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09-28-2001
A Blow to Humanity, a Slap on the Wrist
Fallout from a Dark Day The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 are reverberating far and wide through the Internet community. Here's a smattering of developments related to the tragedy:
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Total Site News Total Site is pleased to announce that the comprehensive redesign of the City of Lafayette, Colo., web site is complete. The project involved building a multi-departmental web presence, maintained by various branches of the City of Lafayette.
We're also pleased to announce launch of the redesigned Boulder Wine Merchant web site. Among the features that Total Site built into the site is an opportunity to subscribe to the Boulder Wine Merchant e-mail newsletter.
In other noteworthy developments, Total Site has been retained by Boulder's own Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc. to reposition the company's web presence and provide web updating and marketing tools.\0
Soft on Microsoft Score a victory for the Bill Gates Empire in the battle for control over Internet freedom of choice.
In a surprising reversal, a kinder, gentler US Department of Justice has informed Microsoft that it will not seek to break the Gates Empire into separate operating systems and application software businesses, as had been ordered previously by a Federal District Court Judge.
The DOJ announcement follows a decision in which the US Court of Appeals affirmed that Microsoft had engaged in "exclusionary conduct" in order to maintain a monopoly in the market for PC operating systems but indicated that the District Court's proposed remedy — forcing the company to unbundle its Internet Explorer web browser and Windows operating system — was inappropriate. DOJ said that pursuing that remedy "would only prolong proceedings and delay the imposition of relief that would benefit consumers."
What form that relief will take remains to be seen. Having received what amounts to a slap on the wrist from a judicial system that just months ago appeared to have much more serious intentions, Microsoft has been tight-lipped on its intentions. However, DOJ expressed confidence that the groundwork has been established "for relief that would end Microsoft's unlawful conduct, prevent its recurrence and open the operating system market to competition."
Meanwhile, Microsoft has lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding its new Office suite for the Apple Macintosh OS X operating system. Dubbed "Office v. X for Mac," the package, which like its predecessors includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, will ship sometime in November, offering a fully native OS X productivity suite with complete support for the modern architecture of the newest Mac operating system. Running Office v. X will require Mac OS X 10.1. Cost: $499 for the suite, $149 to $299 for upgrades.
Web Factoid The number of e-mail mailboxes worldwide will grow from 505 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2005, according to the tech research and analysis firm IDC.
Total Site News Total Site is pleased to announce that the comprehensive redesign of the City of Lafayette, Colo., web site is complete. The project involved building a multi-departmental web presence, maintained by various branches of the City of Lafayette.
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Soft on Microsoft Score a victory for the Bill Gates Empire in the battle for control over Internet freedom of choice.
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Web Factoid The number of e-mail mailboxes worldwide will grow from 505 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2005, according to the tech research and analysis firm IDC.
Fallout from a Dark Day The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 are reverberating far and wide through the Internet community. Here's a smattering of developments related to the tragedy:
• Big Brother wears a badge. In a move that drew quick opposition from civic liberties advocates, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush Administration asked the U.S. Congress to grant federal law enforcement agencies expanded investigative powers, including easier access to credit card information, telephone lines and the Internet activities of computer users. For example, the FBI would, with a court order, have authority to eavesdrop on a person's Internet line and monitor e-mail, credit card data and bank transactions. American Civic Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero urged lawmakers to be wary of expanding law enforcement authority at the expense of civil liberties. "If we allow our freedoms to be undermined," he said, "the terrorists will have won."
• Bin Laden wears a bull's eye. German multimillionaire Kim Schmitz, 27, is offering a reward of $10 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden, the man believed to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Schmitz, a convicted computer hacker whose empire is built on legitimate Internet ventures, posted the reward on his web site.
• Microsoft grounds flight simulator. Saying it is "shocked and saddened by the horrible tragedies" of September 11 and "focused on doing the right thing out of respect for the victims, our customers, partners and employees," Microsoft has delayed release of its Flight Simulator 2002 computer game. Other game makers also are delaying releases, removing game interaction elements that involve terrorism and adjusting packaging.
• Lessons for business. As part of the process of recovering from the terrorist attacks, it's crucial for businesses to take stock of their security policies and disaster recovery plans, according to tech advisors such as Forrester Research Inc. The Cambridge, Mass., research firm urges companies that don't have a disaster recovery plan to put one in place and those that do to review what's already in place, perhaps by performing a disaster recovery drill. Companies also should consider instituting tighter security measures around their assets and resources while making efforts to preserve customer and client privacy by clearly communicating why extra security measures are being taken.
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