Government backs down over snooping order

'We believe we've got it wrong,' said Home Secretary David Blunkett. The controversial order that the Government sought to push through the Commons today has now been postponed indefinitely, although the Home Secretary said he would attempt to create some consensus on the order for the next session of Parliament in the winter. The order, which would add around 600 public bodies to those of the police, Inland Revenue and customs and excise that already have access to traffic data, included local authorities, councils, the Food Standards Agency and the Post Office. ...more

Microsoft appoints Chief Security Strategist

Scott Charney, from Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Cybercrime Prevention and Response Practice, has been chosen to lead Microsoft's security efforts. With a serious CV of tackling computer crime, Charney has been welcomed as an 'essential member of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing leadership team'. He will be responsible for security strategies for software and services, and generally beefing up Microsoft's performance in this increasingly-sensitive area. ...more

Microsoft faces challenge over Linux licensing

Linux community activists are preparing to counter the recent deal between Microsoft and Novell. Microsoft signed a deal with Novell, one of the providers of Linux, in which Novell paid it a lump sum in return for a guarantee that Microsoft would not sue Novell's clients for what it calls a violation of its own patents in the Linux program. The prospect of a drawn-out legal battle with Microsoft, an experienced litigator, could push users of Linux into the hands of Novell and away from dominant Linux provider, Red Hat, which does not have such a deal with Microsoft. ...more

Cisco to provide missing iPhone source code

Cisco has begun taking steps to ensure that it complies with open source licensing requirements, after a researcher discovered that it had failed to publish the source code for certain software running on its WIP300 iPhone. Open source expert Armijn Hemel revealed last week that some of the software on the phone was based on Linux code available under the GNU General Public License (usually known as GPL), a widely used open source licence. Cisco examined his claims and as a result has identified one issue relating to the VoIP handset and GPL compliance. ...more

RealPlayer to record net video

RealNetworks has revealed that the next version of its RealPlayer media software will allow users to save internet video and burn it to CD or DVD. Once installed, a 'download this video' button will hover next to any video clip on thousands of websites, including YouTube, Real explains. Consumers can then download the clip, or multiple clips simultaneously, with the software supporting all the popular video formats such as Flash, Windows Media and QuickTime. ...more