EU plans to consider RFID legislation

The European Commission has initiated a public inquiry to determine whether to call for new legislation to regulate the use of radio frequency identification tags. As part of the inquiry, the EC will work with worldwide government and industry groups to agree on interoperability standards for RFID equipment. The effort comes as some consumers express fear that the technology can compromise privacy.

Microsoft to issue two patch updates

Microsoft Corp. will issue updates for its Office suite and Windows in its monthly patch release tomorrow. The Office patch was called "critical" and will include updates that may require that systems be restarted, the company said. The Windows patch was rated "important" and doesn't require rebooting, Microsoft said.

Novell hires Lucent exec to head unit