PRNewswire: “MandrakeSoft announces the immediate availability of boxed
sets of Linux-Mandrake Version 8.0 in retail outlets throughout the world.
There are three version 8.0 products, each designed to suit end-user needs:
MandrakeLinux Standard Edition 8.0, for both new and experienced users;
MandrakeLinux PowerPack Edition 8.0, for power users or those setting up a
workstation or server; and MandrakeLinux ProSuite Edition 8.0, the Linux
enterprise solution for small and medium-sized businesses.”

The Register: “Opera Software has followed up the release of Opera 5.0 for Linux with an IBM
coup – the company has announced that IBM will be using Opera 5.0 for QNX for
its NetVista Internet appliance.”

ZDNET.co.uk: “With major competitors such as the PlayStation 2 for games and
TiVo’s device for home entertainment already finding firm footholds in
the market, garnering support among developers is critical to the
success of any new format.”

Ananova: “A Hong Kong imitator of dotcom deathwatch site F***edcompany.com has been hacked into and threatened by fans of the US-based forum.”

ZDNET.co.uk: ”
Free copies of songs from country music singer Charley Pride’s latest
album appeared on the Internet this week, just shortly before a
version of the CD incorporating new anti-copying technology was
released in US stores on Tuesday.”

An anonymous reader writes: “Due to be released sometime this summer, Napster’s subscription service is ready for testing. The company is now recruiting users to help put the upcoming product through its paces. Beta Testing is expected to begin within the month. More at MP3Newswire.“

The Register: “It’s been a rough two weeks for IIS security. On 1 May it was our solemn duty to
report the IIS .printer ISAPI vulnerability; on 8 May we reported the sadmind/IIS
worm; and today we have to inform you of a brand new stuff-up affecting IIS 4.0
and 5.0, handily exploited with a simple Unicode trick.”

CNET: “Puranam, Singh and Zollo recently completed the first phase of a study exploring acquisitions
by companies such as Cisco Systems, Intel, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. Their
research shows that if high-tech companies want to succeed in their acquisition strategy,
they must know what to change and what to leave alone after buying a start-up. “All
integration decisions involve costs,” says Puranam. “Non-integration, too, however, involves
costs. Successful acquirers must know how to manage both kinds of costs.”

The Register: “The importance of 2469 would therefore seem to us to be that it’s the first build
where Microsoft has given us some indication of how tough the protection in the
shipping product will be. So this might be Product Activation, Release Candidate 1.
According to Joolz of MSWinXP.net (which is currently running a Verdict on 2469
piece), the problem lies in something Microsoft’s done to winlogon.exe. “The old
crack was to replace that file with an older version. This no longer works. It blue
screens during setup if you do that! Its winlogon.exe that handles the activation.”

Beyond2000: “A “Mission Rehearsal Exercise” developed for the U.S. Army by ISI, the USC Institute
for Creative Technology (ICT), and the USC Integrated Media Systems Center
(IMSC) takes soldier-trainees on a virtual reality mission to a bleak and troubled town
in Bosnia. There, they must deal with a peacekeeping situation threatening to spin out of
control and turn into an international incident.”