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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2006 Users Sweat Bullets Waiting for WMF Patch MIT Students Tour Bay Area Tech Companies Wi-Fi Coming to Nine U.K. Cities Starz Offers Movies for Handhelds USERS SWEAT BULLETS WAITING FOR WMF PATCH Security experts are warning about the danger of a currently unpatched vulnerability in all current versions of the Windows operating system, but Microsoft has said the patch won't be released until January 10, its next scheduled patch release date. Sam Curry of Computer Associates International said, "This vulnerability is rising in popularity among hackers, and it is simple to exploit." Others estimate that more than one million computers have already been infected worldwide, noting that attacks have taken the form of malicious Web sites, Trojan horses, and instant messaging worms. The flaw, which affects how Windows handles Windows Meta File (WMF) images, is especially dangerous because users need only view an image designed to take advantage of the vulnerability to have their computers infected. Despite the calls for an immediate patch, Microsoft, which adopted a schedule of monthly patch updates, has said the fix for the current bug will not be released until the next scheduled group of patches. In the meantime, Microsoft is warning users to be careful about what sites they visit. Most Internet users, however, do not have a level of awareness of such security concerns to protect themselves, according to Stacey Quandt, an analyst with the Aberdeen Group. ZDNet, 3 January 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6016747.html MIT STUDENTS TOUR BAY AREA TECH COMPANIES A group of students from MIT's Sloan School of Management is getting an up-close look at some of Silicon Valley's leading technology companies, as well as a number of start-up firms, as part of a long-running program to expose the students to what high tech has to offer. This year, 70 students will visit companies including Apple Computer, Salesforce.com, Google, and HP. Recruiting top students into the technology field became more difficult after the dot-com collapse, but Bay Area high tech remains an attractive option for many, despite lucrative offers from firms in other industries, such as consulting. As Paul Denning, spokesman for the Sloan School, noted, "High tech offers a diverse experience, and a large number of our students will end up working out there." Denning said that money is not the primary motivation for many students. CNET, 2 January 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1047_3-6015115.html WI-FI COMING TO NINE U.K. CITIES British company The Cloud has announced plans to expand its current sprinkling of wireless areas to cover nine cities in the United Kingdom. The company today offers Wi-Fi coverage in places such as coffee shops and train stations, and the new coverage will add hundreds of access points in cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Leeds. More cities are expected to be added to the list later in the year. George Polk, chief executive of The Cloud, said the new access, offered to millions of people who have wireless-capable computers or cell phones, "will have a major impact on the way people communicate, work, and play in city centers." The new Wi-Fi networks are also expected to work with a number of cell-phone carriers in the affected areas, including BT Openzone, O2, and SkypeZones. Customers of participating cell-phone companies will be able to connect to The Cloud's new networks with their existing cell phones and make phone calls using the Internet rather than the cell-phone networks. BBC, 3 January 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4578114.stm STARZ OFFERS MOVIES FOR HANDHELDS Media company Starz Entertainment Group will begin offering movie downloads through a service called Vongo, which will allow users to play movies on computers, TVs, and handheld devices. Starz already offers movies through a service called Starz Ticket, but it uses different technology and does not work on handhelds. For $9.99 per month, Vongo subscribers can download as many movies as they want from a catalog of about 800 titles. Starz owns the electronic-distribution rights to many of the movies, meaning that no other download service can offer them. Analysts noted, however, that Starz faces a significant problem in that the Vongo service does not currently work on iPods, the leading devices in the portable media player market. Forrester's Josh Bernoff said that until that hurdle is overcome, the market for Vongo's movies will be modest, consisting of users who want to watch movies on their computers or on laptops when they travel. New York Times, 3 January 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/business/media/03starz.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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