Each weekend we highlight the most relevant stories Wired News has covered. To find out what's coming up, jump to The Week Ahead.
Back in charge: A music industry-led coalition agreed on specs for playback devices and software that would limit the number of times digital music can be copied. The Secure Digital Music Initiative said that its plan, a bid to maintain control of the channels of distribution, will eventually incorporate "screening technology" to filter out pirated music.
Or maybe not: Then again, there's a new generation out there that doesn't believe in the old buy-and-sell paradigm, however it's packaged. And they're making their presence felt on the Internet music scene. Take 18-year-old Angelo Sotira, owner of the MP3 hub site Dimension Music. His philosophy? "I'm 18 ... and no matter what advertising you run or how you promote to me, I will never buy a CD again."
Passport technology: Didn't take long for Liquid Audio and Iomega to team up on a download system that complies with those new SDMI specs. The companies say their new security measures bind a unique serial number found on all of Iomega's disks to the music file's user meta-data, ensuring that multiple copies cannot be made.
Good luck: Australia barred offensive content from the Internet as of 1 January, joining China and Iran in strictly regulating what can be seen online. The law places a heavy burden on Aussie Internet service providers, who are left to cope with a tangle of proxies, filtering programs, and enforcement guidelines.
Safe, here: News got out that a virus called July Killer would wipe out hard disks on systems running Microsoft Word 97. Well, it will -- but only if you're running the Chinese or Japanese versions of the software. That sucks for Asia, but means few problems in the West.
Extremism: First there was almost a riot in the stands. Then Tony Hawk needed several extra tries. But the skateboarding legend finally did it at the X Games this week in San Francisco -- he nailed a first-ever 900 (that's two-and-a-half revolutions, dude).
Hawk on drugs: Hawk was also a prominent player in an X Games booth set up by the White House, which trumpeted the message that "extreme games are proof that sports and drugs don't mix." Hawk's role? He provided an anti-drug video that played on the booth's 21-inch screen.
Beating the Street: Before the Wall Street Journal could report it, Microsoft revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into its accounting practices. The company almost always beats its consensus earnings forecast, and apparently there's suspicion that it does so by manipulating reserve accounts.
News for nerds: Slashdot.org co-founder Rob Malda sold the open source news hotspot to Andover.net. In a Wired News interview, the geek known as CmdrTaco wouldn't reveal how much he got in the deal, but did say he'll retain creative control of the site.
Colorful complaint: Trademark lawyers predicted those new iMac lookalikes from Future Power might run into legal trouble. And they were right. Apple on Thursday sued the clone maker.
Search and acquire: Net investment company CMGI bought AltaVista (as well as Zip2 and Shopping.com) from Compaq for about US$2.3 billion in stock. By weaving its various assets with the high-traffic site, CMGI hopes to build a formidable Net portal and a launching pad for new IPOs.
Never mind: There was immediate speculation that CMGI may help its new portal-wannabe buy a community site. A smart move, no doubt, but not one without its potential problems -- as Yahoo found out this week when it asked Yahoo-GeoCities users to give it broad rights to the stuff they post. Homesteaders squawked, analysts predicted Yahoo would back down -- and then the company did.
Do the right thing: Consumer privacy groups called on DoubleClick stockholders to say no to the $1 billion acquisition of Abacus. The deal would create a powerful online direct marketer armed with a rich offline database of millions of Americans. And, say critics, it could mean that Web companies will know exactly who has visited their sites.
Just talk: The Home Shopping Network said it will soon begin using voice-recognition technology to identify customers. It's all part of an effort to fully automate the company's phone-ordering system -- at a huge savings over conventional, human-operated systems.
Security lapse: For at least two weeks, personal mail kept at the MailStart and MailStart Plus Web email services was wide open to crackers. The sites are part of the Truste privacy seal group, but they still missed a bug that was first discovered more than a year ago.
Hands off: A National Science Foundation-funded study found that regulations that control anonymity on the Internet will hamper technological advancement and undermine information exchange. The Center for Democracy and Technology was glad to hear that, and said the report should play a role in the debate on security, privacy, and free speech.
Old hardware: An auction of vintage Macs flopped, with only one of five lots finding even a single bidder. The standout was an early Apple I, snared by Captain Owen O'Mahoney, a retired officer of the British Royal Air Force, for US$18,000.
Liddy's jig: Elizabeth Dole asked Congress to deny federal funds to public libraries unless they restrict Internet access for all their patrons. It's a step to the right by Dole (anti-porn groups cheered the move), who earlier in the campaign danced left in calling for tightening gun-sale legislation.
Now, stand on your head and spin: When Microsoft found some allegedly racist content in Publisher 98, it consulted with two noted leaders in the black community, corrected the problem, informed users via email, and issued an apology. Not enough, a San Diego man said this week, filing a lawsuit.
That consumer market: Proctor & Gamble boosted its advertising on Yahoo, creating joint sites that feature a mix of movie and music reviews from Yahoo with P&G product pitches. It's likely to be a moneymaker for Yahoo, but more importantly, the deal could open up the Web to a sizable chunk of P&G's $3.5 billion advertising budget.
Too much privacy: Conservatives and liberals joined forces to derail a proposal that would have reduced government access to personal banking records. Backers had portrayed the measure as a move to protect individual privacy, but ran into a political buzz saw -- the argument that it could hinder drug prosecutions and facilitate money laundering.
Come quick: Fear causes a jolt in the heart rate -- and that's the key to the Techno Bra, a high-tech security device for women. With its built-in heart-rate monitor, electricity-conducting fabric, and global positioning satellite locator, the bra can note and send a distress signal when its wearer is in trouble. Or so says the design student who invented it.
Not shove, yet: On Monday, it looked like Iridium would have to once again renegotiate a huge debt payment due on Wednesday. On Wednesday, it did. The new day of reckoning for the struggling satellite phone network comes 11 August.
In 81 minutes, no less: "A chaotic mishmash of video, pantomime, robotics, puppetry, and thumping techno" -- that pretty well sums up Joachim Hamster Damm's new solo performance, one of 38 productions from 25 countries seen at Berlin's Theater of the World festival. THE WEEK AHEAD
5 July: To ensure a three-day weekend -- a key factor in the pursuit of happiness -- the United States celebrates its Independence Day one day after the Fourth. Markets will be closed.
6 and 7 July, Salt Lake City: Microsoft's motions to dismiss were shot down, apparently paving the way for a jury trial in the Caldera antitrust suit. But first, two court dates to hear more Microsoft legal maneuvering.
7 July: Yahoo, something of a bellwether among pure Internet ventures, releases its quarterly earnings.
7 and 8 July, Los Angeles: SDMI says it will make its Portable Device Specification public after it's ratified at a two-day plenary meeting, and promises to post it on its Web site.
8 July, Cyberjaya, Malaysia: This high-tech city, part of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed's Multimedia Super Corridor, officially opens. Price tag so far is $579 million, and they've only just begun.
8 to 10 July, Los Angeles: The home video industry holds its annual confab. This year, for the first time, the Adult Video News Expo will be held concurrently. At the Convention Center.
9 to 11 July, Las Vegas Nevada: Def Con has its annual hot weekend in Vegas. Among this year's big happenings, the Cult of the Dead Cow will release Back Orifice 2000, the latest version of its Microsoft-compromising software. At the Alexis Park Hotel.
