Microsoft offers subscription Outlook, Cnet News.com, 19 Jan 2005

“Known as Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes a subscription version of Outlook 2003 to connect with Hotmail or MSN e-mail accounts. For $59 a year, customers get an e-mail account with 2GB of storage and the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments. Customers can also check multiple e-mail accounts, including corporate accounts that are managed through an Exchange server.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Microsoft+offers+subscription+Outlook/2100-1012_3-5542323.html?part=rss&tag=5542323&subj=news.1012.20

Microsoft shoots Hotmail in the head, TechWorld, 20 Jan 2005

“Microsoft Office Outlook Live costs $59.95 per year and includes Office Outlook 2003 plus 2GB of online storage, spam and virus protection and the ability to send 20MB attachments. All is not what it seems however. For years there has been a free link-up between Outlook and Hotmail, where Hotmail can be effectively run through the desktop e-mail software. But Microsoft announced at the end of September that this would stop with all new Hotmail accounts and stop for everyone else in April.�

Full story at http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?newsID=2982

South Korea licenses new 'WiBro' wireless Internet services, AFP, 20 Jan 2005

“South Korea (news - web sites) licensed three telecom firms to launch new wireless Internet services which provide mobile broadband Internet with wider and faster network coverage at cheaper prices, officials said. SK Telecom, KT Corp. and Hanaro Telecom were allowed to provide commercial services of the new technology, dubbed "WiBro," from 2006, the Ministry of Information and Communication said. The new system would allow broadband Internet access through mobile phones and other portable devices.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1212&e=9&u=/afp/20050120/tc_afp/skoreainternetwireless&sid=96001018

Chinese 'to overtake US net use', BBC News, 20 Jan 2005

“The Chinese net-using population looks set to exceed that of the US in less than three years, says a report. China's net users number 100m but this represents less than 8% of the country's 1.3 billion people. Market analysts Panlogic predicts that net users in China will exceed the 137 million US users of the net by 2008. The report says that the country's culture will mean that Chinese people will use the net for very different ends than in many other nations.�

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4190937.stm

AOL unveils expanded search, new partners, Cnet News.com, 20 Jan 2005

“America Online on Thursday unveiled an expanded search offering that lets consumers quickly narrow queries and gives users new ways to seek out information and products. AOL also announced several partnerships and plans that will enable it to allow users to search both for online information and computer files from one location on its Web site. In addition, the online giant is expanding its local search offerings and offering advertisers a way to track which local markets their customers are coming from.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/AOL+unveils+expanded+search%2C+new+partners/2100-1024_3-5542892.html?tag=st.prev

Spyware: IT's public enemy No. 1, ZDNet, 20 Jan 2005

“What's the biggest threat to business networks in 2005? Front-line IT managers and security firms increasingly peg spyware as public enemy No. 1.�

Full story at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5541802.html?tag=zdnn.alert

Review: Microsoft Anti-Spyware Ineffective, Associated Press, 20 Jan 2005

“Microsoft Corp. created the world's most popular operating system — one that's also heartily embraced by hackers and virus writers. And it begat the world's top Web browser, which makes it all too easy to mistakenly download and install spyware, adware and other garbage. You'd think the world's largest software company, which presumably knows its own Windows and Internet Explorer code, would have long ago come up with something to repair PCs possessed by malicious programs. Think again.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/tech_test_microsoft_s_malware_scrubbers

China Mobile tops 204m subscribers, The Standard, 21 Jan 2005

“China Mobile, which runs a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, added 3.31 million users in December, up from 3.26 million in the previous month, bringing the 12-month total to 38.2 million, and the overall total to 204.3 million users. China Unicom, which runs GSM and code division multiple access networks, said December subscriber additions fell to 1.53 million from 1.55 million in November. This brought total additions to 20.6 million for the year, and the overall total now stands at 112 million.�

Full story at http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/China/GA21Ad02.html

Korean online-gaming firm files for U.S. IPO, Cnet News,com, 20 Jan 2005

“Gravity, a Korean online-gaming company that wants to expand internationally, filed for a public offering in the United States on Thursday. The company, which hopes to raise $88 million in the initial public offering, is following in the footsteps of China's Shanda Interactive, which went public in the United States last year. Since its IPO last May, Shanda's stock has risen from $11 to more than $30.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Korean+online-gaming+firm+files+for+U.S.+IPO/2100-1043_3-5544093.html?part=rss&tag=5544093&subj=news.1043.20

