NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 10 August
10-08-2007
by Emmet Ryan
American Football gets kitted out with new headsets and HD | Porn website sues Microsoft for copyright infringement
American Football coaches will be trying out newly-designed headsets in the opening round of pre-season games this weekend. The National Football League's (NFL) pre-season schedule will see coaches use the new updated models from Motorola for the first time. The new headsets are designed to be lighter, thinner and more ergonomically advanced in comparison to their predecessors. "The Motorola coaches headset is a critical piece of equipment for me as I communicate with my quarterback and other coaches," said Eric 'Man genius' Mangini, head coach of the New York Jets. "The new design helps reduce exterior noise, so it is going to be easier to hear and communicate."
Sticking with Gridiron and referees in NFL will be able to see replays of disputed play in high definition (HD)this season. "As more people were getting high definition TV at home, they actually had a better view than the referee charged with making the decision," said Dean Blandino, the NFL's director of instant replay. HD systems have been installed in all but three stadiums and will be in use during the preseason. The three exceptions are due to the two New York teams, Dallas and Indianapolis awaiting the opening of new facilities, which will have HD capabilities. Their current stadiums have HD hardware but not the signal, which means the image quality is better than before but not as good as in other cities, or indeed in some fans' homes.
Quest Software has completed the acquisition of ScriptLogic in a deal worth USD90 million. ScriptLogic is a provider of management systems for Windows-based networks. "As we continue to evolve our business from where we started in database management to applications management and Windows infrastructure management, the Windows space continues to be vitally important for our growth," said Vinny Smith, chief executive of Quest.
Quantities of a form of malware that pretends to be an e-card are on the rise, according to IT security firm PC Tools. "We suspect that the malware writers of this latest influx are based in Russia or Ukraine. Their attacks are extremely sophisticated and use advanced techniques to get on, and stay on, victims' PCs," said PC Tools chief threat officer Kurt Baumgartner.
And finally For The Record tells the tale of the little pornographer that could. Norm Zada, the owner of soft porn website Perfect 10, is suing Microsoft for copyright infringement. Zada is upset that the IT giant's MSN search engine is providing results which include links to third party sites illegally hosting the images from his site. Zada, who is a former Stanford professor, has filed similar suits against Amazon and Google. "Everyone thinks I'm this horribly litigious guy but I'm just trying to protect my property," said Zada.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 