NewsScan Daily, 13 August 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 13 August 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"  
       Hacker Wants to Make iTunes Everybody's Tunes
       Teen Pleads Guilty Over Blaster
       Zambian Parliament Passes Tough Cybercrime Law
       They're Gone: HP Fires Three Execs
       IBM Surges Ahead

FEATURES           
       Flash Card
       Honorary Subscriber: Mary Cassatt
       From Out of Left Field

HACKER WANTS TO MAKE iTUNES EVERYBODY'S TUNES
     Jon Lech Johansen, the Norwegian hacker who gained notoriety for
developing DVD encryption-cracking software, has created a software key that
unlocks the encryption Apple uses for its AirPort Express -- which lets
users broadcast digital music from Apple's online iTunes Music Store on a
stereo not plugged into a computer. Johansen, who posted the key on his Web
site (mockingly named "So Sue Me"), is an open source advocate critical of
Apple for using a proprietary system to ensure that its products work only
with each other. Apple has not yet reacted to this new intrusion. (AP/San
Jose Mercury News 12 Aug 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9385704.htm

TEEN PLEADS GUILTY OVER BLASTER
     A Minnesota teenager has pleaded guilty to creating and spreading a
variant of the MS Blaster virus that wreaked havoc on thousands of computers
around the world last year. He now faces between 18 months and three years
in jail and could be ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution for
the damage. (The Australian 12 Aug 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,10419741%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E
,00.html

ZAMBIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES TOUGH CYBERCRIME LAW
     A tough new law enacted unanimously by Zambia's parliament would see
convicted network vandals and other cybercrime offenders get jail sentences
ranging from 15 to 25 years. The government said the new law would help curb
cyber crimes that had become a problem in the poor southern African country
where only one in a thousand people have access to computers. (The Age 11
Aug 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/11/1092102488282.html

THEY'RE GONE: HP FIRES THREE EXECS
     In a management shakeup following what it called "unacceptable"
quarterly financial results, Hewlett-Packard has fired three executives
because of disappointing weakness in server and storage sales. HP chief
executive Carly Fiorina said that sales of the server and storage units were
hurt by a difficult transition to a new supply-chain processing system that
caused the company to miss some orders and take expensive measures to fill
others. The three executive dismissed from their posts are the head of
business sales and his U.S. and European deputies. Fiorina said: "Although
we are satisfied with our performance in personal systems, imaging and
printing, software and services, these solid results were overshadowed by
unacceptable performance in enterprise servers and storage. Here, execution
issues cost us, and we are therefore making immediate management changes."
(Washington Post 12 Aug 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61308-2004Aug12.html

IBM SURGES AHEAD
     IBM says it expects to hire 18,800 employees this year -- a number 88%
higher than what it forecast at the start of the year. With rising sales in
consulting, grid computing, and Linux-related businesses, IBM now expects to
end 2004 with 330,000 workers, its highest workforce total since 1991. "We
do see growth, unlike some of our competition," says IBM spokesman Clint
Roswell with satisfaction.
(USA Today 13 Aug 2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/techcorporatenews/2004-08-13-ibm-h
ires_x.htm

