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| Oct 2008 | Sep 2008 | Aug 2008 | Jul 2008 | Jun 2008 | May 2008 | Apr 2008 | Mar 2008 | Feb 2008 | Jan 2008 | Dec 2007 | Nov 2007 |Mon, 31 Mar 08
Apple Updates iPhone SDK Amid Complaints
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59038
Apple released the second beta version of its software development kit for the iPhone Thursday. The new version contains one significant upgrade: the Interface Builder, a visual editor that lets developers drag and drop icons to easily create the user interface in their applications.
Some developers had been holding off working on iPhone apps until the interface tool arrived.
While several big-name companies have signed on to develop applications for the iPhone, many independent developers have expressed dismay at the level of access the SDK permits.
The latest major company to express interest in iPhone development is Microsoft, which, Fortune reported earlier this week, has been poring over the SDK. "It's really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone," said Tom Gibbons, vice president of Microsoft's specialized devices and applications group. "To the extent that Mac Office customers have the functionality they need in that environment -- we're actually in the process of trying to understand that now."
Microsoft is one of the largest developers for the Mac outside of Apple and it knows about mobile applications, so it would be well positioned to deliver iPhone apps. "We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us the confidence to be able to do something," Gibbons said. "The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We're still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It's just come out."
Besides Microsoft Office for Mac, Microsoft may well bring its TellMe voice-recognition application -- acquired a year ago -- to the iPhone. If Apple allows applications to do voice recording and location identification, "We're absolutely going to get a version [of TellMe] out there as soon as we can," said Gibbons.
But not everyone is thrilled with the SDK. Writing on...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Dell Rolls Out Sub-$900 Laptop with Blu-ray Drive
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59037
With the high-definition format wars over, Dell is offering a laptop with Blu-ray for under $900. Aimed at movie buffs, the Inspiron 1525 with optional Blu-ray drive starts at $879.
Dell's reasoning: As retailers and video-rental companies expand their high-definition offerings, Blu-ray is the new "must-have" technology to help consumers get the most out of the viewing experience.
"Like everyone else, Dell was inhibited by the dual-standard situation. Dell wanted to make sure it didn't overcommit before the technology decision was made between Blu-ray and HD DVD," said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. "Now that it is clear what the standard is, Dell is building to that. Of course, Dell has always been a major supporter of Blu-ray."
The Inspiron 1525 laptop features a 15.4-inch high-definition, wide-aspect display with 720p resolution. It also includes an HDMI port for connectivity to high-resolution displays and HDTVs.
The Blu-ray disc drive is fully backward compatible, according to Dell, and will play as well as burn traditional DVDs and CDs. Consumers can also chose a Blu-ray burner drive for backing up and storing digital files. A Blu-ray disc will hold up to 50GB of data, compared to 8.5GB for the typical DVD disc.
Dell's Inspiron 1525 with Blu-ray incorporates Broadcom Media PC technology that allows PCs with integrated graphics to play high-definition video. The high-definition video playback is enabled through a built-in dedicated accelerator located in a mini-card slot.
Like all Dell consumer laptops, the Inspiron 1525 features Dell MediaDirect technology which promises one-button instant access to media files, even if the system is powered off or in hibernate.
Dell is offering optional accessories to enhance the movie-watching experience, including a slim travel power adapter, a remote control that slips into the ExpressCard slot, and Creative noise-isolation earphones.
David Daoud, manager of...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
MacBook Air Hacked -- But It Was the Browser's Fault
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59034
First he hacked Apple's iPhone. Now he's hacked Apple's MacBook Air. But some analysts are warning not to be quick to judge security based on Charlie Miller's work.
Miller, a researcher at Independent Security Evaluators, won $10,000 and a laptop Thursday at the CanSecWest security conference's Pwn 2 Own hacking contest. He did it by hacking the MacBook Air -- and it took him all of two minutes.
CanSecWest organizers offered a Sony Vaio, Fujitsu U810 and a MacBook as booty for hackers who could find a way to breach security and gain access to the contents of system files using a previously undisclosed zero-day attack. A zero-day attack is the exploitation of unpatched software vulnerabilities.
The first day of the contest, hackers were only allowed to hack into the computers over a network. No one was able to claim the prizes. On the second day, the rules changed. Contestants were allowed to use the machines to visit Web sites and open e-mail messages. The new rules were a game-changer for Miller, who almost immediately found a way in.
Miller is familiar with Apple's architecture. He is perhaps best known as one of the first researchers to hack Apple's iPhone. This time around, he hacked the MacBook Air by visiting a Web site with exploit code he created. That code allowed him to take control of the computer as onlookers enjoyed the show. Jake Honoroff and Mark Daniel were on the Miller team from Independent Security Evaluators.
"They were able to exploit a brand-new zero-day vulnerability in Apple's Safari Web browser. Coincidentally, Apple has just started to ship Safari to some Windows machines through its iTunes update service. The vulnerability has been acquired by the Zero-Day Initiative, and has been responsibly disclosed to Apple, who is now working on the issue," according to...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Motorola's Mobile-TV Handheld Will Debut Overseas
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59033
Motorola has taken the wraps off the Mobile TV DH02 -- a handheld entertainment center capable of displaying live and prerecorded digital-TV programs as well as other multimedia content.
Smaller than a paperback novel and tipping the scales at 240 grams, the Mobile TV DH02 is designed to display both live and prerecorded digital video at a high-quality screen refresh rate of 25 frames per second. Even better, flip the handset from a vertical to a horizontal orientation, and the screen automatically changes to a landscape mode that offers the same panoramic 16:9 aspect ratio offered by today's high-definition TV broadcasts.
However, American consumers should not expect to see Motorola's new mobile-TV device on store shelves any time soon. Motorola says the DH02 is far more likely to take its inaugural bows overseas.
The Mobile TV DH02 sports a 4.8-inch LCD display with a screen resolution of 480x272 pixels and support for up to 16 million colors. The device's touch-screen user interface features intuitive click, drag and scroll icon-based menus, while the device's built-in Bluetooth radio makes it a snap to wirelessly connect with compatible stereo headsets.
To make viewing live TV even easier, the DH02 comes with a built-in electronic program guide and an automatic channel-scan capability (UHF channels 21 to 69). Several personal-video recording (PVR) capabilities are also on tap, such as time shift, live pause, and frame grabbing.
The new handheld device fully supports technology for storing digital-TV programs, music (AAC and MP3) and photos (JPEG, GIF and PNG) on microSD memory cards. And the essential GPS technology is also onboard for enabling voice-activated directions and the display of points of interest on Tele Atlas map views.
Motorola Vice President Navin Mehta said the DH02 also incorporates a 2.5G/3G mobile back channel capability. The delivery...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Blocking Foes Aren't Ready to Trust Comcast
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59032
In what might be seen as an exercise in crisis management, Comcast finally agreed Thursday to alter the way it manages its network, committing to a "protocol-neutral" method in which any traffic throttling would occur only at peak times and without targeting certain applications.
Comcast has targeted large media files using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol. News reports of the practice resulted in a public outcry, a Federal Communications Commission public hearing and renewed efforts to pass a Net-neutrality law.
In a joint press release with BitTorrent, Comcast said it will switch to the new technique by the end of the year, resulting in a "traffic-management technique that is more appropriate for today's emerging Internet trends."
BitTorrent CTO Eric Klinker praised Comcast's new "understand[ing of] changing traffic patterns," saying Comcast "wants to collaborate with us to migrate to techniques that the Internet community will find to be more transparent."
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin offered tepid praise for Comcast's announcement and expressed concern that the current discriminatory practice will continue into 2009. "I am pleased that Comcast has reversed course and agreed that it is not a reasonable network-management practice to arbitrarily block certain applications on its network," Martin said in a written statement. He commended the company for "admitting publicly" its practices.
Martin expressed concern, however, that Comcast won't end the discrimination against BitTorrent until the end of the year -- and even longer in some markets. "While it may take time to implement its preferred new traffic-management technique, it is not at all obvious why Comcast couldn't stop its current practice of arbitrarily blocking its broadband customers from using certain applications. Comcast should provide its broadband customers as well as the commission with a commitment of a date certain by when it will stop this practice," he said.
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Apple's Aperture Now Allows Plug-In Photo Tools
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59031
Apple introduced Friday a plug-in architecture for its Aperture photo application. The plug-ins will let photographers utilize third-party imaging tools within Aperture, whose 2.1 version is now available as a free update to Aperture 2.0 owners. The update comes only about six weeks after the release of 2.0.
One Apple-developed plug-in is available now. Called Dodge & Burn, it provides brush-based tools for dodging or lightening, burning or darkening, contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur.
