October 30, 2002

Russia: Dial 'H' for Hostage. Wired - A Russian dancer held captive in the recent standoff with Chechen rebels uses his cell phone to post a message to the world. Neither his captors nor government censors can stop him. Sergey Kuznetsov reports from Moscow. 3:42:28 PM

Microsoft unveils Xbox Live network partners Forbes - As it prepares for the launch of the online network for the Xbox game console, Microsoft Corp. said it had entered into partnerships with providers representing 80 percent of the broadband Internet access market in the U.S. and Canada. 10:15:23 AM

Microsoft Says Windows 2000 Passes Security Check Reuters - Windows 2000 has received the highest level of security evaluation of any commercial operating system. Windows 2000 received the Common Criteria certification, a global standard for security features and capabilities of information technology products, according to Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft. 9:30:16 AM

Pair charged in porn case involving teen nieces The Globe and Mail - A Winnipeg (Canada) couple who allegedly sold live video of their own sex acts over the Internet have been charged with distributing digital pornographic images of two teenaged nieces who lived with them. A 32-year-old man and his 26-year-old common-law wife, who was the aunt of the 14- and 16-year-old girls, were arrested Sunday on four counts of possessing, transmitting, producing and making available child pornography. Their names are not being released in order to protect the girls' identities. 9:11:59 AM

Dr. Robot Watches Over Home And More Slashdot - jverbov writes "A Canadian firm has created what they call an 'intellgent personal robotic companion.' It can be wirelessly connected to your home Internet connection, has a built-in camera and speech recognition software. There's a recent article about it at the Toronto Star." This thing promises a lot, and while the price is steep, it's a lot cheaper than some other household robots due out. 8:46:07 AM

Australia raids Muslim homes in Jemaah Islamiah hunt Reuters - Australian police armed with machine pistols, sledgehammers and shotguns raided the homes of at least two Australian Muslims after the government banned the militant Southeast Asian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah. What does Banned mean?  Well, it seems that heavily armed agents can carry out a five-hour raid on your home if you are even suspected of having close ties with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).  Suddenly what goes on in the Jenin will seem almost tame in comparison. 8:41:27 AM

New MS Office won't run on old Windows ZDNet - The next version of Microsoft's Office software will run only on the latest versions of the company's operating systems, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday. If you are still using Windows 95, you certainly got your money's worth. 7:49:16 AM