Next Exchange to combine e-mail, voice mail, ZDNet, 19 Jan 2005

“Microsoft outlined on Wednesday a new future for its Exchange server, effectively turning the software into what it hopes will be a one-stop shop for e-mail, voice mail and faxes. The software maker said the next version, code-named Exchange 12, will let workers access their voice mail from their PC and allow them to dial in to the server via telephone and get voice mail, as well as calendar and e-mail data.�

Full story at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9593_22-5542542.html?tag=zdnn.alert

77BIllion E-Mails Sent Per Day – 2004, ISP Review, 18 Jan 2005

“The Radicati group reports that 2004 saw e-mail traffic increase by 35% last year to 76.8bn mails per day. Corporate traffic accounted for 83% of this, while the global number of e-mail users grew by 15% to 651m.�

Full story at http://www.ispreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?id=EEpypupZpVNJUYGbrt

Verizon's Spam Policy Criticized, washingtonpost, 19 Jan 2005

“For many online users, the idea that their Internet provider was particularly aggressive in cracking down on e-mail spam would be welcome news. But some of Verizon's 3 million high-speed Internet customers say the company is bungling the job and hurting their livelihoods…Douglas Place, vice president of Verizon's data network services, said the company is not blocking entire regions, has not changed its policies and is merely doing what most Internet providers do: monitoring its own networks and blocking mail from other networks that Verizon deems to be conduits of large-scale spamming.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/washpost/20050119/tc_washpost/a19567_2005jan18

Spammed man sued by alleged spammer wants cash, silicon.com, 18 Jan 2005

“A man who claims he has been receiving unsolicited emails from a US company for two years is now being sued by them, for branding them spammers and reporting their actions to ISPs.�

Full story at http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/thespamreport/0,39025001,39127148,00.htm

Web photo storage market hots up, BBC News, 19 Jan 2005

“An increasing number of firms are offering web storage for people with digital photo collections.�

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4183947.stm

VeriSign to battle rivals for .net domain control, Cnet News.com, 19 Jan 2005

“Five companies on Wednesday officially announced their intent to compete for the .net domain registry, including current registry operator VeriSign. VeriSign faces stiff competition for the first time in its efforts to retain its spot as operator of the registry--a position that controls more than 5 million .net domain names and 3 trillion annual page views.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/VeriSign+to+battle+rivals+for+control+of+.net+domain/2100-1038_3-5541917.html?part=rss&tag=5541917&subj=news.1038.20

Symantec Profit Up on Strong Sales, Reuters, 19 Jan 2005

“Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMC - news), the top global security software maker, on Wednesday posted a 48 percent rise in quarterly net profit on strong sales. Customers worried about Internet viruses and security drove revenue up 41 percent to $695 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $494 million a year earlier.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050119/bs_nm/tech_symantec_earns_dc

Czech mobile phone penetration exceeds 100 percent in 2004, AFP, 19 Jan 2005

“The number of mobile phones in use in the Czech Republic is greater than the population with one million more SIM cards being sold last year alone, the operators said. The number of active mobile phones in the country rose to 10.7 million, half a million more than the country's population. At end-December, the country's three operators together registered 105 mobile phone numbers per 100 Czechs.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20050119/tc_afp/czechtelecommobile

EarthLink Joins Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue in Announcing Tough, New Anti-Spam Proposal, EarthLink, 19 Jan 2005

“A proposal unveiled today by Governor Sonny Perdue, and supported by EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK - News), will give Georgia a new remedy in the fight against deceptive spam and other fraudulent e-mails. EarthLink, the nation's next generation Internet service provider, today announced its endorsement of the Governor's plan to fight unwanted junk e-mails with legislation that would provide tough, new criminal and civil penalties for spamming, including jail time and monetary damages.�

Full story at http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050119/clw025_1.html

Yahoo Profit Nearly Quintuples, Reuters, 18 Jan 2005

“Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) on Tuesday reported its quarterly profit nearly quintupled as online advertising took business from television, search services grew and Yahoo sold a stake in rival Google Inc. Yahoo shares rose almost 2 percent in after-hours trading, as it forecast first-quarter and 2005 revenues at the high end of Wall Street estimates.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050119/wr_nm/tech_yahoo_earns_dc