Apple Vice President Rob Schoeben said Aperture 2 has won over the most demanding photographers because of its image quality. He added that the new open plug-in architecture will let users "access an entire industry's worth of imaging expertise without ever leaving Aperture." According to news reports, a full software development kit for third-party developers will be released.
As an example of how Aperture is now all a photographer will need as a software tool, Apple pointed to John Stanmeyer, a contributing photographer for Time and National Geographic. He said in a statement that he "can't imagine when I'll have to open any other application to tone my images."
The installed plug-ins can be summoned by clicking on one or more images within Aperture and choosing from a menu that allows the plug-in to be applied to either TIFF or RAW images.
Apple noted that a variety of third-party companies are developing plug-ins, including the Viveza plug-in from Nik Software, which allows for precise control of color and light in an image. Picture Code's Noise Ninja is for advanced high ISO noise analysis and reduction.
A plug-in coming from Digital Film Tools, called the Power Stroke, offers a stroke-based interface for quick masking and other targeted adjustments. The dpMatte from dvGarage provides what Apple described as "a high-performance chroma key tool for creating seamless composites."...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
AT&T Will Offer Mobile TV Similar to Verizon's Service
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59015
Television programs on cell phones and other mobile devices took another step toward becoming widespread Thursday with AT&T's announcement that it will launch its Mobile TV with FLO in May.
The mobile-TV service from the largest U.S. mobile carrier will provide high-quality, live television content and sporting events from leading networks, as well as programming from two exclusive channels. The networks include CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go, and Nickelodeon. AT&T already offers music services and Web access as it tries to boost its revenue from content while phone-service prices continue to drop.
The content of the two channels that will be available only to AT&T customers was not announced. Mobile TV with FLO is provided by MediaFLO USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm.
The TV service will be available initially only on two devices from AT&T, the LG Vu, which has a large interactive touch screen, and the Samsung Access, which features a large landscape display.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, noted that, with the possible exception of the two exclusive but undefined channels, AT&T's service is essentially the same basic service offered by Verizon Wireless.
He described MediaFLO as "the best mobile-TV service I've seen," adding that the "video is smooth, changing channels is instantaneous, and it feels like TV." He also pointed out that it isn't carried over the AT&T or Verizon networks, but over MediaFLO's own network. As a result, the coverage for the MediaFLO services is not the same as the phone coverage on either AT&T or Verizon's networks, Greengart said.
He said it's probably best that AT&T waited to launch MediaFLO because it gave the service time to work out "the kinks," including contracts with more content providers. But he...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Google Click-Through Rates Down
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59013
New data confirming slowing growth in Google Inc.'s paid clicks renewed debate Thursday on Wall Street over whether the Internet search company's revenue can quickly adjust to changes it made in how it generates clicks.
Citing data that comScore Inc. released after the market closed on Wednesday, analysts said growth in Google's click-through rate has nearly ground to a halt.
Google's stock dropped $16.09, more than 3.5 percent, to $442.10 in afternoon trading.
The click-through rate grew 3 percent in February compared to a year earlier, and January saw no increase compared to January 2007. Several months earlier, the rate was growing 25 percent to 40 percent compared to a year earlier. The new data is in line with click-through declines Google reported last quarter.
Google, which gets paid when users click on a sponsored ad that comes up as the result of a Google search, has reported steadily rising per-click revenue.
The Mountain View-based company said in January that the drop in click-through rates is a result of its efforts to boost the usefulness of each click to its advertisers' sales performance. For instance, the company decreased the space around a word that would result in a click, so more clicks would be intentional.
Analysts disagree on how long it will take Google's per-click revenue to adjust to any increased value per click it has created.
Rob Sanderson, an analyst with American Technology Research, said per-click revenue will rise immediately if advertisers see more value in each click, because they'll pay more for them at auction.
"It's not clicks that advertisers are really buying, it's what those clicks get them, which is sales conversions," said Sanderson.
Colin Gillis, an Internet analyst at Canaccord Adams, also was optimistic.
"It's very difficult to spin this as positive data point, but it also doesn't mean the world is ending," Gillis said.
The click-through...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
AMD Intros Triple-Core Processor for Hard-Core Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59010
AMD on Thursday introduced the first triple-core x86 processor for the desktop that it hopes will become the ultimate mainstream desktop platform. The Phenom X3 8000 series triple-core processor targets PC gamers and digital-media enthusiasts. The processor promises improved multithreaded application performance over dual-core processors at the same clock speed.
"In 2007, AMD committed to delivering AMD Phenom triple-core processors in Q1 2008 and today the company makes good on that promise," said Vice President Bob Brewer. "AMD understands that today's PC applications are best accelerated with a range of multicore products from quad- to triple- to dual-core processors."
When paired with the AMD 780 series chipset, AMD said Phenom X3 processors can deliver a full high-definition experience with support for the latest formats, including VC-1, MPEG-2 and H.264, on a mainstream PC. When used with the AMD Unified Video Decoder, AMD said its new solution offers a smooth HD viewing experience -- less lag, stalling and dropped scenes -- in the latest Blu-ray titles.
Desktop PCs with the AMD Phenom X3 processor and AMD 780G chipset also offer DirectX 10 game compatibility, the company said, offering casual gamers lifelike 3D graphics and dynamic interactivity.
What's more, AMD said, gamers looking to scale their performance with the addition of a discrete graphics card can accelerate their performance with ATI Hybrid Graphics Technology. According to AMD, this technology can harness the graphics power of both an ATI discrete graphics card and the motherboard GPU in tandem, delivering in some applications up to 70 percent improvements in 3D performance.
Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, called the announcement interesting. The industry, he said, is beginning to see there is a natural role for hybrid systems that combine common computing processes with higher-end digital media and digital media features.
This specialized...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Rambus Wins Memory-Chip Trial
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59002
Rambus Inc. scored a key victory Wednesday in its nearly decade-old fight with memory chip makers when a jury found the company did not engage in monopolistic behavior by patenting technologies that eventually became standard in memory chips.
Shares of the Los Altos-based company shot up $7.25, or nearly 39 percent, to $25.86 during regular-session trading on the news. They gained another $1.02 to $26.88 after hours.
The jury's decision could help Rambus as it tries to collect millions of dollars in royalties on patents some of the biggest memory chip makers claim were fraudulently obtained.
Rambus makes most of its money by licensing patented chip designs that were created by its engineers and used widely by other companies in their DRAM chips, or dynamic random access memory, the most common type of memory chip used in personal computers.
Rambus had about $180 million in revenue in 2007.
However, Rambus still faces major court battles over its patents, including its attempt to overturn a 2006 Federal Trade Commission ruling that the company deceived a standards-setting committee and created a monopoly in the memory chip industry. Rambus is hoping for a decision by this summer on its appeal.
After a seven-week trial, a jury in U.S. District Court in San Jose decided Wednesday in Rambus' favor on all three counts it was deliberating, according to Thomas Lavelle, Rambus' general counsel. The jury deliberated for just one day.
In the lawsuit, originally filed in 2000, chip makers Micron Technology Inc., Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and Nanya Technology Corp. argued that patents held by Rambus for key technologies now included in their chips should be considered invalid. And they said they shouldn't have to pay royalties to Rambus.
The companies say Rambus engaged in illicit behavior in filing the patents for technologies used in DRAM chips.
The FTC found Rambus deliberately withheld information...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Technology Makes It Easier To Unlock Mobile Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59000
It is just another cell phone shop on a side street in Milan's Chinatown, but come here often enough and buy a plastic phone cover or little trinket each time and sooner or later you will have earned the confidence of the twentysomething behind the counter. After
that, all you need is euro 20 to get your phone unlocked.
Unlock, hack, crack -- the terms are numerous, the result is the same: a mobile phone that will work with any SIM card on any carrier's GSM network in any country around the world. And just as you can get it done at the little Milan shop squeezed between a Chinese restaurant and a food store, there are people who will do it for a fee in most cities from here to Hanoi.
Wireless carriers often offer customers cheap or free phones in exchange for signing multiyear contracts, but then the phones are technologically "locked" -- the subscriber cannot cancel the contract and sign up for service with another company.
But the temptation of better service, lower prices, a newer phone or just the desire to show that it can be done has motivated people to unlock phones pretty much since the first locks appeared.
About 70 percent of the phones sold in European countries where operators cover all or part of the cost of the handset are sold locked because the operators want to recoup their subsidies, said Carolina Milanesi, a research director with Gartner in Britain. In the three European countries where handsets are usually sold at market prices -- Belgium, Finland and Italy -- probably 30 percent of the phones are sold locked, she said.
Milanesi said that almost all phones are locked in the United States when people sign up with an operator; likewise with Japan, although the situation varies elsewhere in Asia.
If...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Can Sprint's WiMax Alliance Last?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58997
It's crunch time, yet again, for Sprint's troubled next-generation wireless network -- and the unlikely collection of on-again, off-again partnerships the company needs to get the technology off the ground.
