UK cable firm NTL is teaming up with BitTorrent Inc., the company behind the popular file-sharing software, to test a new service that will let users purchase movies and music video downloads.

The trial, which will also include technology from Cambridge, England-based CacheLogic Ltd., comes as BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen works to establish the software as a legitimate means of distributing content.

The free software is currently one of the most popular ways to share pirated TV and movies. BitTorrent traffic is estimated to account for roughly a third of all Internet bandwidth, and an even higher proportion on NTL’s network.

Source: reuters

Google started a beta test program where it lets you give Gmail, Google’s webmail service, to every user at your domain. Gmail for your domain is hosted by Google, so there’s no hardware or software for you to install or maintain.
Beta testers will get 2 gigabytes of storage and search tools that help users find information fast and for admins Control Panel to easily manage user accounts, aliases and mailing lists.

Gmail for your domain is currently available as a limited beta. School, business or organization who are interested in joining the beta program can submit a request to Google, and if found qualified, Google will give them their own Gmail domain account.

he e-mail claims to be from a financially savvy Fidelity Investments fund manager who has “secretly extracted” money from the world’s largest fund management firm and will pass it along to you for a small fee.

Hear any alarm bells ringing?

Boston-based Fidelity Investments is working with authorities to find the author of a mass e-mail sent to computers around the world that claims to be written by a Fidelity fund manager.

“The e-mail, written in broken English and with bizarre claims, is a particularly obvious example of one kind of scam that some online would-be criminals employ,” Fidelity spokesman Adam Banker said.

In the e-mail, a person identifying himself as Williams Smith boasts he “secretly extracted excess maximum return capital” from one of Fidelity’s funds.

He goes on to tell Fidelity investors he is ready to divide his gains with anyone who is ready to send him a little money up front.

A small number of investors reported the bogus message to Fidelity, Banker said. He added that since the e-mail sender had no connection to Fidelity, none of the investors’ funds were in jeopardy.

Source: Reuters

AT&T possesses several patents related to video compression, which the company says are an essential component of the MPEG-4 video technology. In a bid to drive its global licensing program, AT&T has targeted Apple Computer, Inc., CyberLink Corp., DivX, Inc., InterVideo, Inc., and Sonic Solutions as unlicensed companies whose products and software utilize the MPEG-4 technology.

AT&T has also contacted national retailers that distribute products from the companies listed above, to let them know that they may be held liable for infringement.

“Each of these companies has been advised that they are offering infringing products, that AT&T can provide proof of infringement, and that AT&T is offering a license under reasonable on non-discriminatory terms,” Michael J. Robinson, licensing director of AT&T Intellectual Property Management, wrote in a letter sent in December 2005, and obtained by PC Magazine.

Source: pcmag

Disney Channel will offer full episodes of some of its popular shows online later this year, the network said Thursday.

Available on http://www.DisneyChannel.com and http://www.Jetix.tv will be “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” and “Kim Possible,” among others. The episodes will run with ads, both static and also broadband-enabled. Other content online will include bonus material from Disney Channel movies plus music videos.

Disney Channel’s plans for streaming video were announced Thursday in a presentation for advertisers and reporters held at the Splashlight Studios in Manhattan.

The Disney ABC Kids Networks also said that there will be 11 new series, 849 new episodes and 25 new movies appearing on their platforms, which includes Disney Channel, ABC Kids, Toon Disney and the “Jetix” program block.

Source: Yahoo

A security breach involving an undisclosed company has prompted Bank of America to cancel the debit cards of numerous customers, a spokesman for the country’s largest bank said Tuesday.

Bank of America refused to release the name of the company involved, the exact number of customers affected or whether the company in question was online or a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment.

The case is unusual in that debit cards appeared to be at risk. Credit cards are typically involved in security breaches at financial institutions because they are used more often than debit cards for retail transactions.

“These are intricate matters…and may involve information that is not exactly clear and concise,” said Michael Chee, the bank’s spokesman. “It would be premature to discuss any third parties until an investigation is conducted.”

Source: News.com

Oracle is negotiating to buy three open-source companies to accelerate its transition to a subscription-based selling model, according to a report.

BusinessWeek Online Thursday published an article saying that Oracle was planning to acquire open-source middleware company JBoss, PHP tools maker Zend Technologies, and open-source database company Sleepycat.

The report follows weeks of rumors around an Oracle acquisition of JBoss, which both companies declined to comment on two weeks ago. The BusinessWeek Online report said that JBoss and Oracle were haggling over price.

Such a move by Oracle would be a dramatic change for the software giant, but one that could mesh with its current strategy.

Source: News.com

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning people not to use Google’s newest desktop search product, saying it provides a “convenient one-stop-shop for hackers” who’ve gotten a user’s Google password.

The new search tool allows consumers who regularly use multiple PCs to search all of those systems simultaneously, even when they are not connected to the Internet. But EFF says that feature makes personal data “more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants.”

Source: News.com

Companies could find themselves put up for public humiliation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission if they continue to advertise through insidious ad-serving software.

Such a move might help in the battle against adware, FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said Thursday at an event here hosted by the Anti-Spyware Coalition. Adware is software that displays pop-up ads on PCs, often after Internet searches.

“I think that could have a beneficial effect,” Leibowitz said in an interview. “In this context, maybe shaming a company on how they are spending money might inure to the benefit of consumer’s privacy.”

The FTC would publicly announce and publish the name of a company that advertises using adware that installs itself surreptitiously on consumer PCs or using spyware, Leibowitz said. He would recommend publicly shaming advertisers to the other FTC commissioners if the adware problem doesn’t decrease, he said.

Source: News.com

In a bid to make its My Web bookmark saving and sharing site a little more up-to-date, Yahoo said Wednesday it has added a bunch of new features to the service.

Among them are a feature that automatically provides access to users’ three most recently saved pages, as well as the ability to search through all My Web users’ tags.

In addition, in a bid to lure more bloggers into the fold, Yahoo has made it possible to add what it calls a “badge” that displays recently saved Web pages to blogs. Bloggers can also use a button if they prefer that over a badge.

Finally, the new My Web gives users the ability to edit up to 20 saved pages at once.

Source: News.com

Sony will showcase the PlayStation 3 (PS3) at the upcoming Taipei Game Show (TGS) 2006, which takes place between February 16-20. This will be a first Taipei showing for Sony’s new game console, prior to the official worldwide launch of the unit, although Sony has already shown the PS3 in the US and Japan.

Sony’s exhibit will occupy a total of 80 booths at the TGS show, including 20 booths allocated exclusively for the PS3, according to a February 9 report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times.

Source: digitimes