PC World: November 2008

Some time back we all got a mail saying there is a new browser called Xaurora solely developed by a Sri Lankan (Dr.),
using assembly language, which no longer used for developing such enterprise software. You may refer the following article on dailymirror.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=33081
Article is display below.
The actual software behind Xaurora is Maxthan based in Hong Kong you can check out their forum on,
http://forum.maxthon.com/redirect.php?tid=74416&goto=lastpost#lastpost

How did one man almost dupe the Sri Lanka IT community?
By Dinidu de Alwis
Sri Lankan internet users were thrilled when an individual announced the launch of xAurora, a web browser was made with Sri Lankan technology by a Sri Lankan. The website of the browser describes it as "the World's most safest / fastest web browser". The site goes on to say that development work started on the browser in 2001, and that it can compete with the world's giants in web browsing, Firefox by Mozilla, Internet Explorer by Microsoft, Safari by Apple and Opera. The developer of the software, Dr. Sameera de Alwis urges the visitors of the web site to promote it as much as possible, and closes with "Hail Sri Lanka - Proud to be a Sri Lankan". And promoted and appreciated it was, having been awarded the Bronze prize in the "Research and Development" category in the 2006 National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA), organized by the British Computer Society - Sri Lanka Section. The website and the documentation that is provided with the software states that it was a creation from scratch, and that it uses features which are "totally innovative from Sri Lanka". But how much of this is true? Was the information technology community in Sri Lanka duped? The software xAurora is an edited version of an already existing piece of software called "Maxthon", and not a new creation by Dr. de Alwis. xAurora came under scrutiny after bloggers and software engineers who were suspicious of the claims that an e mail of the presentation that Dr. de Alwis started making the rounds in the Sri Lankan ICT community made, of the software being coded entirely in Low Level Assembly language, a technology not being used for consumer software anymore. The Daily Mirror contacted Maxthon, based in Hong Kong about the issue and the development team at Maxthon International has examined xAurora and determined that it is, indeed, a hack of Maxthon's 1.x Classic version. Jeff Chen, the CEO of the company, and other members of the development team confirmed that xAurora consists almost entirely of Maxthon code, with the primary change being that the word "Maxthon" has been replaced by "xAurora" in the browser. Chen said that Maxthon is preparing legal answer to restrain the illegal program. He did not say what type of legal action. "After more investigation, we are pretty sure it's a hacked version of Maxthon 1.x," Chen said. "We have never given them rights to modify/re-distribute Maxthon. Some supporters of Sameera de Alwis posted messages on Maxthon's online forum at http://forum.maxthon.com claiming the controversy was begun by Maxthon and that statements by Maxthon developers were an attack on Sri Lanka and that xAurora was really promoting Maxthon."In the official statement issued, the creators of Maxthon state "If you love Maxthon and want to promote Maxthon, please show your respect. Hacking and changing Maxthon's brand / ownership are definitely offending." In the software itself, and personally, Dr. de Alwis claims that the programme was supported by the Information Communication Technology Authority of Sri Lanka. When ICTA was contacted by the Daily Mirror, Head of Communication at ICTA Athula Pushpakumara stated that ICTA had never been involved in the xAurora project. "We have currently commissioned the Computer Emergency Response Team (SL-CERT) to look into the matter," he said and added that the ICTA was looking into taking legal action regarding this misrepresentation. But how did such a piece of software win an award? Upon being contacted, the British Computer Society stated that when nominations are sent, the software is run through a demonstration process to see how it functions. The authors then get the opportunity to conduct a presentation for a judging panel.The Daily Mirror has managed to obtain a copy of the presentation made by Dr. de Alwis. In slide 12 of the 31 slide presentation, Dr. de Alwis states "xAurora web browser is now funded by ICTA - Sri Lanka, ICTA is enabling this browser on their NANASALA @ e-Sri LANKA Project". Both these claims, ICTA flatly denies. "The only connection ICTA had with Dr. de Alwis was as a part of an outsourcing operation, a team of which Dr. de Alwis was a part of in 2006. He has no affiliation with ICTA whatsoever", confirmed ICTA. The Daily Mirror met with Dr. de Alwis to obtain a statement, but he refused to comment on the project itself on the grounds that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had instructed him not to make statements as there was an ongoing investigation by the CID into the matter. When requested details to verify these claims, Dr. de Alwis was unable to provide any. He also added that he had contacted Interpol, and that they were conducting an investigation as well. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the British Computer Society (the awarding body of National Best Quality Software Awards) stated that they are aware of the possibility of misconduct, and that the BCS will be launching an independent investigation. If proved that xAurora was not an original piece of software as claimed by Dr. de Alwis, he would run the possibility of the award being recalled. "We run on trust, and the basic requirement is that the software needs to be created within Sri Lanka. There can be components from external parties, but these need to be cited and should be less than the components done by Sri Lankans," said Ruwan Amarasekera, Secretary of the British Computer Society -- Sri Lanka section.
Related Links:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=33081

http://blog.maxthon.com/?p=158

http://forum.maxthon.com/redirect.php?tid=74416&goto=lastpost#lastpost