PC users might well remember how a bite of the forbidden apple cheated humanity out of paradise forever, but those who wish to tempt fate will find a hacked version of Mac OS 10.4.4 available Wednesday to run on Intel-based PCs other than the ones approved by Cupertino.

The Mac OS x86 forums contained new details about how to download patches that would allow the latest version of the Mac OS to a non-Apple PC running a chip with the x86 instruction set. Apple has expressly forbidden anyone from running its operating system on hardware that it has not specified, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying–and at times succeeding–to find something other than Windows or Linux to run on their Intel or AMD systems.

If you’re willing to download illegal software and know your way around a kernel, you can find links to the modified patches in the Mac OS X86 forums.

Source: News.com

Microsoft said Wednesday that it has licensed several interactive video patents from Austin, Texas-based Monkeymedia. The software maker said the “Seamless Expansion” family of patents covers means for artistically putting advertising or other additional content into Internet Protocol video streams.

Source: News.com

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sweden-based HotSip AB. HotSip is a provider of telecommunications infrastructure software and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) enabled applications for IP telephony, presence, messaging and conferencing on new converged networks. “The addition of HotSip’s technology will allow Oracle to build on its leadership in middleware and in carrier-grade communications infrastructures,” said Thomas Kurian, senior vice president, Oracle Server Technologies.

Terms of the pending transaction were not disclosed.

The Mozilla Foundation has released Version 1.0 of its Camino browser, built for the Mac. The browser supports Mac OS X 10.2.

The newest version, which is available for download, features a new tab bar, ad and pop-up blocking and enhanced security. It will run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, the project organizers said.

Source: News.com

Yahoo Inc. Google Inc. and other U.S. Internet companies under fire for assisting in China’s censorship efforts are insisting they must obey Beijing or risk limiting access to their most promising market.

As the companies face congressional hearings in Washington on Wednesday about their role in aiding the communist regime, they are appealing to the U.S. government for help, saying no private business can resist China on its own.

Yet analysts say that even if Washington stepped in to enforce free-speech standards, perhaps by forcing U.S. companies to withdraw their Internet services or equipment from China, the impact would likely be blunted as entrepreneurs from China and other countries move in to fill the void in the rapidly growing market.

Source: AP

On Tuesday, Redmond, Wash-based company released seven security patches as part of its monthly security update but users found that they were unable to install one of them.

People trying to download patch number MS06-007, which secures a vulnerability in several versions of Windows, from Microsoft’s Automatic Updates, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update, and Systems Management Server 2003 via the inventory tool for Microsoft Updates, informed the company of the installation problem.

The vulnerability, which was rated “important,” the second highest rating behind “critical,” could open a system to a denial-of-service attack.

Microsoft said it quickly corrected the problem. Now, the patch will install without any further action for those using Automatic Updates.

Source: News.com

Daniel Robbins, the founder of Gentoo Linux and its former chief architect, has announced that he has left his position at Microsoft.

Robbins shocked the Linux world in June 2005 when he announced in a note to the Gentoo Foundation that he was leaving Gentoo to help “Microsoft to understand open source and community-based projects.”

Now, it seems, Robbins has had enough of Microsoft.

Sources said that Robbins wasn’t happy working at Microsoft’s Linux and Open Source Software technology group.

Source: eWeek

Opera Software AS will supply Internet browsers for Nintendo Co.’s hugely popular dual-screen handheld game device, the Norwegian company’s chief executive said Wednesday.

“This is a breakthrough,” Opera co-founder and chief executive Jon S. von Tetzchner told The Associated Press by telephone. “This is the first time we have provided a browser for a game device.”

Von Tetzchner said users will now also be able to surf the Internet with both of the device’s screens by using the Opera browser inserted on a card into their machine’s wi-fi slot.

According to Opera, the browser will first be offered to consumers in Japan, with further distribution to be decided later. The companies declined to estimate the economic value of the deal, which is based on a license payment per unit.

Source: AP

A well known cryptographer has applied power analysis techniques to crack passwords for the most popular brand of RFID tags.

Adi Shamir, professor of computer science at the Weizmann Institute, reported his work in a high-profile panel discussion at the RSA Conference here. Separately, Ron Rivest, who co-developed the RSA algorithms with Shamir, used the stage of the annual panel to call for an industry effort to create a next-generation hashing algorithm to replace today’s SHA-1.

In recent weeks, Shamir used a directional antenna and digital oscilloscope to monitor power use by RFID tags while they were being read. Patterns in power use could be analyzed to determine when the tag received correct and incorrect password bits, he said.

Shamir said the pressure to get tags down to five cents each has forced designers to eliminate any security features, a shortcoming that needs to be addressed in next-generation products.

Source: informationweek

Microsoft Corp. has fully complied with European Commission technical documentation requirements and should not be fined 2 million euros ($2.4 million) daily, the company said as it replied on Wednesday to Commission charges.

“Microsoft has complied fully with the technical documentation requirements imposed by a 2004 European Commission decision, and the Commission has ignored critical evidence in its haste to attack the company’s compliance,” the company said in a statement.

The Commission will rely in part on the reply to help decide whether to fine the company.

Microsoft also exercised its right to an oral hearing that must be held before the Commission decides whether to impose the fine.

Source: Reuters

Sun Microsystems on Wednesday is releasing a beta version of the next desktop version of Java, codenamed Project Mustang and officially known as Java Platform Standard Edition 6 (Java SE 6).

Highlights of the release include a Web 2.0-based theme focused on Web services and scripting language support, as well as enterprise desktop features and diagnostics.

Web 2.0, an industry concept in which the Web becomes the applications platform, is enabled by support of multiple, non-Java-based scripting languages such as PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor). Web services boosts include support for Web services specifications such as JAX-WS 2.0 (Java API for XML Web Services) and JAXB 2.0 (Java Architecture for XML Binding). Publishing of Web services on Java SE 6 has been made easier as well.

“Now, we’ve got a whole Web services client stack built in the platform as well as new support for scripting languages,” said Bill Curci, product marketing manager for Java SE at Sun.

The final, general release of Java SE 6 is due this fall. Java SE 6 will function with the upcoming Java Platform Enterprise Edition 5 (JEE 5) release. Features of Java SE 6 are expected to be incorporated into a version of JEE following the 5 version.

Source: Yahoo

Microsoft Corp. today announced the beta availability of Microsoft Office Live , offering small-business customers a cost-free opportunity to experience the company’s new Internet-based software services firsthand. A milestone for the online services previewed last fall, Microsoft Office Live combines the power of software and services to deliver rich and seamless experiences to small companies that want a presence online.

Microsoft Office Live helps lower the barriers to doing business online by offering small companies a set of Internet-based business services. Designed for ease of use and affordability, the online services are designed to give small businesses the same advantages as larger enterprises by getting them up and running on the Internet quickly, easily and inexpensively.

“The Internet is crucial to running a successful business today, and companies that don’t have at least an online presence risk missing out,�? said Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division. “With Microsoft Office Live, we are making online services available for small businesses to create an enterprise-like IT infrastructure for them without the management requirements. Our goal is to make it easy and affordable for small businesses to have a more customizable Internet-based solution.�?