January 2, 2003

Plugged In: The Best Time to Buy a PC May Be Now Macon Area Online, GA -  So you decided not to buy a personal computer before Christmas? Not to worry. You were not alone. Sales were weak during the holiday season, and that means you can expect plenty of hot deals as companies try to unload their inventories. PC prices typically fall when new technology hits the market. That decline is magnified after Christmas as stores look to push older models out to make room for the new. Only the most advanced gear is likely to stay pricey. 2:04:47 PM

Supreme Court justice intervenes in DVD dispute Freedom Forum Online - The Supreme Court has temporarily intervened in a fight over DVD copying, and the justices could eventually use the case to decide how easy it will be for people to post software on the Internet that helps others copy movies. More broadly, the case — against a Webmaster whose site offered a program to break DVD security codes — could resolve how people can be sued for what they put online. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor granted a stay last week to a group that licenses DVD encryption software to the motion picture industry, giving the Court time to collect more arguments. She requested filings by later this week. The group has spent three years trying to stop illegal copying. 2:01:34 PM

Canada: Judge calls marijuana law invalid CBC News - A judge in Windsor, Ont., has ruled that Canada's law on possession of small amounts of marijuana is no longer valid. Justice Douglas Phillips made the ruling in dismissing two drug charges against a 16-year-old local boy. In his ruling, Phillips said Parliament has failed to address problems with Canada's marijuana laws. 1:43:41 PM

A Pakistani man has accused the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of mistaking him for a suspected terrorist. Mohammad Asghar said on Thursday in Lahore that his photograph had been used to identify an Arab named as Mustafa Khan Owasi. He says he went to the United Arab Emirates two months ago when he tried to fly to Britain using forged documents. So he is not a suspected terrorist, but a confessed user of forged documents. Mr Asghar wants the FBI to clear his name. I am curious which name he would like cleared. He did not sneak into the US, but only because he was caught with a forged passport in Britain, and deported.... 11:36:42 AM

Microsoft counts on antipiracy technique BusinessWeek - Microsoft is set to release its first mainstream consumer software application protected by product activation, in what could be a first step toward expanding use of the antipiracy technology. On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to officially launch Plus Digital Media Edition (DME), a $19.95 add-on pack for Windows XP. Microsoft has offered various versions of Plus since the release of Windows 95. But unlike earlier versions, Plus DME is protected by product activation, meaning that consumers will have to enter a 25-key code to install the software and then "activate" Plus DME over the Internet. 9:16:49 AM

Happy 20th birthday to the internet VNUNet - On 1 January 1983 the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (Arpanet) of the US Department of Defence - the forerunner of the internet - was switched to the TCP/IP protocol. 8:11:49 AM

Microsoft Smooth sailing Everett Herald, WA - Microsoft rang up record revenue in its most recent quarter, launched a flashy new video-game service and rolled out the Tablet PC, a pet project of Chairman Bill Gates. And while its legal troubles aren't over, the software powerhouse scored big when a federal judge approved the company's antitrust settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. 6:16:35 AM

Drug shows promise for MS San Francisco Chronicle - The first in a new class of drugs targeting an aspect of the immune system works remarkably well against multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease, scientists report today 6:04:22 AM