Google and the nation's two biggest cable TV companies are among the investors finalizing negotiations to provide up to $2.5 billion for Sprint and a smaller wireless provider named Clearwire to build the nationwide network, according to a source close to the talks. "The deal is about 90 percent done," but could fall apart at the last minute before a planned Apr. 1 announcement, this person says.
The proposed alliance with Comcast, Time Warner, and a smaller provider called Brighthouse Networks would revive the cable industry's soured relationship with Sprint, whose financial travails have forced it to find more backing for the new network based on a Wi-Fi relative called WiMax. It would also finally bring to fruition a lengthy dalliance between Sprint and Clearwire that seemed to unravel late last year.
What binds these bedfellows? One motivation is their common interest in forging a bulwark against the biggest and most formidable telecom service providers, AT&T and Verizon.
Under the proposed deal, Sprint would spin off its Xohm-branded WiMax business and merge it with Clearwire to create what they hope will be the first company to deliver so-called 4G, or fourth-generation, speeds to mobile devices across the U.S. Sprint and Clearwire have been exploring ways to join forces for such a venture for two years, with the possibilities ranging from simple roaming agreements to a full-fledged merger of WiMax efforts. But to date they haven't been able to agree on funding or management for the $5 billion project.
Indeed, it still wasn't immediately clear whether a Sprint or Clearwire executive would take the lead in Xohm's operations, nor where the new company would be...
Mon, 31 Mar 08
Analysts See Problems Despite Motorola Breakup
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58995
On Wednesday, Motorola announced plans to split itself into two independent companies. On Thursday, the industry continued debating whether that is the right move.
The move is part of Motorola's efforts to reposition its mobile-devices and broadband and mobility-solutions businesses. But the split won't happen until 2009.
"We remain committed to improving the performance of our mobile-devices business by delivering compelling products that meet the needs of customers and consumers around the world," Motorola CEO Greg Brown said.
As part of Motorola's effort to deliver market-winning products, Brown added, the company has undertaken a global search for a new chief executive for the mobile-devices business.
"We believe strongly in our brand, our people and our intellectual property, and expect that the mobile-devices business will be well positioned to regain market leadership as a focused, independent company," Brown said.
According to Strategy Analytics, Motorola's decision to break up the company is a step in the right direction. The move will enable Motorola to focus on two of its core competencies -- mobile handsets and the digital home.
Peter King, director of the Strategy Analytics Connected Home service, has long argued that Motorola remains less than the sum of its parts where its consumer strategy is concerned.
"With leading positions in mobile and connected home, Motorola should be driving the market forward with original consumer technology concepts," King said. "But we see little sign that it is maximizing that potential. Separation should help the company direct its efforts more effectively toward broadband and digital opportunities."
Beyond the opportunities for Motorola in the mobile and connected-home areas, Bonny Joy, a wireless analyst at Strategy Analytics, expects the spin-off of the mobile division to enable Motorola to focus on its core competency in cellular handsets -- with one caveat.
"We must...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Yahoo Joins Google and MySpace in OpenSocial Foundation
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58972
Yahoo has hooked up with Google and MySpace as a founding member of the OpenSocial Foundation. The foundation is an outgrowth of the OpenSocial network, which Google launched last year to build open standards for social-networking sites.
"Industry consortiums such as this often start slowly and evolve over time. So far, OpenSocial is rapidly growing and adapting, but still in the early stages," Wade Chambers, Yahoo vice president for platforms, wrote on Yahoo's corporate blog. But OpenSocial is "no longer a trial balloon -- it's for real," Chambers wrote. "We are taking this opportunity to help ensure Web sites and developers feel confident using OpenSocial as the building blocks for their new social apps."
Yahoo sees OpenSocial as a natural extension of the Web services and APIs it offers through its Yahoo Developer Network. "We think OpenSocial will continue to fuel this innovation and make the Web more relevant and more enjoyable to millions," Chambers wrote.
"Together with the OpenSocial community, we are setting new industry specifications for social Web-application development," said Steve Pearman, MySpace senior vice president of product strategy. The foundation will allow participants to "work together to provide developers with the tools to make the Internet move faster and to foster more innovation and creativity."
"OpenSocial has been a community-driven specification from the beginning," said Joe Kraus, Google's director of product management. "The formation of this foundation will ensure that it remains so in perpetuity. Developers and Web sites should feel secure that OpenSocial will be forever free and open."
The OpenSocial movement is based on several core elements: Public specifications available under a Creative Commons license, community involvement to shape direction, and an open-source reference implementation called Shindig, which is being developed in the Apache Software Foundation incubator.
OpenSocial attempts to address the problem of integration in the social-networking...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Google Renews Push to Access White Space
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58971
Google may not have walked away with assets in the latest U.S. wireless-spectrum auction, but the Internet giant is moving to get in on the action. Google has revived its pitch to use TV "white space" -- vacant TV airwaves -- to offer Internet service.
In a letter, Google asked the Federal Communications Commission to open up the white space for unlicensed use. The Internet giant hopes to foster widespread, affordable Internet access over the TV airwaves.
"As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized," wrote Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media lawyer. "Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow."
From Google's perspective, the space between channels 2 and 51 on TV sets not connected to cable or satellite services -- known as white space -- offers a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans." And, Whitt wrote, opening the unused airwaves would "enable much-needed competition to the incumbent broadband service providers."
Google is not pushing alone. The White Spaces Coalition, an industry consortium that includes Google, Dell, HP, Intel, Philips, Earthlink, Samsung and Microsoft, is pushing to use the analog frequencies with a promise to deliver speeds up to 100 Mbps at lower costs than current market options.
Most FCC commissioners have said they would support the use of white space as long as the technologies that run over the spectrum do not interfere with TV broadcast signals.
However, television broadcasters, sports leagues, wireless microphone manufacturers, and others have long asserted that devices operating over unused TV channels either interfere with TV signals or fail to detect those signals in order to avoid creating interference.
"The bottom line here is...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
IBM Invests in Open-Source Database for Enterprises
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58970
IBM is among the investors participating in a $10 million boost for open-source vendor EnterpriseDB, which offers enterprise-class products based on PostgreSQL. Also investing are Charles River Ventures, Fidelity Ventures and Valhalla Partners, the company announced at the Open Source Business Conference in San Francisco.
The influx is the latest step in EnterpriseDB's relationship with IBM. The companies have worked together on versions of EnterpriseDB's Advanced Server product for Linux on IBM System z mainframes and for AIX on IBM System p servers.
"This latest round of investment in EnterpriseDB is an acknowledgment of our business model, technical innovation, and emergence as a leading force in the PostgreSQL community, including our work in the areas of database compatibility and performance," said Andy Astor, EnterpriseDB CEO.
IBM hailed the investment as part of its long-standing commitment to open source. "Global organizations of all sizes rely upon open-source technologies to free information from proprietary silos and use it in innovative ways across their businesses," said Inna Kuznetsova, IBM's director of Linux strategy
The new investment brings total venture funding for four-year-old EnterpriseDB to $37.5 million. EnterpriseDB now boasts 200 enterprise companies and will be profitable within a year, Astor said.
EnterpriseDB is positioned as cheaper but competitive with industrial-strength Oracle and more powerful than the free open-source MySQL database. Sun recently purchased MySQL for $1 billion.
IBM's investment in EnterpriseDB "can be seen as a slap of sorts at the Sun acquisition," said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, in a telephone interview.
"EnterpriseDB was a direct competitor of MySQL," King noted. "EnterpriseDB feels theirs is the better offering, especially for transactional environments." When Sun acquired MySQL, it left EnterpriseDB as the only free-standing, enterprise-class open-source offering.
IBM called the investment "another example of IBM's long-standing commitment to open standards." But while IBM has...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
XM-Sirius Merger Faces a New Hurdle: FCC Approval
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58969
On Monday, the Department of Justice approved the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius, former rivals in the satellite radio market. But the companies still have one last obstacle to clear: Federal Communications Commission approval.
"After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers," the DOJ said.
Despite a green light from the DOJ, observers are skeptical that the FCC will allow Sirius to complete its $4.59 billion purchase of XM. The companies claim widespread support for the deal, but others have monopolistic concerns about the merger. The deal was first announced in February 2007.
Sirius and XM, both money-losing ventures, are touting lower prices and increased programming choices that they say the merger will mean for consumers. The companies have urged the FCC to approve the merger without delay.
The companies unveiled an array of new programming options, including two first-of-their-kind, à la carte packages where consumers can individually select the channels they wish to receive.
A public-opinion survey found that more than 70 percent of respondents thought the new packages would be a good deal for consumers. The companies currently offer 100 channels and charge about $13 a month.
