Messenger Hole Forces Update (PC World)

Anyone using 6.2, 7.0 and 7.5 versions of MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger 8.0 will be guided through the upgrade process to Windows Live Messenger 8.1 when they try to log in to their chat client, according to a blog posting by a security product manager at Microsoft calling himself "Anand." This will replace the option upgrade notice that users have been given when using those versions of the product since January, he wrote. "Some of you might feel this inconvenient, but in order to protect you and protect the health of the network we have chosen to take this step," the blog entry said. The Messenger vulnerability, which let hackers embed malicious code in Web chat invitations to users, was disclosed in August. It affected MSN Messenger versions 6.2, 7.0 and 7.5, as well as Windows Live Messenger 8.0. Microsoft changed the name of its popular chat client from MSN to Windows Live with version 8.0. Microsoft patched the problem in older versions of Messenger as part of its monthly round of patches on Tuesday, which means users of affected versions of Messenger theoretically could install the patch and protect themselves. In its security bulletin for the patch, the company recommended Windows XP and Vista users upgrade to Windows Live Messenger 8.1, but only suggested in a vague way that they might order a mandatory update. "If you do not upgrade to a non-affected version of the MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger client, depending on your platform, you will be notified to upgrade on each attempt to sign on," the company said in Tuesday's security bulletin. "If you do not accept the upgrade, you may not be allowed access to MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger service." The company apparently changed its mind Wednesday, which is when the posting that disclosed the mandatory upgrade hit the Web. Users who commented on Anand's blog post had mixed opinions on the decision. One post complained that the user had "tried using Windows Live Messenger before and found that it simply takes up too much of my system's resources!" However, another said it was "a good decision," while still another said he was running Windows Live Messenger 8.5 in beta form and "it's not even that buggy." Microsoft's decision to force upgrades brings to mind complaints raised several months ago by users of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) that AOL LLC was encouraging users a little too insistently to upgrade from AIM 6.0 to 6.1. Users were angry about upgrade alert messages displayed on AIM screens that could not be turned off and would continue to reappear and interrupt current IM activity even after a user had closed the dialogue box.

Three Minutes with Richard Stallman (PC World)

IDG: You launched the GNU Project in September 1983 to create a free Unix-like operating system, and have been the project's lead architect and organizer since then. Why did you start it in the first place? Back then it was already clear that software was becoming proprietary? Stallman: In 1983, all operating systems were proprietary, non-free software. It was impossible to buy a computer and use it in freedom. Proprietary software keeps the users divided and helpless, by forbidding them to share it and denying them the source code to change it. The only way I could use computers in freedom was to develop another operating system and make it free software. I announced the plan in September 1983, and began development of the GNU system in January 1984. IDG: On February 3, 1976, Bill Gates wrote his famous "open letter to hobbyists" where he stated that software should be paid [for] just like hardware. Did you read that manifesto at the time? What was your impression back then? Stallman: I never heard of it at the time. I was not a hobbyist, I was a system developer employed at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. I had little interest in 16-bit microcomputers, because the lab's PDP-10, with a memory equivalent to 2.5 megabytes, was much more fun. Pascal is both weak and inelegant compared with Lisp, our high-level language, and for things that had to be fast, assembler language was more flexible. I don't know how I would have reacted at that time if I had seen that memo. My experience at the AI lab had taught me to appreciate the spirit of sharing and free software, but I had not yet come to the conclusion that non-free (proprietary) software was an injustice. In 1976 I did not use any non-free software. It was only in 1977, when Emacs was ported to the non-free Twenex time-sharing system that I started to experience the nastiness of proprietary software. After that, I needed time to recognize this as an ethical and political issue. IDG: What do you think about intellectual property? Stallman: I am careful not to use that confusing term in my thoughts, because it does not refer to a coherent thing, although it misleadingly appears to. The term lumps together laws that raise totally different issues, as if they were one subject. Copyrights exist, and I have opinions about copyright law. Patents also exist, but patent law is almost completely different from copyright law. My opinions about patent law are also completely different from my opinions about copyright law. Trademark law exists too and it has nothing at all in common with copyright law or patent law. If you want to think clearly about any of these laws, the first step is firmly insisting on treating them as three different subjects. If you say something about "intellectual property," you are trying to generalize about three laws that are totally different. Whatever you say will be a foolish over-generalization, because that term only leads to such. I've decided to avoid that pitfall by never using the term. [See Gnu Philosophy for more explanation.] IDG: What's more important to you, GNU's huge user base or its large developer base? Stallman: I appreciate them both, but neither is what matters most. We didn't develop GNU just to make it a technical triumph, or just to have a success. Our goal was to win freedom, for ourselves and for you. What's important about GNU is that it provides a way to use computers in freedom. But this achievement is precarious. There are hundreds of GNU/Linux distros, and nearly all include some non-free software. In 1992, GNU/Linux made it possible for the first time to use a PC and keep your freedom. By 2000, ironically, every version of GNU/Linux included non-free software and thus invited users to surrender their freedom by installing some. Today, I am glad to say, the Ututo and gNewSense distributions are 100 percent free software. IDG: After so many years, are you finally seeing the end of the tunnel, the time when free software will regain its original place, by dominating servers during the next decade? Stallman: Server operators should have freedom, of course, but the computers that directly affect most users' freedom are the computers they type on. Those are the computers where the adoption of free software is most important. With proprietary operating systems increasingly designed to restrict and control the user, with digital "restrictions" management, their users are subjugated even more now than before. If you don't want chains on you hand and foot, your only escape is to switch to a free operating system. IDG: People use terms like "free software" and "open source" as if they were the same thing. Is that right? Stallman: In terms of ideas, free software and open source are as different as could be. Free software is a political movement; open source is a development model. The free software movement is concerned with ethical and social values. Our goal is to win, for computer users, the freedom to cooperate and control your own computing. Therefore, you should have these four essential freedoms for each program you use:

