Apple secures AirPort

Apple has released a security update that addresses flaws in its AirPort wireless networking software. The update fixes vulnerabilities that could result in arbitrary code execution, system crashes or privilege elevation. The first flaw (CVE-ID: CVE-2006-3507) results from two separate stack buffer overflows that exist in the AirPort wireless driver's handling of malformed frames. ...more

Music giants bear down on lyric search apps

Several developers of Mac software that search the Web for song lyrics have been issued with cease and desist orders by one of the big four record companies. Walter Ritter, author of the pearLyrics application and widget that automatically searches the Web for song lyrics and adds them to the lyrics field in iTunes, said that he had been contacted by Warner/Chappell Music and asked to remove the software or face legal action. 'As a freeware developer I can not afford to risk a law suit against such a big company, although personally I don't see where pearLyrics should infringe any copyrights handled by them,' he writes in a statement on his website. ...more

Appeals court sets date for DOJ-Microsoft case

Favouring neither one side nor the other, the federal appellate court has ruled down the middle for the Microsoft anti-trust case, setting the date for oral arguments as 26-27 February. The schedule that has now been issued accelerates the process compared to Microsoft's proposal, but not as quickly as the government had wanted. Microsoft appealed for the case not to be heard before March while the DoJ favoured December. ...more

Ixus does the flicks

Canon launched a new addition to the digital Ixus stable in the form of the digital Ixus V, but as well as boasting technological enhancements, this one also takes up to half a minute of hi-res VGA movies. A 2.11Mpixel CCD, coupled with a new RGB CCD filter and adaptive DSP (digital signal processor) helps capture vibrant and sharp images. ...more

Apple's main music player rival stumbles

One of Apple's main rivals in the portable music market has seen its quarterly profits fall despite a 50 per cent revenue rise. Creative, which makes the MuVo and Zen players, put the profit drop down to heavy marketing spending as the company tried to weaken Apple's dominant position in the hard drive-based player market. According to some estimates, nine out of every ten such players sold in the US is an iPod. ...more