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Businesses Brace for Windows XP SP2 Disruption    Credit: VNU Business Online Limited

     Businesses are bracing themselves for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) as Microsoft prepares for the "last big stage" of the security update rollout.
The software giant provided a blocking tool to give cautious business customers a chance to delay the delivery of SP2 until they tested the software against their own applications. However, the tool delayed the download via Automatic Update for 120 days, which ends on April 12. At this point, PCs with Automatic Update switched on will download the software. Paul Randle, Windows client product manager at Microsoft, said: "From April 12 the tool will not block SP2 from being downloaded onto machines with Automatic Update switched on."

     He advised companies with a large number of PCs to use Microsoft's Systems Management Server or Software Update Services rather than allowing each machine to download the software. "What we are recommending is that companies do not distribute SP2 that way across the network, but that they do a proper managed roll out. If you have each machine downloading from Automatic Update that's a lot of traffic on the network," explained Randle. "We are confident that everybody is aware of this and is working towards getting it onto their systems. It's the last big stage for SP2 in the business world."

Phone Hijacking Becomes Illegal    Credit: David Cohn

     New York lawmakers unveiled a bill, the first in the nation, to target modem hijacking, a practice in which thieves tap into people's computer modems to make international phone calls.

     If passed, the law would allow telephone companies to bring lawsuits against modem hijackers. Hijackers tap into people's modems by luring computer users to specific websites -- sometimes through e-mails -- where pop-up windows emerge inviting the user to click on them. The windows authorize the downloading of modem software that is then remotely accessed to make international calls that are charged back to the user.

     New York's bill appears to be the first of its kind to target modem hijacking specifically. Other states are considering similar, broader bills.

Congress Weighs In on Megamergers  Credit: Josh Long

   Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey blames federal regulators for the planned megamergers that will shrink the pool of big U.S. phone companies. The Democrat, a ranking member on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, says the FCC “closed the door” on long distance phone companies’ ability to compete in the local residential market.

     “The FCC’s decisions are predictably causing companies to merge and will result in fewer competitors in the marketplace and that’s bad news for consumers, high-tech workers, manufacturers and the prospects for further innovation,” Markey said in a statement Feb. 14, the day Verizon Communications Inc. announced plans to acquire MCI Inc. in a deal valued at $6.75 billion.

     During a hearing March 2 before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congresswoman Heather Murphy, R-N.M., warned of a duopoly emerging between the phone companies and the cable operators, The Washington Post reported. Some consumer advocates share a similar view. “The merger wave is drowning competition in the communications marketplace,” says Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America. “Most Americans today face higher phone bills, fewer choices, and worse service quality as a direct result of the massive industry consolidation we have seen in recent years.”

Flyers Strongly Oppose Cell Phones on Planes   Credit: Ali Olsen

     Air travelers want the U.S. government to retain the current prohibition against airborne cell phone use, according to a new poll. Survey participants cited frazzled nerves from constant phone chatter, trouble hearing emergency announcements and increased "air rage" among their reasons.
Sixty-three percent of the respondents wanted to keep cell phone restrictions in place, while only 21 percent said it's time to let people talk on their phones during flights.

     The poll, sponsored by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and the National Consumers League, was conducted as the Federal Communications Commission moves ahead with a rule-making process aimed at lifting its ban on cell phones and other portable electronic devices in the air.