• To run the program as you wish.
• To study the source code and change it so the program does what you wish.
• To redistribute exact copies when you wish, either giving them away or selling them.
• To distribute copies of your modified versions when you wish.

The term "open source" was promoted in 1998 by people that did not want to say "free" or "freedom." They associated their term with a philosophy that cites only values of practical convenience. Supporters of open source (which I am not) promote a "development model" in which users participate in development, claiming that this typically makes software "better"– and when they say "better," they mean that only in a technical sense. By using the term that way, implicitly, they say that only practical convenience matters– not your freedom. I don't say they are wrong, but they are missing the point. If you neglect the values of freedom and social solidarity, and appreciate only powerful reliable software, you are making a terrible mistake. IDG: The same happens with Linux, code for which was released in 1991. People used to call Linux a synonym for GNU, much like Windows became a synonym for the PC operating system. But they are not the same thing, are they? Stallman: I'm not sure what you mean by "the same." Windows is the official name (not just a synonym) for a user-subjugating, proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft. Linux, however, is not an operating system, just a piece of one. Linux is a kernel: the component of an operating system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. It was first released in 1991 as non-free software: its license did not allow commercial distribution. In 1984, I launched the development of the GNU operating system, whose goal was to be free software and thus permit users to run computers and have freedom. The GNU Project undertook a job so big that even most of my friends said it was impossible. In 1992, the GNU system was complete except for the kernel. (Our own kernel project, started in 1990, was going slowly.) In February 1992, Linus Torvalds changed the license of Linux, making it free software. The kernel Linux filled the last major gap in GNU; the combination, GNU/Linux, was the first free operating system that could run on a PC. The system started out as GNU with Linux added. Please don't call it "Linux;" if you do that, you give the principal developer none of the credit. Please call it "GNU/Linux" and give us equal mention. IDG: The Free Software Foundation has recently issued the second draft of the GNU general public license version 3 (GPLv3). What are its enhancements and what users could expect from adopting it? Stallman: We published the official, final text of GPL version 3 in June, and many programs have since been released under it. The basic goal of the GNU General Public License is the same in version 3 as it always was: defend the freedom of all the users. The changes are in the details. IDG: Linus Torvalds told us he thinks "the GPLv2 is a superior license," but there's "something like 50 different open-source licenses, and in the end, the GPLv3 is just another one." Does Linus collaborate with you or GNU on free software development? Stallman: The fact that Torvalds says "open source" instead of "free software" shows where he is coming from. I wrote the GNU GPL to defend freedom for all users of all versions of a program. I developed version 3 to do that job better and protect against new threats. Torvalds says he rejects this goal; that's probably why he doesn't appreciate GPL version 3. I respect his right to express his views, even though I think they are foolish. However, if you don't want to lose your freedom, you had better not follow him. IDG: Microsoft has recently claimed that free software like Linux, OpenOffice and some e-mail programs violate 235 of its patents. But Microsoft also said it won't sue for now. Is this the start of a new legal nightmare? Stallman: Software patents– in those countries foolish enough to authorize them– are a legal nightmare for all software developers. About half of all patents in any field belong to mega-corporations, which gives them a chokehold on the technology. In countries that allow software patents, that happens in software too. IDG: Last July 5, Microsoft published the following statement: "While there have been some claims that Microsoft's distribution of certificates for Novell support services, under our interoperability collaboration with Novell, constitutes acceptance of the GPLv3 license, we do not believe that such claims have a valid legal basis under contract, intellectual property, or any other law." Are they preparing for battle? Stallman: Microsoft is trying to deny that their contract with Novell means what it says. This shows that our efforts in GPLv3 to make their contract backfire against Microsoft are working. I believe Novell disagrees with Microsoft about this point, and says that the deal does apply to software under GPL version 3. Their use of the term "intellectual property" is part of the propaganda. It is meant to discourage you from focusing on the specific law, patent law, which they have tried to use to prohibit free software. For instance, they don't want Brazilians to think, "If Microsoft wants to use software patents to obtain a government-imposed monopoly over operating system software, why should Brazil give them the chance to do so? Brazil should not authorize software patents." IDG: Do you think that the free software community could win this war against Microsoft? Stallman: Nobody knows who will win this fight, because the outcome depends on you and the readers. Will you fight for freedom? Will you reject Windows and MacOS and other non-free software, and switch to GNU/Linux? Or will you be too lazy to resist? IDG: Some analysts are saying this kind of agreement between Microsoft and Novell is positive for consumers and can also popularize free software. That's because consumers will have more support from vendors in terms of interoperability and could run their applications in a better way. Do you agree with these arguments? Stallman: That's like the argument that smoking tobacco is good for your health because it will help you lose weight. I don't know whether their claim about popularity is true in a narrow sense, but I'm sure it misses the point. It doesn't matter how popular GNU/Linux gets, if it fails to give you freedom. Microsoft's aim, in the deal with Novell, was to make people scared to run GNU/Linux without paying Microsoft for permission. That is why we designed GPLv3 to make it backfire. As for interoperability, all we need to achieve full interoperability is for proprietary software developers to stop obstructing it. With free software, the users are in control. Most of the time, users want interoperability, and when the software is free, they get what they want. With non-free software, the developer controls the users. The developer permits interoperability when that suits the developer; what the users want is beside the point. Microsoft has frequently imposed non-interoperability; now, for example, it promotes the patented bogus "standard" OOXML instead of supporting Open Document Format. Microsoft believes it is so powerful that it can design an incompatible format, create obstacles to its implementation by others, and pressure most users to switch to it. Do you think users are really as foolish as Microsoft predicts?

