Articles by Tim McDonald

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Web-based surveillance program, which the agency says is designed specifically to be used in criminal investigations, is drawing withering fire from critics who say it is compromising the privacy of law-abiding Internet users The program, a combination of hardware and software called "Carnivore," first came t...

A new study covering 30 countries and nearly 5,000 Information Technology (IT) professionals shows that hacker attacks will cost the world economy a whopping $1.6 trillion (US$) this year "These estimates are based on the broadest sampling ever achieved in the security industry," said Rusty Weston, editor of Information Week Research, which carried...

More than 10 million people in the UK now have access to the Internet -- more than in any other country in Europe, but still far less than in North America, according to a new survey The United States remains the overwhelming online leader with 75.7 million Internet users, according to market research firm MMXI Europe, which released its latest fin...

Although I may be a lone voice in the wireless wilderness, I still believe the personal computer is not only alive, but healthy as a horse Sorry, IBM, I am nowhere near ready to wear my computer. I want my machine on the desk where it belongs, or at the very least, in my briefcase. I will not wear it as a hat. I do not want it dangling from my neck...

The Internet will become a faster, more powerful force in e-commerce as a result of an alliance between Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR), according to industry observers The companies agreed Thursday to combine technical and marketing resources in a three-year pact, which will merge Nortel's state-of-the-art, fiberopti...

The Center for Democracy and Technology, Common Cause, and the American Library Association have launched a campaign to raise public interest in an election designed to ensure that individual Web users are not overwhelmed by government and corporate interests when it comes to governance of the Internet The upcoming election will fill five new seats...

Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq NM: ORCL) admitted Tuesday to hiring a detective firm to investigate groups that came out in public support of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq NM: MSFT) during its antitrust battle with the U.S. government The admission, released in a prepared statement by the world's second-largest software firm, confirmed that the company hired Inves...

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced Monday that it has reached settlements totaling $2.4 million (US$) in fines from 20 companies found guilty of software piracy The BSA, an industry watchdog group, said it is spreading out details of the penalties this week in order to highlight the problem of software piracy in small to medium-sized co...

Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMGA), the cable television arm of AT&T, announced Monday that it will combine broadband assets with UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. (Nasdaq: UCOMA) to create the world's largest cable television company outside the United States In a complicated deal worth $3.48 billion (US$), Liberty agreed to become United's largest shareholder,...

In what is being described as a victory by both AT&T and open access advocates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the city of Portland, Oregon has no authority to force AT&T to open its broadband infrastructure to competitors because the operation comes under the purview of federal regulators The decision, which reversed a ruling...

In what is being described as a victory by both AT&T and open access advocates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the city of Portland, Oregon has no authority to force AT&T to open its broadband infrastructure to competitors because the operation comes under the purview of federal regulators The decision, which reversed a ruling...

In what is being described as a victory by both AT&T and open access advocates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the city of Portland, Oregon has no authority to force AT&T to open its broadband infrastructure to competitors because the operation comes under the purview of federal regulators The decision, which reversed a ruling...

Intel Corp. (Nasdaq NM: INTC), half of the so-called "Wintel duopoly" that rules the global personal computer market, inched a step closer to making personal computers obsolete by introducung its first Internet appliance Thursday Intel's new Dot.Station is a counter-top terminal that enables users to surf the Web, send and receive e-mail or make ph...

In another defeat for Microsoft, the federal judge who found the software giant in violation of federal antitrust laws and ordered a breakup of the company has sent its appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson on Tuesday agreed with the petition filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which argued...

The $129 billion (US$) merger of WorldCom, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: WCOM) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: FON) -- which would form one of the largest corporate unions in history -- will be blocked by European antitrust authorities, according to a published report The deal was nixed because it would create a dominant company capable of crushing Internet competition...

A panel of Information Technology (IT) experts commissioned by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported Monday that urgent action is needed to slow the "digital divide" that is separating rich countries from poorer nations The panel said the United Nations should set a goal of allowing everyone in the world access to a computer and...

A report released Monday projects that online global advertising will swell from $4.3 billion (US$) last year to $28 billion by 2005, but that many companies are unprepared to take advantage of the surge Internet and e-commerce research firm Jupiter Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: JPTR) said that almost six percent of all global advertising revenue w...

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates lost $40 billion (US$) on paper in less than a year, but he is still the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine's 14th annual list, released Friday. With a reported net worth of $60 billion, Gates tops the "richest" list for the sixth year in a row Oracle Corp. chairman Larry Ellison skyrocketed from 30...

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would make most electronic signatures over the Internet as legal and binding as written signatures on paper The E-SIGN proposal was passed by a 426-4 vote despite concern from some groups that it will compromise protection for consumers making electronic transactions.

Just hours after being rebuffed in its motion to stay the harsh remedies ordered last week by a federal judge, Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday appealed the landmark decision to split the software giant into two competing companies The court's final judgment, entered on June 7th, provided that the breakup of the company would be stayed pending appeal, bu...