Members of Congress from both political parties have urged approval. Two former FCC chairmen and former FCC staff members have voiced support. Leading car manufacturers have all cited consumer benefits inherent in the merger.
The nation's leading voices for minority audiences, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the League of United Latin American Citizens, have asked the FCC for approval. And religious leaders and family values advocates have...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Computer Problems Take Out DVD Renter Netflix
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58967
If you were expecting that DVD of The Bourne Ultimatum today, it could have been delayed by technical problems at Netflix. The popular DVD-rental site experienced a computer breakdown for most of Monday, from about 7 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m. Pacific time, according to a spokesperson. The problems reportedly affected both the Web site and internal computer systems.
Netflix's systems go down for maintenance once a week in the middle of the night, but the company said the maintenance mode unexpectedly started Monday. The company has not revealed the reason.
As a result, DVDs that were to be mailed on Monday were to go out Tuesday, as the outage also affected some distribution centers. Netflix did not specify what percentage of expected shipments to its 7.5 million customers were on time or delayed. However, the company said no stored information, such as subscribers' queue lists, was lost.
The Web site also suffered an 18-hour downtime last July, following heavy traffic resulting from lowering prices, but the Monday's glitch was more extensive than any in the company's nine-year history.
In July's glitch, the company's stock fell seven percent, but with its stock price rising, Netflix ended Monday with its stock up five percent.
One reason the outage probably won't have a lasting effect, said JupiterResearch analyst Bobby Tulsiani, is because of the Netflix brand's strength.
"Even the best Web sites, like eBay or YouTube, have technical problems sometimes," he noted. He added that, as with other strong brands, Netflix "has built up a large base of loyal customers," and its customers will understand that things like this can happen -- as long as it's not too often.
Netflix published an emergency notice on its site during the shutdown, along with a Customer Service phone number, and it noted that there were still...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Some Sites Object To Google's 'Search-Within-Search'
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58953
Google's new search-within-search feature, introduced earlier this month, may help users -- but it's not being welcomed by some businesses whose sites are featured. When a user selects a popular site selected by Google for this function, such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy, a separate search box opens and allows the user to search individual pages on that site.
It's the online equivalent of going to a store and asking for a product or category, such as a specific Sony camera or just digital cameras, rather than first asking the entire Web. The difference is that you remain on Google, outside the store's site.
One would think a major retailer would welcome such targeted searching of its domain. But Google search-results pages have ads, often hawking the wares of competing retailers.
Additionally, the search-within-search feature keeps users on Google's pages, so the traffic is mostly Google's, not the retailer's.
According to an article in The New York Times, which itself gets a search-within-search link, Google said it has not received many complaints from companies. But the Times cites executives and observers who find the feature objectionable.
Some observers have noted that the function also bypasses the "learn from past behavior" feature that some larger sites offer. This diminishes the retailer's ability to direct the user toward the product being sought and robs the user of a more directed search.
Some retailers are asking the search giant to turn this search-within-search feature off for their sites. For instance, the feature does not work for Internet retailing giant Amazon.com, which has apparently requested exclusion. According to news reports, Google says it has honored requests from some businesses, although the names were not revealed.
Google has said the feature is added when its indicators suggest a user might benefit from search drill-downs within...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
WiMAX Ready To Go Despite Australian Problems
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58952
Australian wireless network operator Buzz Broadband told attendees at an international WiMAX conference in Bangkok this month that it had experienced insurmountable problems with WiMAX. The problems included covering distances of more than two kilometers, reaching indoor locations more than 400 meters from the transmitter, and integrating VoIP telephony.
According to an Australian report cited by The New York Times, Buzz Broadband CEO Garth Freeman said his company was forced to move to a mix of other technologies after its WiMAX trials "failed miserably."
However, a number of WiMAX networks in Asia, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and North America have not seen similar problems, said Gartner Vice President Ian Keene. "Instead, we are seeing those networks expanding as conformance-tested products become available," he added.
"There certainly isn't any universal opinion that something is fundamentally wrong with WiMAX," Keene said. "Any technology can produce poor performances if you don't get it right."
Sprint spokesperson John Polivka said two important distinctions need to be drawn between the unsuccessful trials conducted in Australia and the successful launch of WiMAX systems in the U.S. and South Korea.
"Buzz Broadband was working with a fixed WiMAX installation in the 3.5-GHz spectrum, which is in stark contrast with Sprint's use of mobile WiMAX technology in the 2.5-GHz spectrum," Polivka said.
WiMAX systems running at 2.5 GHz attain better building penetration than those operating in the significantly higher 3.5-GHz spectrum, Polivka explained. "Fixed systems are also heavily dependent on line of sight, whereas mobile WiMAX does not," he noted.
Polivka cited the trials that Sprint and its partners conducted in Chicago last October as an example of what WiMAX can do. "In the thick of an urban environment, and even underground in some places," Polivka said, "the signals were continuously available with no disruption." He also noted...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Airline Debuts In-Flight Mobile Phone Service
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58950
The friendly skies just got a little noisier. Emirates Airline, a Dubai-based carrier, now allows mobile phone calls during its flights -- and more airlines are moving in the same direction.
The airline is using equipment from AeroMobile that allows voice calls, SMS text messaging, and other applications using a GSM phone, according to David Coiley, vice president of external relations at AeroMobile.
"We prioritized GSM phones because we uniquely can operate over the existing Inmarsat satellite communication system installed on over 2,000 wide-body airliners around the world," he said. "Those airliners will typically fly on long-haul intercontinental routes, and GSM tech is the appropriate technology for the devices that passengers bring with them on that type of aircraft."
CDMA phones, common in North America, may in the future be able to take advantage of in-flight mobile services if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifts its ban on in-flight calls. Piggybacking on the Inmarsat satellites helps circumvent concerns that the use of wireless devices in-flight may cause "interference to wireless networks on the ground," which, according to an FCC consumer advisory, is the reason that cell-phone use is prohibited on planes.
Coiley said that data from the Emirates flights may help debunk some of the etiquette concerns that were raised when the FCC considered dropping its ban, adding that he thought the concerns were "somewhat overstated, without some of the commentators knowing all of the details with regard to how these services are implemented and what can be done to encourage appropriate behavior." Coiley added, "I think people are a little more sensible than some would give them credit for, and the appropriate behavior will emerge anyway."
Coiley said that there will always be a finite amount of bandwidth available on an aircraft, "so the one thing that will not...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Replaying System Crashes Can Pinpoint Problem
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58940
Anyone who uses a computer knows what it's like to have the system crash. Crashes are the digital world's addition to that short list of inevitables, death and taxes. But what if you could record the crash and play it back, like a video recorder for software?
That idea inspired two software engineers, Jonathan Lindo and Jeffrey Daudel, to devise such a product. They have succeeded, and are now moving from the niche market where they proved the idea and onto a bigger stage.
System crashes and other software flaws are more than an annoyance. A 2002 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States estimated that software flaws cost the economy there as much as $59.5 billion a year.
For software developers, the flaws that cause crashes rank among their biggest problems, especially the ones that cannot be reproduced, like the noise in the car engine that disappears when you visit the mechanic.
Lindo says he and Daudel found themselves overwhelmed by bugs they could not find while working together at an Internet start-up in 2002. "We were spending almost all of our time not fixing the issues, but trying to get to the point where we could just see the issue, and we said, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could just TiVo this and replay it?'" Lindo recalls.
Innovation by analogy is a powerful concept, says Giovanni Gavetti, an associate professor at the Harvard Business School who, with his colleague Jan Rivkin, has published research on how businesses can use analogic reasoning as a strategic tool. Human beings are analogy machines, he notes, dealing with new information by comparing it to things they already know something about.
It would take time for Lindo and Daudel to prove that their analogy worked. They were tackling a daunting problem --...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Dailymotion Takes on YouTube
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58939
In a gray bunker of a building with a graveyard as its neighbor, a freshly hired strike force of Internet executives, programmers and advertising representatives is mounting a grand mission to take on a global behemoth: Google's YouTube.
This is the new international headquarters of Dailymotion, an online video-sharing company, in the north of Paris. In the sprawling landscape of Internet video sites, Dailymotion ranks a distant second, according to figures from the Internet audience tracking company ComScore. But in France, it has managed to pull ahead of YouTube, the only competitor that has managed to do so in any major market. That success has encouraged Dailymotion to expand in other places, including the United States and Britain.
"YouTube is the dominant player and other players are quite distant, but Dailymotion is the one player that has been able to counter that trend," said Piers Stobbs, vice president for marketing at ComScore.
