Software

Programmers find security hole in Netscape's JVMProgrammers at US-based Princeton University have discovered a crack in the security system of Netscape Communications' Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that would allow a malicious applet to shred all the security controls in Navigator 4.0, giving it free reign to modify or delete files. As in a number of other flaws, the latest one occurs in the implementation of the "ClassLoader" mechanism responsible for handling the dynamic linking capabilities in Java.

IBM releases Java multimedia framework

IBM has released MediaBeans, a Java-based modular component framework for multimedia applications, on its alphaWorks Web site. AlphaWorks allows developers to work with emerging technologies from IBM's labs. MediaBeans allows users to easily create custom combinations of multimedia components for local file playback, network media streaming, and conferencing.

Early versions of Notes and IE 4.01 -- oil and water?

Earlier versions of Lotus Notes have compatibility problems with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.01, which means they also have problems with Windows 98, sources reported. According to Microsoft, Lotus Notes changes a registry setting that may bother Explorer 4.01 and may also disable any proxy server that you are using. Upgrading to Notes 4.61 eliminates this problem.

If you still have earlier versions of Notes, a work-around is to disable Notes from writing to any of Internet Explorer's registry settings. You can do this by adding the following line to the Windows\Notes.ini file: NOSYNCINTERNETSETTINGS=1.

Oracle opens Repository 7.0

Oracle is positioning its newest repository product, Oracle Repository 7.0, as a single container for accessing meta data and other files that are used to customise packaged applications. Files residing in any OS file system, such as source files, text scripts, and application documentation, can be copied into Repository 7.0 via a file-system load utility.