MS Exchange add-on will not end spam war

Microsoft says the coming Exchange Intelligent Message Filter add-on to Exchange Server 2003 is not designed to be the ultimate weapon for stopping spam within enterprise messaging networks, reports eWeek.

Microsoft says the add-on, which will be available in the first half of next year, is intended to run as a complementary solution. The add-on incorporates Microsoft`s SmartScreen technology, which uses a machine-learning approach to spam filtering and involves feedback from e-mail users to rate incoming messages and route them accordingly to the correct mailbox folders.

An expert has warned that the guest account function in Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and 2000 can leave networks vulnerable to becoming a spammers` tool, reports CNet.

Harvard University researcher Aaron Greenspan says administrators of e-mail systems based on Microsoft`s Exchange might have spammers using their servers to send unsolicited bulk e-mail under their noses. Greenspan`s research concludes that even though software available on Microsoft`s Web site certifies that the server is secure, spammers can still use Exchange 5.5 and 2000 to send anonymous e-mail.

"Even if your login fails, you can send mail, because the guest account is there as a catchall." Microsoft says the problem is relatively minor and there haven`t been many complaints.

Reuters reports that Microsoft is to enter the online music business next year, joining a host of others competing for market share, including Apple Computer`s iTunes Music Store and Roxio`s rejuvenated Napster online music service. The news comes after Microsoft`s announcement of a 2004 release date for software that runs on a new portable media device that will play MP3 files as well as audio and video content recorded in Microsoft`s own digital format.

Forrester Research forecasts that the online music sector will account for 11% of the recording industry`s sales within three years, and 33% by 2008. Analysts say Microsoft, which already offers online music sales through the UK MSN site, is a formidable foe. They say Microsoft`s Windows Media Player could easily be turned into a platform for selling music.

Toshiba plans to launch a new tablet PC that enables users to scroll through Web pages or turn the pages of digital publications simply by tilting the clipboard-like computer up and down.

AP reports that the unique "dual axis accelerometer" is among several new features in the Toshiba Portege M200. Tablet PCs are notebook computers with handwriting recognition so the displays become digital writing slates. Microsoft launched its operating system platform for the tablet PC a year ago, leading to numerous models, including ones from Toshiba, HP, Acer and Fujitsu.

PalmSource has announced that pager maker PerComm will license the Palm operating system. CNet reports that PerComm CEO Edmond Fung says he views the Palm OS as a flexible application that lets his company quickly release new devices. "We see the Palm OS allowing us to produce lower-cost devices and have faster time to market."

PerComm intends to produce a smart phone that uses the Palm OS first for Global System for Mobile Communications and then for Code Division Multiple Access networks. PerComm is not the first pager company to take advantage of the operating system. Rival HuneTec announced plans early this year to use the Palm OS in a line of pager and messaging devices, but the company has yet to release a device.