TD Ameritrade says contact info stolen (AP)

The company would not share many details of its investigation, including when the hack took place, because it is still looking into the theft and cooperating with investigators from the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and local authorities.

But Ameritrade has known about the problem at least since late May when two of its customers sued the brokerage in federal court because they were receiving unwanted e-mail ads on accounts used only for Ameritrade.

The data on Ameritrade’s servers may have been vulnerable for an extended period of time dating back at least to last October, according to the lawsuit filed by lawyer Scott A. Kamber. The company said Friday the problem had recently been fixed.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had wanted the court to order Ameritrade to tell its customers about the data problem, but Ameritrade issued its release before a hearing could be held. The plaintiffs are also seeking damages and are trying to qualify as a class-action lawsuit.

“They preferred putting out a press release with their own language in it rather than have the court order them to put out a release with our language,” Kamber said.

Ameritrade officials did not immediately respond to a message left Friday afternoon with questions about the lawsuit.

Earlier in the day, Ameritrade spokeswoman Kim Hillyer said the company discovered the breach in its system during a routine review of complaints about e-mail ads.

“As soon as we found the issue and were able to stop it, we made plans to notify clients,” Hillyer said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say all the unwanted e-mail ads they received appeared to be designed to manipulate the value of thinly traded stocks.

This breach is smaller than the biggest known data breach at a company, which was the theft of at least 45 million credit card numbers of TJX Cos. retail customers that was reported earlier this year. But the Ameritrade problem is still significantly larger than many data breaches that involve hundreds or thousands but not millions of records.

Ameritrade spokeswoman Katrina Becker said there is no evidence that any customer suffered financial losses or had been a victim of identity theft.

Becker would not say why the company was confident Social Security numbers had not been taken even though they were kept in the same database as customer contact information, trading data and demographic information.