*****

FLASH CARD
     "I am independent! I can live alone and I love to work." (Mary Cassatt)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: MARY CASSATT
     Today's Honorary Subscriber is the American painter Mary Stevenson
Cassatt (1845-1926), who lived mainly in France, where she set up her studio
in Paris. 
     Cassatt was heavily influenced by the Impressionists, and shared their
interest in experimenting with the use of bright colors and painting
out-door scenes. While always considered to be an American artist, Cassatt
frequently exhibited her work with the French Impressionists. Critics found
her paintings to be simple, vigorous and pleasing in color. Mothers and
children were her favorite subjects.
     Cassatt also excelled in making etchings, the quality of which have
been found comparable to the work of James Whistler. Equally admired were
her color prints and pastels. As an individual artist, Cassatt is credited
with having had a major influence on American taste in art. In a less direct
manner, she has also influenced the American art scene by convincing her
wealthy friends to acquire Impressionist and other French paintings. Much of
this artwork has found its way into many U. S. museums, and Cassatt herself
was responsible for selecting the works for the H.O. Havemeyer Collection in
New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
     Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Her well-to-do family
had her tutored privately in art in Philadelphia and later sent her to the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Between 1866 and 1874 she studied and
painted in Paris, Holland, Spain, and Italy, where in 1872 she studied
graphic techniques at the Academy of Parma. In 1874 Cassatt settled in
Paris, making her home there for the rest of her life.
     Her showing at the 1874 Paris Salon attracted the attention of Edgar
Degas, who remarked, "There is someone who feels as I do." Initially,
Cassatt was a figure painter whose subjects were groups of women drinking
tea or on outings with friends. After the 1890 Paris exhibition of Japanese
prints, she brought out her own series of prints showing her mastery of that
medium.      
     Cassatt never married, but in time members of her family came to live
with her in Paris. About 1900 her eyesight began to fail, and by 1914 she
ceased working. In 1926 she died at Château de Beaufresne, her country home
in Mesnil-Theribus, north of Paris.

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1556708521/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for Debra Mancoff's "Mary Cassatt: Reflections of Women's Lives" -- or
look for it in your favorite library. [Note: We donate all revenue from our
book recommendations to adult literacy programs.]

FROM OUT OF LEFT FIELD
     The following from NewsScan Daily subscriber Dan Stern:
                        ---
     There are two kids' records written, sung and recorded by Ed Lipton in
the late '60s and mid '70s, respectively, that were my absolute favorite.
The tunes are catchy, inspired by folk song melodies, lyrics are full of
really good puns, and the songs are *not* the common condescending garbage
that's marketed to/for kids. I'm listening to "Animal Automobile Ride" at
the moment, and it still holds up as eminently listenable to an adult. ("The
pig said 'this ride is really a treat,/but when are we gonna stop to
eat?'/'I'm hungry, too', said the little piglet/Somebody said 'Here, chew on
a Chiglet'"...)
     I met Ed and his wife once about 15 years ago. Really good, decent
people. A few weeks ago, driving to work, I found myself singing one of the
songs, which I hadn't heard in at least 20 years. On a whim, I tracked down
Ed and called to thank him for the music.  Spoke mostly to his wife. Ed's
recently become disabled (confined to a wheelchair for life) and (as I
learned from my aunt and uncle, who live nearby) he and his wife live from
hand to mouth in NY. Their place is crammed with NOS copies of these two
records, and Ed's too depressed (and probably too poor) to do anything about
modernizing the format on which this music is offered.
     My copies of those records wore out years ago; I just got fresh new
ones from them, a gift I *know* Ed and Gila couldn't afford the postage for.
More people ought to hear this music, it's of a very rare quality. Ed and
Gila don't have anything set up to sell the records, but I went to the bank
the other day and picked up some US cash to send 'em for having sent me the
records. It occurred to me this afternoon that I know a few people who do
have record players and target-age kids (approx 2-1/2 to 10 years old), and
I thought it might be nice to come out of left field and send Ed and Gila an
order out of left field. Y'know, something like "Please send one 'Fly,
Hippopottamus, Fly!' and one 'Animal Automobile Ride' to each of the
following addresses. Enclosed is <dollar amount>."
    Wondered if anyone wanted in on this "group buy". Maybe a preview's in
order? I ripped two of the tracks to MP3:
http://www.torque.net/~u225/EdLipton.html
     I've got a group working on figuring out how to CDify the records and
get 'em on some family/parent type talk radio shows as promos, but in the
meantime, any record sales (or donations) for Ed would sure raise his
spirits and his income!
          -- Daniel J. Stern, Toronto, Canada,[email protected]

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