New and Noteworthy: Microsoft prepares reply to iTunes; SSH scene in 'Matrix Reloaded'; more

Microsoft prepares reply to iTunes CNET reports that while Apple Computer grabs publicity for its new 99 cent music download store, Microsoft is quietly preparing for a counterattack by improving its own technology for supporting subscription music services. According to the article, Microsoft is betting that new security enhancements planned for later this year could make renting music, rather than owning it, more attractive to consumers. More.

SSH scene in 'Matrix Reloaded' The Boston Globe notes the buzz being generated about a scene in "The Matrix Reloaded" that utilizes an SSH hacking procedure. "Normal human beings who've seen 'The Matrix Reloaded' are chattering away about the spectacular fights, the gratuitous sex, the abstruse philosophizing. Computer geeks, on the other hand, have rhapsodized over the way the heroine, Trinity, saves the day by raiding a computer network. She runs a program called nmap, identifies a flaw in the system's SSH encryption software, and she's in. The whole thing lasts about 10 seconds, but for some fans it's even more exciting than the 14-minute car-chase scene." More.

Google could be five times faster ZDNN reports that a team at Stanford University has come up with ways to make Google up to five times faster. Searches could be tailored for each user--eliminating extraneous information. More.

Let Someone Else Do It: Dig Tunes Wired News opines on the recent turns in the music industry, set about by Apple's iTunes music service: "Industry watchers say the decision by Sony and UMG to sell their service Pressplay to Roxio indicates a shift that the major labels are turning away from distributing music online. By letting someone else "own the highway," they can still reap some of the profits." More.

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