Other Ameritrade databases where information such as passwords, user IDs and personal identification numbers are kept were not violated, the company said.

Ameritrade hired ID Analytics Inc., which has expertise in identity theft, to help with the investigation, and it plans to continue using the company to monitor its servers for potential identity theft.

ID Analytics will continue checking Ameritrade customer data against other databases to watch for identity theft because it could emerge later, said Mike Cook, chief operating officer for the San Diego company.

“Just because a breached file is not misused today, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be misused in the future,” Cook said.

If all the thieves obtained was basic contact information, Cook said that might not be enough to steal an identity and apply for credit in another person’s name. But he said the thieves might try to obtain additional information from a victim by posing as a legitimate business in an e-mail.

Ameritrade started notifying its customers about the data theft Friday, and the brokerage posted information about it on its Web site.

“While the financial assets our clients hold with us were never touched, and there is no evidence that our clients’ Social Security Numbers were taken, we understand that this issue has increased unwanted SPAM, which is annoying and inconvenient for them,” Chief Executive Joe Moglia said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize for that and any added concern this may have caused.”

Ameritrade is telling customers they don’t need to do anything with their accounts except “remain alert in guarding their personal information.” The company’s asset-protection guarantee would cover any losses in Ameritrade accounts because of identity theft or fraud.

Ameritrade said it is confident that it identified how the information was stolen and has changed its computer code enough to prevent the theft from recurring. It said any new client who opened an account after July 18 was not affected.

Hillyer said the company’s investigation was able to determine that the database had not been hacked after July 18.

Ameritrade’s 6.34 million accounts as of July make it one of the nation’s biggest discount brokers after leader Charles Schwab Corp., which has 6.9 million brokerage accounts.

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On the Net:

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.:

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse:

Holocaust song has cellular firm squirming (Reuters)

The ads for Bell Canada's () Solo discount service showed a young woman decked out in flashy punk rock attire, with a button that reads "Belsen was a gas" — the controversial title of a song by the Sex Pistols, and a reference to Nazi Germany's Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

"It was inadvertent," Bell Canada spokesman Mark Langton said on Friday, noting that the dozen ads were taken down as soon as the company realized its mistake. "Obviously, we would never depict such an offensive slogan in our advertising."

He said Bell officials approved the ads after examining sample images that were smaller than the final billboards. The button inscription could only be read when the ads were blown up to their full size, he said.

"In the proofing and approval materials, it was impossible to see the button, so our folks missed it."

BCE apologizes "for any offense or distress that we caused," Langton said.

The billboards appeared in mass-transit systems in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as in Toronto, which has a large Jewish community and many Holocaust survivors.

Intel to buy Irish game software tools firm (Reuters)

The privately held Irish company's technology has been used in some of the most widely known video game titles, including "BioShock," "Stranglehold," "Halo 2," and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

The deal comes ahead of Intel's biggest technical conference, the Intel Developer Forum, in San Francisco next week. Intel is expected to expand on plans for next-generation chip making technology, commonly known as 45 nanometer, and give more details on its forthcoming chip design change.

Havok's collection of software development tools is used by game and digital-animation creators to build realistic video games for myriad types of hardware and digitally animated movies, Intel said in a statement.

The deal could also heighten competition with Intel's biggest rival in microprocessors, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N), which acquired video chip company ATI Technologies nearly a year ago.

Intel has so far partnered closely with ATI rival Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) for video-processing chips used in personal computers.

Havok, a Dublin-based company founded in 1998, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Santa Clara, California-based Intel and would continue to operate as an independent business.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Prior to the announcement of the acquisition, Intel shares slipped 42 cents to close at $24.93, AMD fell 4 cents to $12.69, and Nvidia lost 98 cents to $32.25.

Appro To Launch Quad-Core Server For Small Businesses (TechWeb)

The 1U XtremeServer 1512H, which is also available with one dual-core Opteron 2000 Series chip, includes 1.5Tbyte hot-swappable SATA hard disk drives and one PCI-Express x16 slot that supports 32Gbytes of memory. The new server expected on Monday is built for companies who need an entry-level single processor server as a building block for high-performance computing clusters and applications.

The 1512H has a cable-free design, and is simple to install and ready to run, according to Appro. The server supports Windows or Linux. Pricing was not disclosed.

For remote server management, Appro offers its ServerDome software, which provides a single graphical console for automating networking tasks for 1U and 3U XtremeServers. In addition, system administrators can deploy, configure, manage and maintain servers.