Fueled by the spread of broadband, video is one of the fastest-growing areas on the Internet, with "Internet television" services like Joost and Babelgum, video-sharing sites like YouTube and Dailymotion, and video sites from traditional broadcasters all competing for audiences. Investment is driven by the prospect of new revenue from advertising and product placement, even if hopes have so far mostly gone unfulfilled. With more than 80 percent of Internet users viewing online video in Britain, France and Germany, Europe has emerged as an important battleground.
YouTube, which Google bought for $1.65 billion in 2006, and Dailymotion are locked in a fierce struggle for market leadership in France. Dailymotion overtook YouTube in February, with 10.2 million unique visitors, compared with 8.8 million for YouTube, according to Nielsen, another audience tracking service. But worldwide, YouTube remains the Godzilla of video-sharing sites, with 258 million unique visitors in January, compared with 32 million for...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
Media Companies Battle Web Portals on Ads
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58937
Traditional media companies trying to stem the flow of advertising dollars to Google and other large Internet companies are increasingly building ad networks of their own, anchored by their brands.
The latest, Forbes Inc., announced Monday that it will start selling ads this spring for about 400 financial blogs. In recent months, Conde Nast, Viacom Inc., CBS Corp. and other major media companies also have unveiled topic-specific ad networks to lure advertisers that want to buy more ads than any single site can sell.
If newspapers, magazines and broadcasters cannot expand online ad inventory, they are "under threat of becoming less and less relevant to the advertiser," said Russ Fradin, chief executive of Adify Corp., whose technology runs ad networks for Forbes and others.
But these media networks -- some linking fewer than a dozen hand-picked Web sites -- may have a tough time competing with the larger networks of thousands assembled by Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.
Those companies have been expanding, too, spending at least $11 billion collectively to buy smaller ad networks and technologies -- and in Microsoft's case, also bidding more than $40 billion for Yahoo.
"As our technology has continued to advance, we've gotten better and better," said Lynda Clarizio, president of AOL's emerging Platform A advertising unit. "We can handle a lot of demand from advertisers."
The expansion drive by both sides comes as Internet users increasingly divide their time across scores of sites large and small. Advertisers would rather not deal with thousands of individual Web sites. Media companies and Internet portals alike are promoting networks as a way to reach larger audiences with "one-stop" ad buys.
So far, the portal ad networks have largely succeeded in selling their affiliates' leftover ad inventory at discounted rates and sharing revenue.
Now, by employing targeting techniques such...
Wed, 26 Mar 08
EA CFO Warren Jenson Leaving
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58936
Warren Jenson, the chief financial officer of Electronic Arts Inc. since 2002, is leaving the video game publisher in the midst of its hostile buyout bid for smaller rival Take-Two.
EA did not give a reason for Jenson's departure; a spokeswoman said Monday it was a "mutual decision" between him and Chief Executive John Riccitiello. After leaving the company in 2005, Riccitiello rejoined EA as CEO in April 2007, replacing Larry Probst, who'd been at the company's helm for 16 years.
"It's pretty clear that he's building his own team," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. EA also named a chief operating officer earlier this month, hiring John Pleasants, who also heads the company's global publishing operations.
The company said Monday it plans to announce a new CFO "shortly."
Redwood City, Calif.-based EA has offered to buy "Grand Theft Auto" publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. in a $2 billion tender offer that expires April 11. EA spokeswoman Holly Rockwood said Jenson's departure is not related to the Take-Two bid, which turned hostile earlier this month after Take-Two repeatedly rejected the $26-per-share offer as the wrong price at the wrong time.
Jenson, 51, will stay to help the company close its fiscal year, which ends this month. While EA didn't say whether it has found a replacement, Pachter said the way the company's press release is worded "means they have somebody."
Since joining EA, Riccitiello has reorganized the company into a city-state model, with four divisions and distinct, independent development studios. He is focusing on slashing spending at a time when the cost of developing new games is skyrocketing well into the millions.
Jenson's replacement, Pachter said, will have to be a pragmatic, hands-on, "almost dictatorial" CFO, to execute Riccitiello's spending cuts. Jenson served as finance chief at a broad range of companies, including Amazon.com, before joining EA....
Wed, 26 Mar 08
More Europeans Online Thanks to Broadband and 3G
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58902
More than 50,000 European homes and offices added a high-speed broadband Internet connection every day last year, the European Commission said Wednesday.
Increasing competition has cut prices to new lows as Internet speeds increase, it said, while mobile Internet 3G services doubled last year to 88 million users, some 20 percent of the EU's population.
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands now top a world league table for the percentage of people with broadband Internet, it said, although the European Union as a whole lags behind other major world regions with a "broadband penetration rate" of 20 percent.
More than half of broadband connections have speeds of 2 megabytes to 10 megabytes per second although there is now a "significant amount" of connections with more than 10 megabytes per second.
Some 19 million broadband lines were added across Europe last year, generating revenues of EU62 billion (US$98 billion) for telecommunications companies.
But the EU executive again criticized former state telecoms monopolies for keeping a tight grip on the telecoms market, saying they hold nearly half of broadband lines across the EU.
It said newer rivals still have limited access to telecoms lines that would allow them to provide more connections to customers.
The European Commission also repeated a warning that mobile phone operators are charging customers too much for data roaming, using mobile Internet services and text messaging when they go abroad.
"If operators do not react by July 2009, regulation will be inevitable," it said.
Text messages made up 14 percent of telecoms companies' revenues in 2007.
The entire telecoms sector in the European Union was worth nearly EU300 billion (US$473 billion) last year, growing by 1.9 percent from 2006.
A large chunk of those revenues -- EU137 billion (US$216 billion) -- come from mobile phones. Prices fell 14 percent as the EU introduced a price cap on voice call roaming....
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Microsoft Offers Free Support for Vista SP1
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58951
There have been enough problems with the Service Pack 1 update for Windows Vista that Microsoft is offering free tech support to anyone having problems, company representatives said on the official Vista blog.
A new SP1-specific support site says the free, unlimited support is available until March 18, 2009. The site offers e-mail, chat and phone support. As of this writing, the site was reporting one-day delays for e-mail responses and an 18-minute delay for chat responses.
The hours for chat are 5 a.m. to midnight Pacific time weekdays and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Phone support, at (866) 234-6020 is 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends.
The free support is apparently a response to widespread problems users have experienced in installing SP1. And just as with adoption of Vista itself, some enterprises are showing resistance to installing the major update.
The University of Pennsylvania is advising faculty and staff not to install SP1. The school's IT department said it will support Vista SP1 when it comes preinstalled on new systems, but "strongly recommends that all other users adopt a 'wait and see' attitude" toward updating, according to a university bulletin Friday.
Penn users should continue "to use previous versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista until after the initial bugs in SP1 are identified and fixed," the department said.
"Now that SP1 is available, I expect more and more companies to begin moving to Vista," said Charles King, princpal analyst with Pund-IT, in an e-mail. "However, given its complexity (compared to XP – with a new kernel, security features, and user interface), I expect vendors and others will also provide a number of Vista migration services, particularly for companies with hundreds or thousands of PCs."
Meanwhile, Vista users are angrily reporting on Microsoft blogs...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Carl Icahn Seeks Data On Motorola's Mobile-Device Unit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58949
Billionaire financier Carl Icahn has filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compell Motorola to disclose internal documents on its mobile-device business. He said he wants "to investigate whether and to what extent the board of directors of Motorola failed in their duties as directors in supervising management and setting policy and direction."
Icahn ultimately hopes to force Motorola to divest its struggling handset business, which he sees as hurting the company's bottom line.
"2008 was supposed to be a successful and profitable year in mobile devices with the potential to achieve 10 percent operating margins in the near future," Icahn said. "Instead, the results are a stockholders' nightmare."
To further enhance his clout, Icahn recently raised his ownership stake in Motorola from 5 percent to 6.3 percent, and he is seeking to place four outside executives on Motorola's board. "We intend to share with Motorola's stockholders information obtained pursuant to the request as part of our proxy battle with Motorola," Icahn said.
Motorola announced in January that it would be evaluating ways to help its mobile unit recapture growth and profitability. More recently, CEO Greg Brown noted that the strategic alternatives under consideration -- sell the mobile-device business, spin it off or fix it -- are not mutually exclusive options.
"I think they are building blocks," Brown said. "But obviously no decision has been made and we are still evaluating the strategic alternatives."
Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi believes Motorola's January announcement was intended to buy the company time by keeping "investors a little bit more happy and calm." However, she warned that the continuing uncertainty is hurting the company's relationships with wireless operators worldwide.
"I think we are now starting to see the operators being a little bit wary about value in the future and will be more cautious with...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
'Stealth' Safari Installation Draws Fire for Apple
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58948
Apple is under attack -- from a competing browser maker. Mozilla CEO John Lilly on Friday blasted Apple for including the Safari browser in its iTunes automatic update service for Mac and Windows operating systems. Mozilla makes the open-source Firefox Web browser.