Email worm tells victims it has found pornographic material on their PCs, Sophos reports, Sophos, 18 Jan 2005

“Virus experts at Sophos have discovered a mass-mailing worm that fools computer users into believing that pornographic adult content has been found on their PC, and lures them into running malicious code which opens a backdoor allowing remote hackers access to their data. The W32/Baba-C worm spreads via email, duping innocent users into believing that it is a warning about XXX content found on their Windows PC.�

Full story at http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/babac.html?pl_id=9&lang_id=1&lp_keyword=babac

Google aims to outsmart search tricksters, Cnet News.com, 18 Jan 2005

“Google will introduce new technology controls to thwart people using blogs to manipulate rankings in its search results. Otherwise known as "link" or "comment spam," the ruse is as old as Web marketing. Such Web site promoters use the comment form on forums, blogs or any Web page to place or gain a link pointing back to their own Web site. And because Google and other search engines tabulate search results in part by a Web page's link popularity with other sites, the trick can boost a site's ranking--and more importantly, traffic. It can also produce irrelevant search results.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Google+aims+to+outsmart+search+tricksters/2100-1024_3-5540740.html?part=rss&tag=5540740&subj=news.1024.20

Search Engines, Bloggers Team to Fight Spam, eWeek, 18 Jan 2005

“The Internet's leading search engines and a major Weblog tool vendor are joining together to fight the onslaught of spam in the comment sections of blogs. Google Inc., Microsoft Corp.'s MSN division and Six Apart Ltd. will announce late Tuesday that they are supporting a tag called "nofollow" for excluding blog comments from search-engine crawlers and to prevent spam posts from influencing search rankings, officials with the companies confirmed to eWEEK.com.�

Full story at http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1752331,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

Google Adds Features to Picasa Photo Service, Reuters, 18 Jan 2005

“Web search leader Google Inc. said late on Monday it has added a variety of new features to its Picasa digital photo service, including the ability to e-mail pictures via its Gmail service. Google bought Picasa last summer to improve photo-publishing on Blogger, its Web log service. The latest Picasa update, which is free, also features faster photo posting to Blogger.�

Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050118/wr_nm/tech_google_picasa_dc_3

German court rules email blocking 'illegal', The Register, 18 Jan 2005

“Selectively filtering out emails of a specific sender may constitute an offence, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Karlsruhe ruled on Monday.�

Full story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/18/german_email_blocking/

Cell Phone Market Seen Soaring in '05, Reuters, 18 Jan 2005

“The global mobile phone market is set to grow to 2 billion subscribers by the end of 2005, fueled by strong demand from developing economies in Asia and Latin America, Deloitte & Touche said on Tuesday. The consulting firm said it expected voice calls to continue to be the primary driver of profits and revenues for mobile phone companies, with volumes continuing to grow steadily on the back of falling prices and rising ease of use.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/telecoms_deloitte_dc

Dotcom survivor spreads word in cyberspace, South China Morning Post, 15 Jan 2005

“Love it or hate it, internet advertising is here to stay and one Hong Kong company is even betting that cyber suggestions are in fact on the cusp of becoming a prized advertising tool. The field attracted a host of companies in the first years of the internet boom, but by the time the bubble burst most local internet advertising networks had disappeared. Firms such as 247 Media Asia, Engage, Ad Search and BMC Media were history by the end of 2002. The exception was DoubleClick Media Hong Kong, which was renamed Pixel Media Hong Kong after a management buyout under chief executive Kevin Huang Jiunn Jin.�

Full story at http://technology.scmp.com/techinternet/ZZZ9BX5HJ3E.html

Hotmail cofounder looking for hot local opportunities, Star Tech-Central, 18 Jan 2005

“Hotmail cofounder Sabeer Bhatia was in town last week surveying the landscape for potential investments in the country. Saying that he was impressed with the ICT infrastructure and business environment here, the Indian-born multimillionaire entrepreneur also suggested that a development centre here might be on the cards. Sabeer, who is currently CEO of Indian-based Navin Communications, said he was currently working on "five new ideas" and was scouting for suitable locations to base some of the works-in-progress.�

