Microsoft has produced a new version of its controversial Windows Genuine Advantage tool that it hopes will correct previous faults and prevent innocent people from being branded software pirates.

The software, first introduced in 2005, will now have an "indeterminate" category for PCs with Windows installations of questionable validity. Previously large number of Windows users whose PCs were scanned by WGA Validation and failed to prove to Microsoft's satisfaction that they were running non-counterfeit copies of Windows XP were labelled "non-genuine".

The latest pre-launch criticism of Windows Vista has come from Acer, one of the largest PC makers, which has revealed what it believes is the real purpose behind the proliferation of different Vista editions - to effectively raise Windows prices by 10 percent.

The most basic version of Vista, Home Basic, will cost around the same as the home edition of Windows XP. But the software is so stripped-down that many PC makers, including Acer, are not even planning to offer it. That leaves Home Premium as the lowest tier, according to Acer senior corporate vice president Jim Wong.

Foundry Networks has put voice networking at the heart of a range of new products which roll out in the UK today.

The devices include high-density stackable switches that supply the Gigabit Power-over-Ethernet connections needed by next-generation wireless access points, and WLAN controllers able to recognise voice protocols and give priority to VoIP connections.

Stealth techniques introduced to make the latest version of Skype harder to detect and block, have been cracked only days after them being in the open.

Last week, P2P security specialist iPoque reported that the recently-announced beta of Skype 2.5 had changed its call setup in order to bypass the growing band of packet filtering systems aiming to stop the software running on company networks.

IBM and Fujitsu have demonstrated a record data storage capacity showing that an 8 terabyte tape cartridge format is possible. 
 
Taking advantage of a new media coating formulation from Fujitsu, IBM researchers built a drive capable of reading and writing data at 6.67 billion bits per square inch (Gbps).

HPC computing targeted for MS's first open source initiative

Microsoft has traditionally had problems entering the high performance computing (HPC) sector -- but the recent release of the 64-bit Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (WCCS) product could mark a new chapter in Redmond's wooing of the enterprise. What's more, Microsoft is using third party, open source software as a crucial part of the system -- the first time that it's done so and quite a climb-down from the dissing that Redmond has dished out to its Linux oppos in the past.

Internet search engines are now one of the commonest means by which malware spreads, a new study has suggested. 
 
The study carried out by McAfee’s spyware expert Ben Edelman using the company’s SiteAdvisor tool, analysed common searches on all the Net’s major search engines, Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask.  

Skype 2.5 proves harder to block
 
The latest beta version of Skype has been well received by enthusiasts, but one important new feature has so far been ignored - the programme is now much harder to block. 
 
The development signals another round in the small but fierce war between Skype’s designers, and the growing band of security companies that sell products to block the software on corporate networks.