"What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that's bad -- not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web," Lilly wrote in his blog.
From Lilly's perspective, it's important for users to be protected from vulnerabilities. Apple, he argues, is breaching a trust.
"There's an implicit trust relationship between software makers and customers in this regard: As a software maker we promise to do our very best to keep users safe and will provide the quickest updates possible, with absolutely no other agenda," Lilly said. "And when the user trusts the software maker, they'll generally go ahead and install the patch, keeping themselves and everyone else safe."
Apple has made it incredibly easy -- as the default -- for users to install ride-along software that they didn't ask for, and maybe don't want, according to Lilly. "This is wrong, and borders on malware distribution practices," he wrote. "It's wrong because it undermines the trust that we're all trying to build with users."
Lilly's blog post stirred up dozens of comments.
"This is just a sick way of tricking users to download their browser by making it seem as if an update is available for a piece of software already installed. I bet it even takes over as the default browser afterward, which would look very bad on Apple," a commenter named "Kurt" wrote on the Mozilla blog. Meanwhile, "Ian Hayward" said he is shocked and feels "a little less...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Patch Possible as Microsoft Confirms Word Vulnerability
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58947
Microsoft has confirmed reports of a Word vulnerability that opens the door for an attacker to exploit a system. A vulnerability in the Microsoft Jet Database Engine, which shares data with Access, Visual Basic and third-party applications, makes it possible.
Panda Software, McAfee and Symantec have all pointed to Microsoft Jet Database Engine flaws in past months, but Microsoft does not acknowledge the bug as a critical remote-execution vulnerability because .mdb files are considered unsafe and Outlook is configured to block Access files when they are received as an attachment.
However, Elia Florio from Symantec's security response team doubts Microsoft's stand is good enough. According to Symantec's security team, the attacker needs only to find a trick to force the Jet library to open a file and run malicious code.
"Some social engineering and a little help from Office applications will work out well in this specific attack. In fact, it is possible to call MSJET40.DLL directly from MS Word, without using Access at all," Florio said. "In this attack, the .doc file uses mail-merge functionalities to import an external data-source file, and so it effectively forces MS Jet to load the malicious Access sample."
Customers using Microsoft Word 2000 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2002 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Word 2007, and Microsoft Word 2007 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 are vulnerable to attack.
However, customers running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 include a version of the Microsoft Jet Database Engine that is not vulnerable, according to a Microsoft security advisory.
"Microsoft is investigating the public reports and customer impact. We are also investigating whether the vulnerability can be exploited...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Online Ad Sales Network Gains New Members
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58917
A group of newspaper publishers said Thursday it was joining an industry-backed online advertising sales effort aimed at winning more business from national advertisers.
The announcement adds 26 newspaper companies as affiliates to an ad sales network launched last month by Gannett Co., Tribune Co., Hearst Corp. and The New York Times Co. The newspapers owned by the new affiliates to the venture called QuadrantOne effectively doubles the size of the network to about 250 newspapers.
New members of QuadrantOne include several large newspaper companies including McClatchy Co., the No. 3 U.S. publisher by circulation; A.H. Belo Corp., owner of the Dallas Morning News; and Media General Inc.
The companies joining QuadrantOne are also in a separate consortium with the Internet company Yahoo Inc. to cooperate in other areas online, including classified job listings, search, posting news stories on Yahoo's news section and local online advertising.
QuadrantOne will create a centralized pool of standardized ad units from newspapers across the country that can be sold in blocks to large advertisers.
The goal is to simplify the process for large brand advertisers such as apparel companies to buy national online advertising on a large scale, without having to deal separately with many local media outlets.
QuadrantOne is owned by its four founding newspaper companies, but is actively seeking other newspapers to become affiliates to create a large pool of online advertising inventory.
A separate newspaper industry venture called the Newspaper National Network sells print and online ads across a network of papers, but that entity sells group ads on an ad hoc basis and doesn't have a central pool of ad units ready to be sold, as QuadrantOne does.
Rusty Coats, who is in charge of product development for Media General's online division, said the company was contributing advertising spots from its large-market properties, such as The Tampa Tribune's...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Losing Wireless Battle May Be Google Win
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58916
Losing the battle for a prized piece of the airwaves isn't necessarily a setback for Google Inc.
If anything, Thursday's news that Verizon Wireless had won the government-run auction for a pivotal swath of spectrum may even have been the ideal outcome for Google.
That's because investors no longer have to fret about Google straying from its main business of Internet search to spend more than $10 billion buying and building a wireless network.
Yet Google still positioned itself to profit from the newly available airwaves by ensuring the bids for the so-called "C block" escalated to $4.6 billion. Reaching that price triggered a provision that requires the new wireless network to accommodate all mobile devices, including equipment using a software package called "Android" that is supposed to give Google a better opportunity to sell more advertising.
Verizon bid a total of $4.74 billion to win most of the C block, which Google hopes will make it easier for consumers to access its search engine and other products on "smart" phones and other mobile devices.
Google arguably would have been in an even better position in the mobile market if it controlled its own wireless network, especially one with the potential power the C block figures to offer. The 700 megahertz spectrum, to become available in February 2009, is expected to provide better wireless access because the frequencies travel long distances and easily penetrate walls.
But the time and money that would have had to be invested in the C block probably would have represented another millstone on Google's sagging market value, which has already plunged by $80 billion, or 37 percent, so far this year.
And any further erosion in Google's stock price would threaten to depress employee morale because virtually all of its nearly 17,000 workers own shares in the Mountain View-based company. Google shares...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Gibson Guitar Sues Retailers Over Guitar Hero Video Game
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58915
Gibson Guitar Corp. on Thursday sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and five other major retailers that sell the Activision Guitar Hero game, claiming it violates a patent it holds.
A federal lawsuit filed Monday claims Wal-Mart, Target Corp., Kmart, Amazon.com, GameStop Corp. and Toys "R" Us should stop selling the game.
Gibson has already tried to stop video game publisher Activision Inc. from selling all versions of the game, claiming it too closely matches a musical virtual-reality patent from 1999.
The guitar company said in a released statement that it took "this action reluctantly, but is required to protect its intellectual property."
Earlier this month, Activision filed suit in California asking a federal judge to declare the game does not violate the patent.
Spokeswomen for Wal-Mart and Amazon.com said the companies do not comment on pending litigation. Officials with the four other retailers did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Santa Monica, California-based Activision contends Gibson's patent assertions have no merit. Gibson has said it wants Activision to stop selling "Guitar Hero" until it gets a license under the patent.
"Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong," Activision said in released statement. "We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers."
Gibson attorneys sent Activision a letter in January accusing it of violating a patent titled "System and Method for Generating and Controlling a Simulated Musical Concert Experience," according to a lawsuit filed by Activision.
A copy of the patent dated Nov. 23, 1999, is included in Gibson's lawsuit. It describes a device that lets a user "simulate participation in a concert by playing a musical instrument and wearing a head-mounted 3-D display that includes stereo speakers."
The device also includes playback of audio and video of a prerecorded concert and a separate track of audio...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Wikipedia Questions Paths to More Money
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58912
Scroll the list of the 10 most popular Web sites in the U.S., and you'll encounter the Internet's richest corporate players -- names like Yahoo, Amazon.com, News Corp., Microsoft and Google.
Except for No. 7: Wikipedia. And there lies a delicate situation.
With 2 million articles in English alone, the Internet encyclopedia "anyone can edit" stormed the Web's top ranks through the work of unpaid volunteers and the assistance of donors. But that gives Wikipedia far less financial clout than its Web peers, and doing almost anything to improve that situation invites scrutiny from the same community that proudly generates the content.
And so, much as how its base of editors and bureaucrats endlessly debate touchy articles and other changes to the site, Wikipedia's community churns with questions over how the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees the project, should get and spend its money.
Should it proceed on its present course, soliciting donations largely to keep its servers running? Or should it expand other sources of revenue -- with ads, perhaps, or something like a Wikipedia game show -- to fulfill grand visions of sending DVDs or printed books to people who lack computers? Is it helpful -- or counter to the project's charitable, free-information mission -- to have the Wikimedia Foundation tight with a prominent venture capital firm?
These would be tough questions for any organization, let alone one in which hundreds of participants can expect to have a say.
The system "has strengths and weaknesses," says Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's co-founder and "chairman emeritus." "The strength is, we don't do anything randomly, without lots and lots of lots of discussion. The downside is we don't get anything done unless we actually come to a conclusion."
Even the foundation's leaders aren't unified. Florence Devouard, a French plant scientist who chairs the board, said she and other Europeans...
Tue, 25 Mar 08
Bill Seeks To Limit Web Data Tracking
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58908
After reading about how companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo collect information about people online and use it for targeted advertising, one New York State legislator said there ought to be a law.
