flaws.

This week, Scott Culp, manager for Microsoft’s security response center, published an essay on
the company’s site decrying the information and example code released by some companies and
independent security consultants as “information anarchy.”

Such information led directly to many of this year’s most vicious worm attacks, he said.”

It’s not Open Source, but we suppose an argument could be made for its relevance to the constantly changing world of technology. Remembering that if it works, it’s obsolete, AP (via CNN) reports that the inventor of the rotary telephone speed dialer is finally getting a little recognition, courtesy of the Smithsonian. Vincent Iannucci was all set to mass-market his invention in 1961 when the Bell System announced its touch-tone telephone.

Reuters: “A facial recognition technology used by police east of San Francisco will
soon be working at the Oakland International Airport, said Imagis Technologies, the system’s
developer.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Imagis Technologies said Wednesday that the Oakland
Police Department, one of 32 local police departments using the company’s technology, was
linking the airport to its facial identification system.”

“Intel said late on Tuesday that its revenues for the third quarter were down by 25 per cent over the same
quarter last year, and earnings were lower by more than 75 per cent – even after excluding one-time charges
(they were down by 96 per cent including extraordinary items). It also backed off earlier estimates of stronger
growth in the fourth quarter and said next year didn’t look that great either. On that news, the shares climbed by
more than 3 per cent at one point on Wednesday, and at $25.50, the stock is up a whopping 30 per cent from
the low it hit after the attacks on Sept. 11.

Does that make any sense?” The Globe and Mail.

ZDNet: “Taiwan’s VIA Technologies is planning a 2GHz processor that it calls a “clone” of Intel’s
Pentium 4 processor, the company told journalists at the Microprocessor Forum this week.

The move is a radical shift for the chip maker, which has traditionally concentrated on lower-end
processors for inexpensive PCs.”

Server Watch: “SuSe Linux Wednesday introduced
eMail Server III, the latest version of its
server-based e-mail solution.

Based on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server
7, eMail Server III is targeted at small to
midsize enterprises and dedicated
workgroups looking for an
easy-to-install, complete mail solution.”

ZDNet News: “Technology buyers are more pessimistic about a recovery in information technology
spending following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a Merrill Lynch survey of 50
U.S. and European chief information officers.”

“We’re entering the season of a new round of Linux releases, plus initial or new versions
of applications that have already been represented in one way or another in the Linux
sphere. There is a substantial and growing Linux installed base, not just in server space
but on the desktop.

Linux has not just arrived, but it arrived a little while ago. For a year or more, installing
Linux has been no more difficult than installing the alternatives. Hardware support is very
good — excellent, considering the low level of direct vendor support. There are still
some vendors to be avoided, but contempt for the customer is what drove many of us
from Microsoft’s fold to begin with, so we mustn’t be too surprised to learn that Microsoft
has no monopoly on that characteristic.” Commentary on LinuxPlanet

Reported at Network World Fusion: “In an effort to improve service and marketing to
developers and users of its .Net software
platform, Microsoft said Tuesday it has formed a
“Developer and Platform Evangelism” division.

The division, made up of parts of several other
divisions, is responsible for developer tools and
promotion of Microsoft’s .Net software platform
with books, online learning, courseware and
exams for developers, IT managers, decision
makers and consumers. The division also runs
Microsoft’s corporate Web site, the company
said in a statement.”