iPod and iTunes users are having problems like issues with purchased music tracks playing, syncing issues, and even incidents where the device becomes corrupted with Microsoft’s latest operating system - Vista. In an advisory, Apple is suggesting to users not to use Vista until after the next release of iTunes which will be available in the next few weeks.

However, those who already have installed Vista, or received a computer with the operating system are advised to take several steps to improve the experience while the company works on a fix. The steps are as follows: De-authorize all iTunes Store accounts; Enable Disk Use on all iPod models; Uninstall iTunes; Perform a clean install of Windows Vista (Highly recommended but not required); Reinstall the latest version of iTunes; Open iTunes; and Choose Authorize Computer from the Store menu in iTunes.

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Seagate unveiled a wireless 10G-byte to 20G-byte storage device, intended to fit in users’ pockets and allow them to store and share digital files between mobile phones, PCs and other mobile platforms. This Digital Audio Video Experience (DAVE) uses a one-inch hard drive to trade files with other platforms up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) away using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi networking.

Electronics manufacturers will use DAVE to boost storage capacity without increasing the size or cost of retail cell phones, and content providers will use it to deliver video files without latency or coverage problems, since the files can be downloaded to the hardware at leisure instead of streamed live through mobile networks.

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Investors in Dell are suing the company, accusing it of improperly accounting for bonuses it received from Intel for using its chips exclusively. The suit, which seeks class action status, claims the profits of the company were artificially inflated. The lawsuit also claimed that Dell concealed problems in accounting and product quality from shareholders while company executives reaped .3 billion from selling their stock.

Dell could have been receiving as much as billion per year in kickbacks, which were not properly accounted for and would likely be illegal under U.S. law. Furthermore, this could have hid more serious financial issues at Dell. Intel on the other hand said they had done nothing wrong and vowed to fight the lawsuit.

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IDC reported that sales of digital cameras have dropped. In the fourth quarter of 2006, shipments fell 3 percent to 12.1 million cameras; 12.4 million were shipped in 2005.

The report also indicated that Canon shipped 2.5 million cameras, while Kodak shipped 2.4 million. Sony rounded out the top three suppliers, shipping 2.2 million digital cameras. Canon controls about 20% of the total market, with Sony and Kodak holding 17% and 16%, respectively said IDC.

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Flickr users are complaining over several changes implemented by Yahoo to those who wants to use the photo-sharing site, one of which is it requires all users to sign in using a Yahoo ID.

Due to the changes, several Flickr competitors are now offering enticements for them to switch.

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HP announced plans to withdraw the listing of its common stock from the Nasdaq Global Select Market. HP’s common stock will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

HP has decided to withdraw its listing from Nasdaq to reduce the costs of exchange listing fees and administrative burdens associated with a dual listing. The company does not believe that withdrawing its listing from Nasdaq will have any impact on the liquidity of its stock.

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Cisco announced they have offered Apple additional time to respond to the lawsuit filed last month allowing the two companies to continue negotiations over licensing the iPhone trademark to Apple.

The announcement may mean the two parties are close to ending their dispute. The release simply states, "Apple and Cisco have agreed to extend the time for Apple to respond to the lawsuit to allow for discussions between the companies with the aim of reaching agreement on trademark rights and interoperability."

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A significant network attack was launched globally using news of a European storm as the hook to lure the unsuspecting. The message, which was created and launched literally as the storm raged, is exploiting a timely widescale media event as the key mechanism for delivering its payload.

The Trojan was distributed in messages with subject line of "230 dead as storm batters Europe". The payload in this case was the Small.DAM Trojan that was downloaded into all vulnerable machines upon opening of the spam mail’s attachment such as "Read More.exe". Once inside the machine, the Trojan creates a backdoor that can be exploited later by the malware authors behind the assault.

As has been seen with other attacks, the likely intention is to create a new raft of zombie computers to steal information and to further propagate large-scale spam and phishing runs.

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Adobe released the final version of Flash Player 9 for Linux, bringing its multimedia offering for the open source operating system up to date with Windows and Mac OS X. Linux developers can now build rich Internet applications using Adobe’s Flex 2 SDK.

Flash Player 9 for Linux includes better memory utilization, advanced features for graphics, video and text, as well as ActionScript Virtual Machine 2. which Adobe recently handed over to the Mozilla Foundation for a project called Tamarin.

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A California phisher faces up to 101 years in prison after being convicted in U.S. District Court of tricking AOL members into disclosing their personal information, including credit cards. The information was then used to make purchases. Federal authorities arrested Jeffrey Goodin, 45, in January 2006. He had been using hacked EarthLink accounts to send e-mails to AOL members. The messages were fashioned to look as if the user would lose service if they failed to respond.

Goodin was also convicted of 10 other counts, including wire fraud, aiding and abetting the unauthorized use of an access device (credit card), possession of more than 15 unauthorized access devices, misuse of the AOL trademark, attempted witness harassment and failure to appear in court.

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