NEWS&ANALYSIS the buzz HANDHELDS Danger releases new Sidekick DANGER LAST WEEK announced the latest version of its Hiptop handheld device, sold in the United States as the Sidekick from T-Mobile USA. The Sidekick II retains the line’s characteristic swivel screen and QWERTY thumb-controlled keyboard but adds a built-in speakerphone and VGA (640-by-480-pixel) camera. The Sidekick II is thinner than previous versions, measuring 5.1 by 2.6 by 0.9 inches. Extended battery life lets users talk for 4.5 hours without recharging, and a redesigned radio and antenna extend network connectivity and enhance the quality of voice calls, said officials. For instant messaging users, the Sidekick II supports Yahoo’s IM client, in addition to America Online’s AIM. The device syncs with Microsoft’s Outlook for PIM functionality. The Sidekick II, due in the fall, is priced at $299. T-Mobile will offer an unlimited data plan on Danger’s new Sidekick is due this fall. top of that for $20 a month. The Sidekick is the first product stemming from Danger’s manufacturing partnership with Sharp. —Shelley Solheim SECURITY MyDoom variant exploits Yahoo’s People Search YET ANOTHER VERSION OF MYDOOM is worming its way through the Internet, and this variant—like the last one—uses Yahoo as part of its infection routine. MyDoom.P is similar to most other MyDoom variants in that it arrives via e-mail with a spoofed sending address and a subject line QUOTE OF THE WEEK Until we come to a complete resolution with our SCOsource initiatives, it’s going to be very difficult to get new customers. Jeff Hunsaker, senior vice president of The SCO Group w w w. e w e e k . c o m that makes it look like the message is related to one the recipient sent. Among the subject lines in the e-mail messages are “SN: New secure mail,” “Secure delivery,” “Re: Extended mail,” “Delivery Status (Secure),” “Re: Server Reply” and “SN: Server Status.” The body of the e-mail contains any of several sentences, some referring to the included Zip file. Many messages reference security or refer to the attached file as a “secure Zip file.” Once opened, the executable file copies itself to the Windows system directory as “winlibs. exe.” The executable contains a list of dozens of common first names and surnames that it puts through Yahoo’s People Search in an attempt to find more e-mail addresses to mail itself to, according to a preliminary analysis of the worm done by the staff of the Internet Storm Center at The SANS Institute. —Dennis Fisher neuroendocrine tumor, which represents about 1 percent of the total cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed each year and can be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time (mine was). I will not require any chemotherapy or radiation treatments,” Jobs wrote in his e-mail. Jobs said he will recuperate this month and expects to return to work next month. Tim Cook, executive vice president of worldwide sales and operations, will handle Jobs’ duties in the interim. InfiniCon Systems names new CEO INFINIBAND SWITCH VENDOR PEOPLE Apple’s Jobs undergoes cancer surgery APPLE CO-FOUNDER AND CEO STEVE Jobs had successful pancreatic cancer surgery, he told employees in e-mail last week. “I had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell InfiniCon Systems has a new CEO. J. Russell Hawkins takes over the helm of the 4-year-old company from Charles Foley, who will serve on InfiniCon’s advisory board. Hawkins most recently was senior vice president of Carrier Access, which bought the company where he was president and CEO, wireless networking company Paragon Networks International. InfiniCon has been growing its series of InfinIO InfiniBand switches, unveiling two additions last month, including the 9200, which offers 288 ports. —Jeffrey Burt BY THE NUMBERS IT staff retention a priority CIOs respond to the question: Is the retention of your IT staff becoming more or less important as the economy improves? 5% Somewhat less important 1% Much less important 36% No change 25% Much more important 35% Somewhat more important *More than 100% due to rounding; source: Robert Half Technology A U G U S T 9 , 2 0 0 4 n e W E E K 17