News From Around The Industry:

• Whois may be scrapped to break deadlock:
Like a "411" for the Internet, Whois contains information such as names and phone numbers on the owners of millions of ".com" and other Internet addresses. Some privacy advocates are proposing scrapping the system entirely because they can't agree with the people who use the system on how to give domain name owners more options when they register — such as designating third-party agents. Privacy advocates say individuals shouldn't have to reveal personal information simply to have a Web site. The so-called "sunset" proposal is expected to come up Wednesday before an ICANN committee. It will have a tough time winning approval — and could create chaos. But the fact that abandoning Whois is on the table underscores frustrations among privacy advocates that ICANN appears on the verge of launching new studies and deferring a decision yet again after some six years of debate.

• Apple OSX 10.5 hacked in one day:
In what seems like record time, OSx86 scene has released details of a hack to allow the newest and greatest edition of OSX, 'Leopard', to run on a non-Apple computer. Full details were released here on how to get the new operating system, only released earlier this week, running on your own 'HackinTosh'. Unfortunately, even if you own a legitimate copy of Leopard, this kind of tinkering is against Apple's terms and conditions. Even more unfortunate, is the fact that Leopard torrents are already swamping the pirate scene. The forum link consists of full instructions on how to install the OS, screenshots showing the installation process worked, and then feedback from the multitude who've grabbed the patched image torrent and are busy playing with their new installation of Leopard.

• HP admits wireless laptop problems:
After sticking its fingers in its ears and going la-la-la really loudly, HP has finally admitted that there are problems with the built-in Wi-fi on its 6000 and 9000 series Pavilion notebooks. For a while the HP forum has been all a-buzz with problems about the lappies' Wi-fis not working. The wireless card detected the network with all the efficiency of a blind person trying to find a black cat in a dark room that was not there. However there had not been a dicky bird from HP until hacks at ZDNet wrote an attack on the outfit for ignoring its users. Now it seems that someone from HP Total Care has logged on to say that HP has a BIOS update and some instructions on getting this resolved. The spokesHP seemed to think that the problem only hurt those with AMD machines running Vista. Readers of the forum also seemed to treat HP's advice with a large dose of mock. For a start the fault effected XP users and it was not a driver problem as fresh installs of the OS don’t resolve it. It appears it cannot be a Wi-fi card fault because those who replaced it found that it still does not work. Others who tried HP's new Bios update found it hopeless too. In fact, the only cure that anyone has found that worked with 100 per cent certainty was to replace the motherboard or get a new computer.

• Shaw expects price increases for cable and telecos:
Prices for communications services are headed up despite the battle between phone and cable companies for customers, predicts Shaw Communications Inc. chief executive officer Jim Shaw. "Consistently, all telcos and cablecos will continue to raise rates," Mr. Shaw said on a conference call to discuss the company's fourth-quarter financial results. That would be a bonus for both Shaw along with its peer Cogeco Cable Inc. Both companies reported higher revenue Friday as they not only added subscribers, but also charged them more. Life isn't nearly so comfortable for the U.S. cable operators. The biggest one, Comcast, said rivals are cutting prices more than everOne big difference is that the cable operators in the U.S. face intense competition from phone carriers that offer land-line TV service, analysts say. The big Canadian telcos have been slower rolling out land-line TV service. That means that while the cable operators are quickly luring away phone customers, they aren't facing fierce competition for their TV clients from the telcos. The different competitive landscapes are reflected in the performance of cable stocks on both sides of the border. Shaw and Cogeco have gained 41 and 52 per cent respectively, this year, while Comcast is down 25 per cent.

• Apple sets two-iPhone limit at stores, no longer accepts cash:
Apple has set a limit of two iPhones per person at its stores and is no longer accepting cash, in an attempt to stretch supplies and discourage unauthorized reselling of the smartphone. The new policy, started last Thursday, does not apply to Apple's online sales or to AT&T stores. "Limiting iPhone sales to two per customer helps to ensure that there are enough iPhones for people shopping for themselves or buying a gift," an Apple spokeswoman said Monday. The policy of credit or debit cards only is to discourage unauthorized resellers. Before the new policy, customers could pay cash, and there was a limit of five iPhones per person.

• Singapore offers safest networks in Asia:
A low broadband growth rate coupled with a lower level of pirated software use compared to the rest of the region appear to be key factors behind Singapore's positive showing in a recently released Internet security threat report, which covered the first six months of this year. Carried out by security software provider Symantec Inc., the Symantec Asia Pacific and Japan Internet Security Threat Report provides a six-month update of Internet threat activity within the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. Countries surveyed were Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report includes analysis of network-based attacks, a review of known vulnerabilities, and highlights of malicious code. The report ranked Singapore seventh out of 10 for malicious bot-infected countries across APJ, accounting for 1 per cent of the total number of bot-infected computers in the region. China topped the charts with 78 per cent of the total.

• From Closed to Open: Sprint Changes its xOHM Tune:
Under siege from Wall Street investors, and facing competition from other potential wireless networks (700 MHz), Sprint Nextel (S) has a new-found appreciation for the need for openness. And its executives are taking every opportunity to extoll the virtues of open networks, especially xOHM. Rick Robinson, VP of products and services of xOhm, told attendees of the Play conference in Berkeley, Calif., that xOhm will tear down the walled gardens and do away with restricted access to the mobile Internet. “Xohm will tear down this wall. We will provide complete access to Internet from a WiMax enabled device,” he said. The current problems at Sprint have nothing to do with their WiMAX plans, but instead are a result of a botched merger with Nextel and disparate and incompatible networking technologies. Sprint is not out of the woods, but if it can quickly showcase the promise of xOHM, it could buy itself time.