From
The Register: “Anti-virus software developer Sophos has been accused of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt over the safety of Linux systems by UK pro-open source organisation NetProject.”

Do you sometimes want to smash the cell phone of the guy who just cut you off on the freeway? From phonebashing.com: “It was not by chance that we came to be doing what we are now doing. We have been looking for a fiendish project to get our teeth in to for the past six months. A friend who works for a lighting company, that shall remain nameless,informed us that he was working on a video shoot for an anti mobile phone song. He also let us know that the main characters in the video would be wearing man-size mobile phone suits. After an evening of heavy drinking a plan was hatched and all concerned decided that this was a cause worth fighting for.”

A home-made propeller plane made an emergency landing on a truck in Oregon, Friday.

A program called Aimster allows AIM users to search for files on AOL, the Microsoft Network, and Gnutella, Salon.com reports.

A CNET story: “Despite efforts to shore up computer security, the Environmental Protection Agency is still an open target for hackers, according to congressional investigators.

“A report released today by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the agency’s system continues to be ‘riddled with security weaknesses’ that could allow hackers to tamper with data, view sensitive information or attack other agencies using the EPA system.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Computer Security Center announce the 23rd National Information Systems Security Conference Oct. 16 to 19 at the Baltimore (Md.) Convention Center. Conference overview: “… The National Information Systems Security Conference brings together information security and technology professionals from industry, academia, and government; provokes debate, dialogue, and action on major information security issues for today and tomorrow …”

ZDNet reports: “If you believe Oracle Corp., the self-proclaimed king of the enterprise Linux realm, Linux is already well entrenched in corporate America. But other Linux backers, such as IBM Corp. and VA Linux Systems Inc., are more conservative in their claims as to where Linux is installed today — and by whom — and where it might be installed tomorrow.”

Nasdaq rose 29 points — 0.8 percent — to 3,789 Friday while the Nasdaq 100 Index added 49 points, or 1.4 percent, to 3,644, reports CBS Marketwatch.

The wireless company reported larger than expected fourth quarter losses. Reuters reports: “The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reported an operating loss of $7.67 million, wider than the $3.75 million loss from the year-ago quarter.”

MicroSoft Corp. on Friday announced a controversial change to its telephone-support package offered to consumers of its operating system and software.