Cisco's Linksys snaps up VoIP developer

Linksys, a subsidiary of telecoms giant Cisco Systems, has bought up Sipura Technology a specialist in VoIP telephony. Linksys will pay the owners of the privately held Sipura around $68 million in cash and share options for the company. A supplier of wireless networking gear for homes and small businesses, Linksys already has strong links with Sipura who provides it with key technologies for the company's VoIP networking devices. ...more

Sony boss Kutaragi blasts timid management for iPod dominance

The head of Sony's Computer Entertainment Division has hit out at the management of the company for becoming too timid to launch new products. Ken Kutaragi implied that the fear of piracy expressed by the Sony music and movie divisions held back the launch of Sony MP3 players which ended up handing the market to the likes of Apple. It was only last September that Sony abandoned its policy of building music players which only used its proprietory Atrac format and instead offering MP3-compatible devices. ...more

Antispam laws: CAN SPAM, will spam

The global problem of spam has prompted new laws aimed at curbing the scourge of the Net, but they will not bite, warns Sophos. This week will see Congress dotting the i's and crossing the t's of its Can Spam Act, before it gets the signature of President Bush, and tomorrow marks the introduction of EU antispam directives into UK law. The CAN SPAM Act, or the rather contrived Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, means that unsolicited email must have an opt-out option, a valid 'from' address, a subject line that fairly reflect the nature and content of the email and the physical address of the sender. ...more

The Supreme delay for the Microsoft anti-trust case

With grim inevitability, Microsoft is seeking to take the anti-trust case to the highest court - the US Supreme Court. This could delay the conclusion of the case even further. Having failed in its bid to have the findings of the lower court overturned (that it had improperly "commingled" its browser software with its dominant Windows platform), the Redmond colossus is now seeking to have all the original findings over turned because the presiding Judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson, was biased. ...more

Microsoft announces raft of security warnings

Microsoft has warned of seven new security vulnerabilities in its Windows products. Five of these are rated as Critical by the company, with one rated Important, and the last Moderate. The vulnerabilities affect pretty much all Microsoft's Windows line - from NT through to XP, including Server 2003, the Exchange Server range and 64bit editions of the software. ...more