So he drafted a bill, now gathering support in the New York State Legislature, that would make it a crime -- punishable by a fine to be determined -- for certain Web companies to use personal information about consumers for advertising without their consent.
And because it would be extraordinarily difficult for the companies that collect such data to adhere to stricter rules for people in New York alone, these companies would probably have to adjust their rules everywhere, which could effectively turn the New York legislation into a national standard.
"Should these companies be able to sell or use what's essentially private data without permission?" asked the assemblyman who sponsored the bill, Richard Brodsky, a Democrat from the suburbs north of New York City. "The easy answer is absolutely not."
Brodsky is not the only lawmaker with this idea. In Connecticut, the General Law Committee of the State Assembly has introduced a bill that focuses on data collection rules for ad networks, the companies that serve ads on sites they do not own.
The New York bill, still a work in progress, is shaping up as much broader. Although it is likely to see some tinkering before it comes to a vote, which Brodsky hopes will be taken this spring, it aims to force Web sites to give consumers obvious ways to opt out of advertising based on their browsing history and Web actions.
If it passed, computer users could ask that companies like Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, which routinely keep track of searches and surfing conducted on their own properties, not follow them around. Users would also have to give...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Wells Fargo Offers Online Safe-Deposit Box
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58924
If you're security minded, you might keep your important paper documents in a safe-deposit box at your local bank. If those documents are digital, you can keep them in a virtual safe-deposit box so that they're not only secure, but also available from anywhere.
Wells Fargo Bank will soon offer its retail banking customers a personal online safe-deposit box that it calls "a natural extension" of the company's 156-year security legacy.
The Wells Fargo vSafe service is the first online storage solution offered by a financial services company, according to Katherine McGee, senior vice president of Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group.
Like other online storage solutions, vSafe offers accessibility from any computer with an Internet connection. Documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and even media files can be stored. McGee told us that the bank did extensive research with its consumer and small-business customers and honed the product to match their needs. The offering is integrated with the Wells Fargo Online Banking service so that customers can have account statements automatically added each month
"It's secure online storage with an easy-to-use interface built for customers based on their needs," she said. The company offers a set of boilerplate folders to help customers get started quickly; there's also an option to create unique folders and subfolders. McGee said that online forms simplify the procedure of consolidating data from a plethora of sticky notes into one safe place (such as a PDF document). Users can add folders and upload files from any computer.
With sensitive documents being uploaded and stored, security is naturally a priority to customers. According to McGee, vSafe "offers secure storage, and it's available through the Wells Fargo online banking session, so we leverage all the security we use for online banking," as well as additional measures that encrypt information as it crosses the Internet...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Apple Uses iTunes to Put Fast Safari on Windows PCs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58923
Windows users perfectly happy with their Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers have been surprised to find a new Web browser on their hard drives -- Apple's Safari 3.1. The browser was originally only for Apple's Macintosh computer.
The new browser arrived via Apple's software update feature, which is included in its iTunes software. iTunes boasts impressive penetration on Windows as well as Mac computers. Apple normally uses software update to deliver updates of the QuickTime media player, iPod software and iTunes.
But Apple confirmed Thursday that it is now delivering Safari through iTunes. "We are using software update to make it easy and convenient for both Mac and Windows users to get the latest Safari update from Apple," said Bill Evans, a company spokesperson.
At last June's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported that users were downloading one million copies of iTunes per day, half of them to Windows machines.
Jobs said at the time that he was interested in increasing Safari's market share, which was then at about five percent. "We know how to reach those users," Jobs said.
The new strategy indicates Apple is taking a more aggressive stance to leverage the broad success it has had with its iPod. Apple says the new Safari is 1.9 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2. Safari 3.1 also supports new video and audio tags in HTML 5, and so-called CSS animations -- created through the Cascading Style Sheets Web standard. It also supports CSS Web fonts.
Support for standards, rather than proprietary tags, appears to be in vogue. Microsoft recently said IE 8, its next-generation browser, would shift to favor Web standards over Microsoft's proprietary technologies. There is a "concrete benefit to Web designers if all vendors give priority to interoperability around commonly...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
SlySoft Offers Blu-ray Copy-Protection Cracker
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58921
SlySoft is at it again. The Caribbean firm says it has broken the copy-protection technology used on some Blu-ray discs to prevent consumers and bootleggers from copying movie content. SlySoft is offering a 20 percent discount on its latest version.
Last year SlySoft launched HD-DVD-cracking software designed to let consumers decrypt HD-DVD movie discs and copy them. AnyDVD HD software cracked the Advanced Access System, a specification for managing content stored on HD DVDs.
SlySoft also produces several other copy-protection software tools, including CloneDVD to burn copies of DVDS, Game Jackal Pro, which burns CD games to the hard drive, and Virtual CloneDrive, which is virtual drive software. SlySoft could not immediately be reached for comment.
Now that Blu-ray is the clear winner in the high-definition format battle, SlySoft has turned its attention to the Sony format. The latest version, AnyDVD HD 6.4.0.0, promises to crack Blu-ray copy protection. SlySoft is peddling the program on its Web site for $47.
SlySoft's claims about its software appear to be accurate. The company has a track record for its ability to hack CD and DVD copy protection and let consumers clone the files. But Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, said the program may not work with all Blu-ray discs.
"We don't have the package to know whether this works with a handful of discs or would work with the latest Blu-ray discs with Sony and Fox, but we are doing tests," he said. "We should have more information to report next week."
"AnyDVD HD comes with the same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD support, including decryption of Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies," the SlySoft Web site says.
Specifically, SlySoft is cracking BD+, a technology Macrovision developed. According to Macrovision, more than 20...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
University Bans Vista SP1 Upgrades as Problems Continue
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58920
Microsoft's Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is hitting more bumps in the road and institutions are beginning to weigh in. As one example, the University of Pennsylvania's IT department has reportedly issued a bulletin to faculty and students not to update with SP1, at least for the time being. The department has said it will support users who have Vista with SP1 preinstalled, however.
Drivers are becoming a major issue. One of the reasons Microsoft delayed SP1's release was because of problems with drivers. New reports indicate that, while the actual number of problematic drivers may be small, as Microsoft indicates, their impact is not.
The drivers include those in a common Intel chipset, the 945G Express series, used in PCs from Gateway, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and others. Microsoft has recommended that all drivers be updated before installing SP1.
One central location for SP1 complaints, as well as some favorable comments, is Microsoft's Vista blog.
A commenter called rikki-UK sarcastically described Microsoft as "GENIUS at work" because it released the update two days before a long holiday weekend, thus limiting access to support. According to rikki-UK, the company issued advice to some users to replace an Ethernet card or a router, even though the same hardware worked fine on XP machines.
One user going by the name of bowlman posted Friday that he has had SP1 installed for two days and the "only problems" are that e-mail opens slower, Vista wants to do an error report when it closes, and the documents folder "wants to lock up and takes 10 minutes to close it down."
"Sometimes," posted a user called Microsoft News Tracker, "I think what Microsoft's Vista operating system really needs is an exorcist" because of the number of "unnatural occurrences plaguing it."
Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Yankee Group, noted...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Novell Announces SUSE Linux Enterprise 11
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58918
Novell has announced plans for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11. While the actual launch won't happen for another year or so, Novell is highlighting the key themes of the new release to let developers in the open-source community know the feedback the company has gotten from customers and what the new release needs from developers.
Justin Steinman, director of product marketing for Novell's Linux & Open Platform Solutions, told us the "core tenets," such as focusing on mission-critical data-center technologies and "green IT," won't change between releases. There are three areas of critical importance to small and midsize businesses (SMB) on which Enterprise 11 will focus, he told us: interoperability, Unix migration, and virtualization.
Novell has made efforts to build a successful partnership with Microsoft, and Steinman said Enterprise 11 will expand this relationship. "I would suspect that the majority of SMBs have Windows in some shape or form inside their organization," Steinman said, "so one of the things we want to continue to deliver in Enterprise 11 is extending our interoperability leadership in working with Windows. We like to say that SUSE Linux Enterprise is Linux that's been optimized to work with Windows. We think that's a core differentiator and also a core benefit for customers who are trying to make a Linux decision."
One example of Windows support is Novell's plan to include the Mono 2.0 development framework, which allows .NET applications to run on Linux, in Enterprise 11. A Mono migration analysis tool will also be included in the new release; Novell said this tool "helps customers determine the readiness of their .NET applications for migration to Linux."
Another key theme of Enterprise 11 is Unix migration. "For SMB customers, Unix is an expensive platform that's not very flexible, and you're really tied in to an expensive [Sun] SPARC server," Steinman...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Intel To Offer Low-Cost Laptop
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58910
Intel said Wednesday that laptops costing $300, initially designed for poor children, would soon be available to U.S. and European consumers, a development that could further push down computer prices.