Full story at http://www.star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2005/1/18/technology/9907870&sec=technology

Yahoo, Verizon ink Web tie-in, Cnet News.com, 17 Jan 2005

“Yahoo and Verizon Communications on Monday inked a multi-year agreement to package the Web portal into the nation's largest phone company's broadband Internet services. The deal represents a competitive win for Yahoo because it replaces Microsoft's MSN as the default Web portal for new Verizon customers. MSN and Verizon struck their original agreement in June 2002, but the combined service was slow to get off the ground.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Yahoo%2C+Verizon+ink+Web+tie-in/2100-1030_3-5539065.html?part=rss&tag=5539065&subj=news.1030.20

Google plugs brace of GMail security flaws, The Register, 17 Jan 2005

“A flaw in Froogle, Google's price-comparison service, created a means for attackers to swipe cookies used to access GMail accounts. Israeli hacker Nir Goldshlager demonstrated how users fooled into executing script by clicking a link pointed at Froogle could be redirected to a site that steals usernames and passwords for the "Google Accounts" centralised log-in service. Google has fixed the vulnerability, preventing further theft. But Goldshlager warns that data from already stolen cookies can still be used even if the password of compromised accounts is changed.�

Full story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/17/google_security_bugs/

China set for ecommerce boom, The Register, 17 Jan 2005

“China could become the world's biggest online market within two years, according to a report examining the country's potential for electronic commerce. Ecommerce is already beginning to take off in China with four in ten buying something online. This year two in three people are expected to buy online, with books and computer gear proving particularly popular.�

Full story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/17/china_ecommerce/

Spyware By The Numbers, Forbes, 17 Jan 2005

“Spyware is starting to replace e-mail spam as the time-hogging, productivity-robbing computer problem of the moment: Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) said that 12% of the calls to its support line in 2004 related to spyware. That may not seem big when compared to spam--trillions of e-mail messages per year qualify as spam. But while spam just loads up an e-mail in-box with unwanted messages, spyware can take up valuable workspace on a PC or steal sensitive personal information.�

Full story at http://www.forbes.com/2005/01/17/cx_ah_0117spynumbers.html

Bandwidth resellers squeezed out, South China Morning Post, 18 Jan 2005

“Consumer choices for residential broadband services are dwindling as resellers exit the market, citing tough competition with wholesaler PCCW. Resellers HKNet and So-net have quit the residential market, transferring their accounts to PCCW. This has left just a handful of resellers to compete with the big guys: PCCW, Hutchison Global Communications, Hong Kong Broadband Network and i-Cable.�

Full story at http://technology.scmp.com/techinternet/ZZZO27CHJ3E.html

Yahoo! steps up push into mainland, South China Morning Post, 17 Jan 2005

“Internet giant Yahoo! plans to widen the reach of its online search, communications and auction businesses in China as the mainland's next-generation mobile phone infrastructure is developed.�

Full story at http://technology.scmp.com/techenterprise/ZZZX7W9HJ3E.html

Company offers 10GB of Net storage, for free, Cnet News.com, 14 Jan 2005

“A company called Streamload is offering consumers a free 10 gigabyte online storage locker for multimedia files, potentially raising the stakes for larger companies such as Yahoo and America Online. Streamload typically provides online storage space for a price, making it one of the few companies to survive in that business through the dot-com shakeout. However, it is increasingly competing with larger companies that offer online homes for digital photographs, and even the huge archive space provided by Google's Gmail service.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Company+offers+10GB+of+Net+storage%2C+for+free/2100-1038_3-5537230.html?part=rss&tag=5537230&subj=news.1038.20

Can Desktop Search Find Profits?, BusinessWeek Online, 12 Jan 2005

“Yahoo! joins big rivals Google and MSN in this field, hoping customer loyalty won here will spill over into lucrative Web search services.�

Full story at http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050112_4921_tc024.htm\

ISP suffers apparent domain hijacking, ZDNet, 16 Jan 2005

“A New York Internet service provider said Sunday it was working to recover its domain name and e-mail services after suffering an apparent hijacking. A Panix.com representative said ownership of the domain had been moved sometime Friday evening to a company in Australia, the domain name server (DNS) records had been moved to the United Kingdom, and that the company's mail had been redirected to a company in Canada.�

Full story at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5538227.html?tag=zdnn.alert