MS patch policy pickle

In the wake of widespread recent worm attacks, reports PC World, Microsoft is considering automatic download and installation of security updates by default for Windows and perhaps Microsoft Office. But first, experts say, it must improve the quality of patches and the Windows Update system that delivers them.

Despite problems with current patches, the magazine says many people may be better off with default automatic updates.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has unveiled the first Windows XP security rollup, a collection of 22 previously available patches, reports CRN.com. Update Rollup 1, which has been in beta testing for the past month, is "a more convenient way" for users to deploy patches they might have missed when the original vulnerabilities - and associated security bulletins - were posted on the company`s Web site.

Broadband wireless access equipment sales are expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2008 as new industry standards kick in, according to a report released yesterday by market research firm ABI.

CNet reports that approval of the WiMax, or 802.16, broadband wireless standard is one driving force for the anticipated revenue growth. And 802.20 technology, once a standard is set, will serve as the other industry boost, said ABI. WiMax is a fixed wireless standard while 802.20 is a mobile wireless standard.

The standards promise to improve Internet connections by reducing transmission interference. In the past, wireless broadband signals could be blocked by anything from a bush to a bridge.

With its Office Live Communications Server 2003 ready to launch next week, Microsoft is prepping a series of new features to extend presence capabilities, add interoperability among enterprises and build in conferencing to the real-time collaboration platform, reports eWeek.

While the initial focus for Live Communications Server 2003 is on corporate instant messaging (IM) and presence, it will serve as a platform for the broader convergence of real-time communications, the site reports.

"A milestone" was reached in transatlantic data transmission by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who demonstrated the practicality of transferring very large data sets over high-speed production networks.

Telecom Paper reports that UIC`s National Centre for Data Mining and Laboratory for Advanced Computing flashed a set of data across the Atlantic at 6.8Gbps - 6 800 times faster than the 1Mbps effective speed that connects most companies to the Internet.