April 28, 2005

CIO Today Spitzer sues Intermix over 'spyware' BusinessWeek  - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued a major Internet marketer Thursday, blaming it for secretly installing software that delivers nuisance pop-up advertisements and can slow and crash personal computers. A six-month investigation found that the company installed a wide range of advertising software on countless personal computers nationwide, with more than 3.7 million downloads directed at New Yorkers alone, Spitzer said. "Spyware and adware are more than an annoyance," Spitzer said. "These fraudulent programs foul machines, undermine productivity and in many cases frustrate consumers' efforts to remove them from their computers. These issues can serve to be a hindrance to the growth of e-commerce." 3:01:39 PM

Ex-sponsorship boss Chuck Guite begins testifying at inquiry National Post - Chuck Guite, the man who ran the federal sponsorship program between 1997 and 1999, began testifying at the Gomery inquiry on Thursday. But with Guite's testimony subject to a publication ban, Canadians will likely have to wait until early next week to find out what he has told the inquiry. The ban issued by presiding judge John Gomery also covered the testimony of ad executives Jean Brault and Paul Coffin but was lifted in part after they had finished. Brault, Coffin and Guite all must stand trial in June on fraud-related charges arising from the sponsorship program. Guite has been charged with six counts of fraud and conspiracy related to an alleged scheme with Brault linked to federal gun registry contracts. In his first appearance before Gomery, last fall in Ottawa, Guite sparked controversy by pointing a finger of blame firmly at his political masters. He claimed that former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano and Jean Pelletier, chief of staff to then-prime minister Jean Chretien, knew exactly what he was up to in distributing sponsorship cash in the '90s. Gagliano and Pelletier denied the allegations, saying they gave "advice" but never issued orders on how sponsorship money should be doled out or which ad firms should get a piece of the pie. Guite's lawyers argued that his testimony last fall should be heard behind closed doors to avoid prejudice to his criminal trial. But Gomery ruled at the time there was no evidence public testimony would be so damaging as to make a fair trial impossible.  1:53:46 PM

Comcast's Profit Quadruples. Steady rate hikes, on demand, pay off. The Associated Press reports that Comcast's profit has quadrupled compared to a year ago, and that the company has added 414,000 broadband customers, ending the first quarter with 7.4 million. In March, digital customers viewed more than 100 million On Demand programs, three times the total from one-year ago... [Broadbandreports] 10:00:41 AM

Man Who Put Mom in Freezer Had Odd History Well I bet his mother didn't think so... 8:38:05 AM

Anglicans won't bless same-sex marriages for 2 years CBC - Bishops from the Anglican Church of Canada have decided to place a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex marriages for the next two years. [CBC | Canadian News] 8:12:25 AM

Putin Hardens Line on Iranian Nuclear Program. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, hardening his line toward Iran's nuclear program, said on Thursday Tehran needed to do more to assure the world it was not trying to build atomic weapons. [Reuters: Top News] 8:10:14 AM