The Buzz: August 6, 2001

Support for Russian Grows

The Russian software developer arrested last month by the FBI for allegedly violating the controversial U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act is almost reaching cult status, with support groups cropping up all over the Internet.

Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested the day after giving a speech at the Def Con 9 conference in Las Vegas. The FBI arrested Sklyarov on a charge of creating software that enables people to unlock the encryption capabilities of Adobes eBook Reader product.

Since his arrest, sites such as freesklyarov.org and freedmitry.org have sprung up, the Coalition to Free Dmitry was organized, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has taken up his cause.

Priceline.com Yields Profit

It was thought to be one of the highest-profile dot-bombs, a freewheeling Web site left for dead on the side of a road littered with hundreds of other dot-com carcasses.

But in a continuation of its Lazarus-like resurgence, Priceline.com last week announced it had finally turned a profit and garnered record revenues for the just-completed quarter.

Revenues were tagged at $363.8 million, with a quarterly net income of $11.7 million.

The countrys sluggish economy may have helped, as cash-strapped travelers sought good airline ticket deals. The company was also buoyed by an upgrade last month from Merrill Lynch.

Hunting for Digital Trail

A dozen news organizations have hired computer forensics company Ontrack to determine whether Katherine Harris, Floridas secretary of state, allowed Republican officials to set up a "war room" in her office during the presidential election recount.

Among its duties, Ontrack will see if data was deleted from hard drives.