Articles by Jennifer LeClaire

A Christian evangelical group is suing Google for allegedly infringing on its trademark Jews for Jesus, which publishes several evangelistic Web sites in its mission to reach Jews, is claiming that a Web log hosted through the search giant's Blogspot service is harming its reputation. Google's Blogspot and Blogger are free services that allow peopl...

Mozilla is calling on independent filmmakers looking for their first big break. The open-source software maker yesterday launched the Firefox Flicks Ad Contest, which calls for submissions of 30-second ads from anyone and everyone Mozilla has seen over 10 million Web users adopt Firefox 1.5 in less than one month since its release. Mozilla said the...

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott yesterday bolstered his pending November lawsuit against Sony BMG Music Entertainment, adding a number of new allegations that reflect harm to consumers who purchased certain CDs The original suit alleged the company surreptitiously installed spyware using so-called "XCP" technology on millions of CDs that consume...

Nielsen Media Research yesterday announced that it would provide national TV audience estimates that include viewing from Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) beginning with the week of Dec. 26, 2005 "Nielsen is keeping pace with the evolving ways that people watch television, thereby ensuring that our ratings continue to be accurate and reliable," said ...

Nessus, maker of one of the most popular open-source vulnerability scanner programs available, changed its licensing agreement with the release of version 3.0.0 on December 12, causing a bit of a stir among security industry players that rely on the code as a component of their commercial solutions. The latest version is not available under the GPL license, but instead will be sold as a commercial product...

Google is teaming up with digital media technology provider Lexar Media to offer USB flash drives with popular Web applications Lexar said yesterday it would bring Google applications, including Picasa, Google Toolbar and Google Desktop Search applications on its USB flash drives....

Cyber-attackers are delivering an early Christmas gift this holiday season, albeit one more unwanted than the proverbial bag of coal. This Christmas-themed worm attack is not leaving anyone out. It's delivering its rootkit payload to instant messaging (IM) users of AOL, MSN, Windows Messenger, ICQ and Yahoo networks A rootkit is a hacker security ...

While credit card companies research and develop new anti-fraud measurements, alternative payment solutions providers are cashing in on the demand for online security and customer choice Alternative payment solutions are often less expensive for the merchant and can be easier to use than setting up the merchant account that is required to process c...

Congress is leaving a special gift under the tree for Hollywood's film industry. Just before closing for the holidays, legislators introduced a new proposal designed to curb redistribution of movies The Digital Transition Content Security Act would embed anticopying technology into the next generation of digital video products. If it makes its way ...

Microsoft is making some moves that are making Firefox glad: killing IE for Mac and incorporating the Firefox RSS feed icon into IE version 7 for Windows The software giant released a statement on Friday announcing it was ending Mac support for Internet Explorer. Microsoft initially warned Apple fans that it would eventually stop supporting the bro...

HP is playing both sides of the DVD format standard battle. The company on Friday announced its support for the HD-DVD high-definition DVD format, in addition to the Blu-ray Disc format, in an effort to "provide consumers with the best possible high-definition experience." HP also said it would join the HD-DVD Promotions Group HP's decision to cros...

Sony BMG is seeing a revolution of sorts, but perhaps not the kind it was hoping for this holiday season U.S. band My Morning Jacket is up in arms over its record label's controversial copy-protection software. The uproar started when the band's fans discovered they could not transfer the album "Z" to their MP3 players. In response, the band has se...

Cingular Wireless yesterday became the latest provider to announce an on-demand streaming video service Dubbed Cingular Video, the service debuts with a partnership with HBO and promises viewers personalized access to high-quality clips on high-speed-capable phones....

Some of the world's largest electronics and media companies yesterday joined together to work on high-definition television and audio standards for home entertainment networks Charter Communications, JVC, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, NBC Universal, Samsung and Sun Microsystems formed HANA, the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance...

What do you get when you mix information science with Hollywood's film industry? Computer-based predictions of the next blockbuster hit Professor Ramesh Sharda, an information systems specialist at Oklahoma State University, has developed a computer program to help Hollywood predict the potential success -- or failure -- of a film....

Is the United States government doing enough to secure the country against cyber-attacks? Not according to the Cyber-Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) The security trade organization issued a report yesterday calling on the federal government to assert greater leadership in the protection of the country's information infrastructure in 2006....

Chief Executive Mark Hurd yesterday revealed HP's three-part strategy for the future The company plans to focus on high-growth markets, including enterprise virtualization, data center consolidation, data storage, and high-end printing and mobility....

'Tis the season to read about e-tailers' dreams of record-breaking profits during the holiday shopping frenzy Meanwhile, amid anxious promotions and analyst promises, there are plenty of credit card companies with their own holiday hopes. Remember, merchants pay tiny transaction fees that add up to big bucks for MasterCard, Visa and other credit ca...

HP this week announced a partnership with DreamWorks Animation to introduce a collaboration studio for simulating face-to-face business meetings across long distances The HP Halo Collaboration Studio enables people in different locations to communicate in a face-to-face environment in real time. HP said PepsiCo and Advanced Micro Devices are alread...

IBM last night announced it is launching a new licensing program with the venture capital community to help startup companies accelerate the development of innovative solutions in the marketplace The new IBM Ventures in Collaboration program is designed to give VC firms in IBM's partner network and their portfolio companies the opportunity to acces...