Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
Microsoft continues to stand by its planned employee benefit changes. "Microsoft representative noted that the survey was not company-sponsored and 'is simply a vehicle for employee discussion,'" CNET reported, adding more from Microsoft: "'Microsoft stands by the changes, which were a result of a routine review of the Microsoft's benefit package and industry standards,' the representative said in an e-mail. 'We believe they are the right move for us now in order to ensure we maintain fiscal responsibility while offering employees a competitive, comprehensive benefits package and more value to our shareholders.'"
Microsoft Also Giveth...
Microsoft will now offer at least 10 years of support for its business and developer products, CNET reported, picking up on remarks a company veep made at TechEd, the company's conference for IT administrators. Microsoft posted more information on its Web site. "Microsoft currently cuts off its most basic level of support after eight years. The company has been widely criticized for dropping support for older products that are still widely used, including versions of the Windows operating system," News.com reported. Andrew Lees, vice president of Microsoft's server and tools marketing, "said the new policy would provide more reliability for corporate customers." Here is a transcript of Lees's full remarks.
• CNET's News.com: Microsoft Pledges Longer Support For Products • Vnunet.com: Microsoft Extends Product Support
Microsoft vs. the Mail Monster
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer addressed the eternal spam question at TechEd in a keynote speech Monday: "We're trying to work on technologies that will allow ISPs to screen out certain e-mail addresses and look for evidence of spamming and just shut down those addresses as senders of electronic mail that people might find offensive. We're working with industry associations on collective efforts in those areas. And last but certainly not least, one of the things we're most excited about are technologies that just make it more expensive to be in the spamming business."
CNET reported some of Lees's spam remarks. "The company will now give all customers the option of installing Intelligent Message Filtering, a spam-blocking add-on for the company's Exchange 2003 e-mail server. The filters previously were available only to those enrolled in the controversial Software Assurance licensing plan.... Lees also promised future enhancements in spam blocking through E-mail Caller ID, a system Microsoft is working on to verify the sender of a message, thus enabling people to block 'spoofed' junk messages.
And Reuters yesterday reported that Microsoft made more strides with its e-mail caller ID plan. Microsoft "and Pobox.com co-founder Meng Wong said they would combine their approaches, which both aim to weed out fake e-mail addresses used by spammers to cover their tracks. Both Microsoft's Caller ID for e-mail and Wong's Sender Policy Framework would allow Internet providers to check that a message from joe@example.com actually comes from the numerical addresses used by example.com's e-mail servers. Mail that did not match up could be safely rejected as spam."
More on the announcement, from a News.com article. "Wong called Microsoft's embracement of SPF a crucial win for the technology, which has already gained the backing of America Online, EarthLink and Google. 'Microsoft was the last remaining obstacle,' Wong said. 'Almost everyone else was already onboard. Nobody wants to be squashed by Microsoft, so I'm glad they came around to our point of view on their own.'"
• Reuters: Microsoft, Developer Combine Antispam Standards • CNET's News.com: Antispam Framework Scores Microsoft Endorsement
California Mellows on Gmail...
California state Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) "revised a proposal to block Google's new e-mail service, removing key provisions that would have have made it difficult or impossible for the Web search giant to operate Gmail in the state," CNET's News.com reported. "Now, according to a draft seen by CNET News.com, the revised bill omits a provision that would have required Google to win the full and informed consent of non-Gmail users sending e-mail to the service--a hurdle that Gmail advocates widely assumed would be impossible to meet."
• CNET's News.com: Lawmaker Tones Down Anti-Gmail Bill
... But the World Does Not
The Washington Post today reported on the rash of lawsuits against Google over the company's advertising linking practices. An excerpt: "From local insurance giant Geico Corp. to Louis Vuitton in France, corporations have filed lawsuits recently to try to stop Google from selling ads linked to searches based on product names and trademarks. The companies charge that the lucrative practice tramples their legal rights and allows competitors to steal their customers. Steve Katzman, chief executive of American Blind and Wallpaper Factory Inc., a business with more than $100 million in sales annually, said his company spent millions of dollars over the years building brand recognition, only to have Google come along and sell ads to competitors who snare people searching for his Web site and products."
• The Washington Post: Firms Sue Google For Ad Links To Competitors (Registration required)