Appro this week announced plans to support AMD quad-core Opteron processors in all of the computer maker's systems, including the HyperBlade cluster series and the XtremeServer and workstation series. AMD formerly codenamed Barcelona, on September 10. The chipmaker plans to release a similarly featured quad-core processor for the desktop later this year.

In June, the Appro XtremeServer cluster at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was ranked the 19th fastest supercomputer, according to released at the International Supercomputer Conference in Dresden, Germany. The cluster was powered by dual-core AMD Opterons configured as 1,152 4-socket 1U server nodes with a total of 9,216 cores. The cluster ran Linux and was connected by a Voltaire InfiniBand switch.

Sony may sell game chip facility to Toshiba: sources (Reuters)

The sale, which would include production lines for the "Cell" microchips, dubbed "supercomputer on a chip," is part of Sony's strategy to shed costly semiconductor assets and focus on the production of strategic products such as image sensor chips used in digital cameras and camcorders, they said.

The business daily Nikkei said on Saturday Sony planned to sell production facilities for cutting-edge microprocessors and graphic chips to Toshiba for about 100 billion yen ($869.7 million) and an agreement is likely within a few months.

Both Sony and Toshiba declined to comment on the report.

To secure a stable supply of chips for its game machines after the possible sale, Sony is considering to set up a joint venture with Toshiba to take over actual production activities at the manufacturing facilities, the sources said.

Sony, which is in the final year of its three-year turnaround plan under Chief Executive Howard Stringer, said in February it will cut back on future chip spending and may not produce next-generation microchips using 45-nanometre circuitry in-house.

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.

($1=114.98 Yen)

Teen rapper Soulja Boy ready for duty (Reuters)

The 16-year-old MC, whose real name is DeAndre Way, has racked up 10 million MySpace hits and inspired thousands of YouTube videos featuring fan interpretations of his "Superman" dance. Initially a viral sensation, "Crank Dat" is No. 4 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Beyonce has incorporated the Superman dance into her stage show.

So as the October 2 release of Soulja Boy's debut, "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em," approaches, ColliPark Music and Interscope must determine how best to capitalize on the online enthusiasm.

"Soulja Boy is the blueprint for the new record business," Interscope co-head of marketing Chris Clancy says. "He's built his phenomenon all on his own."

A year ago, "I was just making songs in my house and putting them online," says Soulja Boy, who was raised by his mother in Atlanta but moved in with his father in Batesville, Miss., during eighth grade.

He began playing around with the audio production program Fruity Loops and uploading original tracks to , where artists rate one another's songs.

"Really I was just playing around, but after I uploaded the first song, I was rated well," he says. "The Soundclick site linked to my MySpace page and my hits started increasing, so I started taking it seriously."

Enter industry vet Mr. ColliPark (Michael Crooms), who was looking for new talent. He heard "Crank Dat" from several music scouts, and though the song in its rawest form hurt his ears, ColliPark eventually gave in, called Soulja Boy and told him to send over some music.

"Then I started asking kids about Soulja Boy, and they all knew of him," ColliPark says.

After signing him, Collipark quickly rerecorded and polished Soulja Boy's songs, all of which he produced himself.

"I gave the record to (Atlanta DJ) Greg Street, and the following week it was No. 1 on his countdown," ColliPark says. "Nobody can dictate how far this kid will go because he wasn't even getting club play. It was just kids putting the music on the iPod and saying, 'Oh, my God, Soulja Boy's on the radio."'

Interscope, which distributes ColliPark Music, wasted no time shipping "Crank Dat" to digital retailers like iTunes, prompting a strong response from consumers (the cut is No. 1 this week on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart). The song's video premiered August 10 on Yahoo Music and has already been named Jam of the Week on MTV2.

To round out the upcoming album, Soulja Boy is working on a duet with Sean Kingston called "Soulja Girl." And despite the attention the Superman dance has garnered, Soulja Boy is being careful not to become pigeonholed right off the bat.

"The song is great, and with the dance it's perfect, but I don't want to be labeled as 'the dancing dude,"' he says. "My song is part of what's going on right now. It's just for teens and kids because we want to have fun."

Reuters/Billboard

Marley estate disputes ringtone deal (AP)

Universal Music owns the rights to distribute some of the biggest hits by Marley and his band, The Wailers, including “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Buffalo Soldier” and “Redemption Song.”

The company struck what was initially an exclusive deal with Verizon late last month allowing Verizon to sell cuts of the songs for use as customized ringers on its mobile phones.

