Nokia woos Linux developers

Cellphone-maker Nokia has released software to let Linux programmers develop Java software for its cellphones.

Nokia is a strong backer of the use of Sun`s Java software on its cellphones which will allow users to run single programs on a variety of different phones.

Until now, developers have typically had to use a Windows computer to write Java programs for Nokia phones, but yesterday the Finnish company released a free Linux version of its developer`s tools for Java, which can be downloaded from Nokia`s Web site.

"It was in response to what developers were asking for," says Letitia Andrews, developer tools marketing manager for Nokia. Several market studies also indicate that Linux is "the up-and-coming operating system for developers". [ZDNet]

Tyre-maker Michelin said yesterday it plans to embed technology in its tyres that will allow them to be wirelessly linked to the car they are mounted on and transmit details like inflation pressure to a dashboard computer.

Michelin North America, a unit of the French company, says the system consists of an antenna and an integrated circuit the size of a match-head.

"We can coat this thing, vulcanise it into the tyre, and the chip still has 90% of its read-write capability, even though it`s in the tyre," says a Michelin spokesperson.

Information can be read off the chips by a reader up to a metre away from the tyre and then stored in a database. Testing of the technology is already under way, Michelin said, with roll-out expected in conjunction with auto companies as early as the 2005 model year. [Reuters]

Attorneys representing Sun Microsystems and Microsoft will soon meet to discuss how Microsoft will include Sun`s Java program in the Windows operating system.

At a federal court hearing scheduled for today, the companies will review each other`s proposed methods. Microsoft and Sun submitted proposals for the injunction with US district judge J Frederick Motz on Monday.

Motz has approved Sun`s request to require Windows to include Sun`s latest Java programming language pending resolution of its lawsuit.

Sun contends that Microsoft has gained an unfair advantage by shipping Windows with an outdated version of Java that`s inconsistent for its users. [Reuters]

A new computer virus, Sobig, is spreading quickly around the Internet, and alerts posted by anti-virus companies indicate it is growing quickly.

Sobig is a worm that uses e-mail and shared network folders to infect machines running Microsoft`s Windows operating system. The worm arrives in e-mail messages from a single sender, big@boss.com, and is stored in attached executable files with names such as Sample.pif, Untitled1.pif, and Movie_0074.mpeg.pif, according to anti-virus company F-Secure.

When opened, the worm places a copy of itself into the Windows folder on the infected machine, creates a process to run the worm program, and modifies the Windows registry so that the worm program will launch whenever Windows is started.

Although the new worm does not appear to steal sensitive information from the computers it infects, it does try to connect to a Web site at GeoCities, from which it tries to download and execute other files. [PCWorld]

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