IT industry news

26th January 2005

Microsoft Corp., a provider of software, services and solutions, today announced that it plans to enhance its anti-piracy engineering, education and enforcement efforts by expanding the Windows Genuine Advantage program in 2005.

Windows Genuine Advantage checks the authenticity of a user's software and provides access to popular software and other benefits, helping consumers and businesses ensure that they are receiving the greater reliability, faster access to updates, and richer user experiences offered by genuine Windows XP software, claims the company.

"Software piracy costs customers, software vendors and national economies billions of dollars every year. The best way to fight software piracy is to ensure that users recognize and receive all the benefits of genuine software," said Will Poole, Senior Vice President of the Windows Client Business at Microsoft. "When our customers participate in Windows Genuine Advantage, they will know they have easy access to updates, added-value software offerings and other benefits of genuine Windows XP, not the uncertainty and risks of counterfeit software."

According to the Business Software Alliance Global Software Piracy Study, conducted by International Data Corp. and released in July 2004, 36 percent of the software installed on computers worldwide was pirated in 2003. Microsoft aims to reduce the impact of pirated software on legitimate software resellers and economies around the world, which lose nearly $29 billion a year to pirated software.

26th January 2005

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will hold the next annual meeting at the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, Canada from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, 2005.

Leading Edge BC (LEBC) and CircleID are co-hosting this meeting, which attracts over a multitude of participants and delegates from around the globe, representing various Registrars, Registries, Govt. Ministries, Top Web Hosting company executives, members of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), Top ISP's, reporters from most of the top news agencies, Industry analysts, etc.

Vancouver was chosen by ICANN after LEBC and CircleID submitted a proposal outlining the city’s capacity to host the technologically demanding meeting, as well as the bountiful winter recreation and tourism opportunities. This is the first time ICANN will hold its annual meeting in Canada, and it is only the second time it has met in this country. The meeting is expected to draw more than 1,500 delegates from over 100 countries.

"We look forward to working with CircleID to promote this important gathering and showcase British Columbia’s role in the evolution of the Internet," said George Hunter, President, LEBC. "Hosting the ICANN meeting is part of Leading Edge BC’s ongoing initiatives to feature the province’s technology industries to the world."

"Our mission is to provide effective communication channels for global Internet communities," said Ali Farshchian, President and CEO, CircleID. "We look forward to furthering our efforts by co-hosting this significant international event."

26th January 2005

Sun Microsystems, Inc., yesterday announced the single largest release of patent innovations into the open source community by any organization to date, by granting access to more than 1,600 patents.

By giving open source developers free access to Sun OpenSolaris related patents under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the company is fostering open innovation and establishing a leadership role in the framework of a patent commons that will be recognized across the globe. According to the company, the new approach underscores Sun's belief that license agreements for software are not as significant as the company who stands behind its products.

"As the largest business contributor to the open source community, Sun has always been an ardent believer in open standards and the open source process going back to the inception of this company," said Scott McNealy, Chairman and CEO, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "The release of more than 1,600 patents associated with the Solaris OS far eclipses any other vendor's contribution. Today represents a huge milestone for Sun, for the community, for developers and for customers."

"By gaining access to these Solaris OS patents, participants in the open-source community now have a tremendous opportunity to build unique and innovative technologies for a wide range of markets," said Stacey Quandt, Senior Business Analyst, Open Source Practice Leader, Robert Frances Group. "An IP contribution of this magnitude has the potential to deliver exceptional value to developers and strengthens the overall open source community."