The Marley estate objected, claiming Verizon failed to get permission from the singer’s family before making use of his music and likeness on its Web site. The estate threatened to sue for trademark infringement.

“This is really between Universal and the Marley estate,” said Nancy Stark, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless.

On Monday, Verizon took down the songs to give Universal Music and the Marley estate time to work out the dispute.

Verizon reversed that action Thursday, after Fifty Six Hope Road Music Limited, the company owned by Marley’s family, put out a statement noting that the wireless carrier had ceded to its demands to take down the songs.

In the statement, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who is credited with introducing Marley’s music to the world, accused Verizon and Universal Music of trying to circumvent the Marley estate.

“It is disturbing that these companies refuse to give the musicians the respect they deserve.” said Blackwell, who is serving as a consultant to the Marley family.

“We cannot and will not allow Bob Marley’s name and likeness to be used in such a manner without the authorization of the family,” he said.

On Thursday, the record company issued a statement saying its deal with Verizon only involved ringtones and does not constitute an overall endorsement of the wireless carrier.

Universal Music also said it would make Marley’s music available for sale by all wireless carriers.

Stark declined to disclose the terms of Verizon’s licensing deal with Universal but said the record company’s decision to make its Marley songs available to other wireless carriers does not violate the terms of the companies’ agreement.

Verizon Wireless initially approached the Marley estate to reach an endorsement deal in March, according to the Marley family statement.

Stark said the company had not heard from the Marley estate since it resumed selling the ringtones this week.

Attempts to reach someone at Fifty Six Hope Road Music were not immediately successful Friday.

Universal Music, a unit of Paris-based entertainment and telecom conglomerate Vivendi SA, declined to comment.

Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36, is widely credited with introducing reggae music to an international audience in the 1970s.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group PLC, based in England.

Icahn calls for sale of BEA Systems (AP)

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Icahn reported owning 33.4 million of BEA’s shares, or an 8.5 percent stake in the San Jose-based company.

Icahn’s stake was worth $426.5 million based on the stock price before the filing. After the filing, BEA shares rose 49 cents, or nearly 4 percent, to close at $13.25 Friday.

BEA’s stock has declined steadily over the past year. Before Icahn’s filing, the stock price was down 24 percent since its 52-week high last October, a drop that wiped out about $1.5 billion in shareholder wealth.

In the filing, Icahn blamed consolidation in the technology industry for hurting the business of independent software companies like BEA.

He said BEA’s stock is undervalued and a sale would help drive up the price if BEA were bolstered by the resources of a larger company that could boost sales while stripping out duplicate costs.

Icahn said he intends to meet with BEA’s management to discuss possibly selling the company and might seek to nominate people to the board of directors.

Last week, Icahn, known for his forceful investment tactics, was elected chairman of struggling homebuilder WCI Communities Inc. He launched an aggressive campaign to take control of the company’s board in April after shareholders rejected his $22-per-share offer.

BEA makes software that supports business activities such as billing, supply chain management and securities trading, by communicating between those programs and back-end systems like databases.

Such business software has been in high demand as companies move more of their tasks onto the Web, but competition has held down prices.

BEA’s market value stood Friday at $5.2 billion, many times less than the value of its monster-sized competitors. Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, had a market capitalization of $272.3 billion on Friday, while IBM stood at $156.6 billion and Oracle at $102.6 billion.

BEA shares have traded between $10.50 and $16.77 in the past 12 months.

Analysts said BEA has failed to stir enthusiasm among investors.

“You’re not seeing a whole lot of excitement there,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, a technology consulting firm in San Jose, Calif. “And this class of software, because of open source, it’s much harder to get people interested in it unless you’re doing phenomenally well in sales — which BEA has not been.”

BEA’s current financial figures aren’t available because the company hasn’t filed its financial statements going back more than a year. BEA has delayed filing is reports since the quarter that ended in July of last year while it completes an internal investigation into its stock options practices.

In February, BEA announced that it needs to restate its finances from 1998 through 2007 and expects to record non-cash compensation expenses of $340 million to $390 million before taxes.

Several current and former executives agreed to repay their gains from mispriced options, and the company restructured its human resources department.

Also on Friday, BEA said it has received an additional notice from the Nasdaq that it remains out of compliance because of the delayed filings and its shares remain in danger of being delisted.

BEA said it plans to file its delayed reports, excluding the most recent quarter, “as soon as practicable” after receiving comments from Securities and Exchange Commission officials. The company released some unaudited information in an annual report for last fiscal year.