Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson published a 207-page Findings of Fact, finishing another chapter (not the last) in the DOJ vs. Microsoft court case. Many people are already jumping to all sorts of conclusions, and trying to guess what is going to happen next. The finding by federal judge Thomas Penfield Jackson that it is a fact that Microsoft enjoys monopoly power in the market for Intel-compatible personal computer systems doesn't matter. There have been no conclusions of law and won't be for months. And until then, no one can use this "fact" against it in a court of law.
You can find Microsoft's response on their Web site.
Want to share your thoughts on this? Head over to our Discussion forum.
New RealNetworks Privacy Flaw
A new security flaw has been discovered in one of the most popular programs used to access music and video over the Internet.
Experts say a privacy glitch in RealNetworks' RealPlayer program means it could secretly collect information about its millions of users.
As I reported to you last week, RealNetworks released a patch after it was revealed that its RealJukebox software suffered from a similar problem.
RealNetworks has updated RealPlayer to version 7, and according to the RealNetworks Consumer Software Privacy Statement "In RealPlayer 7 we are ensuring that no personal data is sent to RealNetworks that will be tracked to individual viewing or listening habits. We are informing consumers of the option for them to turn on a unique identifier for purposes of accessing restricted content, but only after they have made an informed decision about their personal privacy."
You can download the new version 7 from the RealNetworks Web site.
Despite RealNetworks quick disclosure and patch/update surrounding these privacy flaws, they have been hit by two class-action privacy suits.
13 Nov. 1999, Vol 2 No. 45