IE, Firefox share security flaw

A serious vulnerability that causes Internet Explorer (IE) to launch Firefox and execute a malicious payload is sparking debate about exactly who is responsible for the flaw, reports The Register.

The vulnerability, which was widely reported on security blogs, allows an attacker to remotely execute malicious code on a machine that is running IE, but also has the Mozilla browser installed.

Window Snyder, who heads security at Mozilla, wrote today that Mozilla developers will patch Firefox so it no longer accepts bad data from IE. But she stressed that only people browsing with the Microsoft browser are vulnerable to the attack.

Years after nimble upstarts like Salesforce.com broke ground in the on-demand CRM business, Microsoft is finally set to launch its own, much anticipated hosted offering today, at its Worldwide Partner Conference, in Denver, reports ComputerWorld.

The offering from Microsoft's Business Solutions unit is based on the next version of its packaged CRM application, code-named Titan, which is due to ship in the fourth quarter. Executives said the hosted offering would initially ship only in North America, with international expansion planned at an undisclosed later date.

Microsoft's entry into the hosted CRM business comes eight years after the debut of Salesforce.com's service, which now claims 30 000 customers and a wide variety of available add-on applications.

TiVo has introduced a service to let customers buy movies and television shows from Amazon.com's Unbox service, without using a PC, reports the New York Times.

Owners of some TiVo digital video recorders that have high-speed Internet access may download Unbox movies directly to their televisions, both companies said yesterday.

Customers will be able to buy TV shows for $1.99 an episode and rent movies for $1.99 to $3.99.

Hot social networking properties such as Facebook and MySpace - along with the wider e-commerce boom - are whipping up demand for Web skills, reports Silicon.

The demand has pushed developers' pay up 26% in the past 12 months, according to research by SkillsMarket/ATSCo (Association of Technology Staffing Companies).

The frenzy around third-party apps on Facebook, which recently opened itself up to developers, is one example of a zeitgeist Web 2.0 property being mined by developers.

Dave Orton, who as president and CEO of graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies led the company's merger last year with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), will leave AMD at the end of the month, reports InformationWeek.

Orton, who held the post of executive VP at AMD, resigned after seeing through the integration of the companies.

"With his integration work complete and the successful launch of key graphics and chipset products earlier this year, the time was right for Dave to take his personal and professional life in a different direction," Dirk Meyer, AMD president and chief operating officer, said in a joint statement with Orton.