News (71)

Microsoft plans anti-piracy update for Windows 7

Microsoft said on Thursday that it is planning an update to Windows 7 that will close a number of loopholes that counterfeiters had used to thwart the operating system's built-in anti-piracy measures. Read more »

Microsoft adds Office, Windows rental option

Although there are plenty of places that rent out time on Windows-based computers, doing so had never been strictly, speaking, legitimate. Read more »

Hackers rumoured to have cracked Windows 7 activation

Microsoft only just released the final code for Windows 7 to manufacturers and the company is already facing a security risk. Read more »

Studios win Sydney piracy victory

The local arms of film and music studios have claimed a victory in their war against copyright offences, with a Sydney man convicted for selling pirated content last week. Read more »

Microsoft targets alleged NZ piracy

Microsoft has settled with three companies from New Zealand which were accused of selling unlicensed software. Read more »

Microsoft ramps up anti-piracy offensive

Microsoft today released the results of a survey which it claimed showed that close to half of Australians believed that pirating software was "OK", and that the younger you are, the more likely you are to think it's acceptable. Read more »

Autodesk wins Aussie piracy case

Technical software giant Autodesk has won a case against Adelaide-based firm Ginos Engineers, forcing the company to pay damages of $76,000 for pirated software. Read more »

Microsoft hunts Aussie pirate fighter

Microsoft is on the hunt for an experienced attorney to help the software giant protect its intellectual property within Australia and New Zealand. Read more »

Copyright attack: Sydney net cafe fined

The Sydney CBD internet cafe raided by the Australian Federal Police late last year has been fined $82,000 in the Downing Centre Local Court for copyright violations. Read more »

MS piracy squad targets Aussie retailers

As part of Microsoft's attempt to stop software piracy, it has named several Australian individuals partaking in "the sophisticated, illegal trade of pirated and counterfeit software". Read more »

Features (9)

Why Windows 7 should be free in China

Microsoft hasn't won the war on piracy in China, so why not strike before Google and produce a free OS closely aligned to its digital products and services? Read more »

10 tech mistakes small businesses make

Small businesses must concentrate their time and energy on knowing their own industry -- and that often means that effective technology practices get overlooked. This article explains the most common tech missteps encountered, along with preventive measures IT consultants can take to assist in correcting these problems. Read more »

Talking IP with Kimberlee Weatherall and Rusty Russell

Law professor and intellectual property expert Kimberlee Weatherall and Linux Australia's IP Policy Adviser, Rusty Russell, talk about the new intellectual property laws Read more »

In defence of freedom

The principles are the same, but technology has moved on significantly in the 15 years since the release of GPL 2. Read more »

The beginning of the end for Microsoft?

Franklin Fisher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor, once said Microsoft's customers believed there were no serious commercial contenders to the Windows operating system. Read more »

Linux gains an Asian foothold

China, Japan, and South Korea recently announced that they would work together to create a new, Linux-based operating system that would end their dependency on Microsoft. Read more »

Find your Windows XP Product Key with ViewKeyXP

You probably don't keep track of every original CD in your organisation. So when it's time to reinstall Windows XP, what do you do? You can't just use any product key. Don't panic. ViewKeyXP can find your workstation's original product key. Read more »

Strengthen your app defences

These tips will help you secure your network against attacks that exploit application vulnerabilities. Read more »

Open source: More than just free beer

In response to a recent article questioning the motives of governments that use open source technology, Australian commentator Con Zymaris hits back at Andrew Parsons' anti-open source stance. Read more »

Video (1)

Vista's annoyance was planned?!!? -- Club Builder

We shouldn't be surprised that Vista's security prompts were designed to be annoying. We also look at the new security paradigm and how playing dumb can help defend piracy. Read more »

Blog (6)

Microsoft Surface comes to Australia

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Microsoft Surface finally to hit Australia, Google adds Buzz to the social networking array and more in this week's Roundup. Read more »

Aussies to pay more for Win 7

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- If you are looking to make some money in these troubled times, perhaps importing copies of Windows 7 could be for you. Read more »

Wired keyboards lead to tin foil hat wearing

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Just because you don't wear a tin foil hat, doesn't mean they aren't after you keystrokes. Read more »

Blogger declares shenanigans on advertisers -- piracy or plagiarism?

Nick Gibson [blogs:byteclub] -- MIT academic calls notices some suspicious similiarities between a lecture he wrote and an Australian made printer ad. Could this be piracy, or merely plagiarism. I call in the lawyers to find out. Read more »

How Microsoft beat Linux in China and what it means for freedom, justice, and the price of software

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Thanks to some major concessions on source code and a precipitous price drop, the Chinese government has now thoroughly embraced Windows and Office, what does this mean for the world? Read more »

Software piracy rates and the BSAA

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- The annual Business Software Association (BSA) report into global piracy rates of packaged software was released last week. Interestingly enough the BSA claim that Australia's piracy rates have dropped slightly by one percent making 31% of all packaged software pirated. The Australian arm of the BSA, called the Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) claim the losses through piracy cost Australia $446 million in 2005. Read more »

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  • Staff Microsoft shows off IE9 preview

    This week, highlights from Microsoft's MIX10 conference and more in the Roundup. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

  • Chris Duckett IE9's H.264 vote killed Ogg

    In a split decision by the judges, the winner of the W3C/WHATWG video codec consensus is H.264, taking home the future of video playback on the internet while loser Ogg goes home with nothing but thoughts of what might have been. Read more »

    -- posted by Chris Duckett

  • Staff Google launches Apps Marketplace

    Google launches and app store, while Mozilla plans to re-write its open-source license. More of this week's news in the Roundup. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

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