Joris Evers

America Online Inc. (AOL) on Feb. 17 plans to release the first public test version of a new Netscape browser that is designed to protect users from scams and malicious code while surfing the Web. With the release, AOL is taking aim at Microsoft Corp.'s dominant Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser, which has been the subject of many security vulnerabilities. Also, AOL is looking to piggyback on the popularity of Firefox, the open source Web browser that was released in November and has since been downloaded nearly 22 million times.

Oracle Corp. is working on an alternative pricing model for its newly acquired PeopleSoft products, which could mean lower prices for PeopleSoft users. The new pricing model is to be offered in addition to the existing PeopleSoft model and will be similar to the Oracle E-Business Suite pricing scheme, according to Jacqueline Woods, vice president for global pricing and licensing strategy at Oracle.

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday offered patches for several serious Windows security holes and released a new tool that lets users remove malicious software from their PCs.

The move marks the end for Itanium 2 in Windows-based workstations and comes after major hardware vendors abandoned the 64-bit chip for use in workstations.

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. will stop supporting Microsoft Corp.'s .Net Passport identification system by the end of January. EBay users who currently use Passport will have to log in to the service directly through eBay, the company said in a statement on its Web site posted late last month. Users who currently receive eBay updates called eBay Notifications through Microsoft's .Net alerts service have to switch to eBay messaging methods, it said.

Offers three options: extending PeopleSoft installations with Microsoft Web services technologies; moving PeopleSoft software to Windows and SQL Server from Unix and Oracle's database; and replacing PeopleSoft's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software with a competing product running on Windows.

Users who installed SP2 on their Windows XP machines and also have file and printer sharing enabled may have been sharing their files and printers with the entire Internet, according to Microsoft.

The flaws affect desktop as well as server installations of multiple Windows versions. However, none are rated "critical," Microsoft's highest severity rating.