Computer makers in the United States and Europe will sell a second-generation version of the Intel-designed Classmate PC for $250 to $350, said Lila Ibrahim, general manager of Intel's group for emerging market platforms, during an interview with Reuters.
Laura Didio, an analyst with Yankee Group, called Intel's announcement "a very big deal."
While the machines are intended for children, analysts said their arrival on the market would add momentum to the low-cost computing movement -- and would probably mean that bargain-basement laptops available this year would have more power than previous generations.
"Particularly in a recession year, quality low-cost products are going to move well," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "But the key is for them to be quality."
He said consumers would probably be able to get "a pretty decent" laptop for less than $600 and perhaps for less than $500.
Didio said retailers might throw in another $50 to $100 in rebates or other incentives.
Laptop prices have been under particular pressure since last year, when Asustek Computer of Taiwan introduced the $399 Eee PC, which has flown off store shelves from Asia to North America. The movement toward low-cost computing was also spurred by the XO laptop, the brainchild of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop Per Child Foundation.
The foundation began producing a laptop running on the Linux operating system at a cost of $188 in November. They sold them in the United States and in Canada for $400 through a charity drive that also provided one machine to a poor child in developing countries.
The Eee machine also runs on the Linux operating...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Verizon, AT&T Are Big Winners in FCC Auction
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58907
The Federal Communications Commission auction for the 700-MHz wireless spectrum is over, and the winners are known. One obvious winner is the FCC itself, which exceeded its initial estimate of $10 billion with a $19.59 billion total.
Among the bidders, Verizon Wireless and AT&T won big portions of the available spectrum, which is being vacated as U.S. television stations move to digital transmission.
Verizon took 108 licenses for $9.6 billion, and AT&T bagged 227 for $6.6 billion. Observers say Verizon's purchases will help it narrow a gap in coverage as it competes with AT&T.
One potentially big winner is Google, even though it didn't win any bids. It bid $4.7 billion for the C-block frequencies, which triggered an auction requirement that any third-party compatible device or software must be able to operate on the bandwidth. That was one of the open-network provisions that Google, as head of an alliance of consumer organizations and businesses, was able to have adopted by the FCC.
Verizon, which backed an open-network position shortly before the auction, bought the C-block license.
Dish Network took 168 wireless licenses for $711 million, although it was not immediately apparent what it intends to do with them. Some observers are speculating it might be for a video service of some kind, but the company is prohibited from discussing its plans until it makes the down payment on April 3.
One setback for the FCC was the auction of the upper 700-MHz D block. Earlier this week, the agency separated that block from the rest of the auction and said it will "consider its options for how to license this spectrum," since bids did not meet the $1.3 billion minimum. The D block was established to create a public-private partnership that would guarantee public-safety agencies bandwidth access in emergencies.
The...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
PlayStation 3 Update Will Bring Interactive Blu-ray
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58906
Sony on Thursday said the next firmware update for the PlayStation 3 video-game console will add Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0. The update is due out late this month. Known as BD-Live, the update will offer PS3 players interactive features, such as
downloadable video content, ringtones and games. Beyond BD-Live, the update will make room for photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to a PSP handheld device.
It's all part of Sony's attempts to evolve the PS3 as a home entertainment hub. Regular updates like this one and future-proofed technology make the 10-year life cycle of PS3 possible, according to Scott Steinberg, vice president of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.
"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," Steinberg said. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie."
BD-Live offers plenty of possibilities, but Sony said the benefits will vary by movie title. For example, movie studios could deliver bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles and ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones. On the gaming side, interactive movie-based games can pit players sitting in the same room or across the world.
In conjunction with the firmware update, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced two BD-LIVE-enabled titles to be released on April 8 -- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both titles will include exclusive downloadable content that goes beyond what is available on the Blu-ray discs, Sony said. These initial releases preview some of the developments that will soon be available from BD-LIVE. Downloading BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of storage space.
BD-Live aside,...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
U.S.-Swedish Carrier Spat 'Breaks' Net
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58901
President Bush famously spoke of "the Internets" in 2004. Well, they're here.
Since March 13, customers of two large Internet providers, Cogent Communications Group Inc. and TeliaSonera AB are unable to contact each other through the Internet, unless they have backup connections from other companies.
This means, for instance, that some U.S. Web sites hosted by Cogent customers are inaccessible to surfers in the Nordic countries, where Sweden-based TeliaSonera is the largest telecommunications operator. It's like Cogent and TeliaSonera customers are on different Internets.
"Basically, parts of the Internet can't talk to each other," said Earl Zmijewski, general Manager of the Internet data division at Renesys Corp., which keeps track of how carriers route traffic over the Internet.
It's not the first time this has happened: Now and then, Internet companies indulge in what Zmijewski calls playing "chicken." If they're fighting over a contract, they disconnect each other, and wait to see who blinks first. The number of irate customers each company faces will probably determine who does.
David Schaeffer, chief executive of Washington-based Cogent, said the two companies had a "peering" contract, under which they exchanged traffic from each other's customers, with neither company paying the other for access. But TeliaSonera continuously breached the terms of the contract by not exchanging traffic in certain locations, and refusing to upgrade connections that were saturated, Schaeffer said.
That forced Cogent traffic to take long detours, according to Schaeffer. For instance, it sometimes had to carry data from a Cogent customer in Europe across the Atlantic to the U.S., then hand it over to TeliaSonera, which carried it back across the Atlantic to its European destination.
Cogent cut its direct links to TeliaSonera on March 13. For a while, customers of the two companies were still able to connect indirectly, through intermediaries connected to Cogent and TeliaSonera, but that...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Review: Internet Explorer 8 Eases Web Sharing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58899
Many people now create and share content on the Internet or blend services from various sites in their daily tasks, reflecting the medium's clear evolution from a place for simply consuming Web sites.
The upcoming version of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, version 8, embraces those trends by adding an "Activities" feature that makes all that easier for PC users. Although it's still in a "beta" test mode meant mostly for Web designers to try out, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
Internet Explorer's main competitor among browsers for PCs, Firefox, also has been testing an update, although the most promising features await implementation by Web sites. More on that later.
With Activities, one of several new Internet Explorer features, Web services like Facebook, eBay and Yahoo can write tools that users can install with just two clicks.
For example, Microsoft links a slew of Activities to its e-mail, blogging and news services, among others. Yahoo Inc. has one for maps, and auction site eBay Inc. has one to search its listings. The online hangout Facebook, of which Microsoft owns 1.6 percent, offers tools for finding friends or sharing content on its site.
Say you are reading a news article you'd like to e-mail to friends. Simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Hotmail, and the e-mail service opens in a new browser tab with that item already added to the subject line and message body. If you'd rather blog about the item, simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Live Spaces.
Mapping is initially the only service where there is choice of providers: Yahoo or Microsoft. In either case, you also get a thumbnail image of the map if you select an address and right-click. You can expand the map in a new tab with another click.
Other uses for Activities include looking up definitions of selected words or translating...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Hackers Send Thousands of Fake Calls to Deaf People
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58895
A Utah company whose videoconferencing technology is used by tens of thousands of deaf people to communicate is trying to figure out who would be base enough to hack into their system and flood tens of thousands of deaf customers with fake conference calls.
Officials with Sorenson Communications say since October they have dealt with a plague of prank calls to its point-to-point video calling service. The company provides videoconferencing calls to the deaf free of charge to allow deaf people to communicate via sign language to others.
Sorenson public relations director Ann Bardsley said on one day, tens of thousands of false calls were sent to Sorenson videophones. On the user end, deaf customers think they have missed a call and that their unit is somehow malfunctioning.
The unknown hackers have affected some 30,000 videophones installed in the homes and workplaces of deaf customers across the United States, according to the company.
Ron Burdett, vice president of community relations for Sorenson Communications, said deaf customers who use sign language rely on his company's service for daily communications. Such interruptions he called "inconvenient and distressing."
Company officials say they do not know what is motivating the unknown group of hackers but they do figure it is a malicious reason.
Mitch Moyers is the technical program director for the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville. He said the center, which provides training and acts as a social hub, has several Sorenson video relay phones that people can use for free.
"I'm disappointed. I feel like this is a great use for technology and to have people like that make life difficult for other people, that's disappointing," Moyers said.
Moyers said the system allows the deaf to use their "natural language" of signing without having to use a slow and sometimes inaccurate...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Dell Plans New PCs for China, India
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58892
Dell Inc., the world's No. 2 PC maker, is developing new models aimed at Chinese and Indian consumers to drive sales in fast-growing Asian markets, CEO Michael Dell said Thursday.
Personal computer makers increasingly are designing products with Chinese buyers in mind. Both Dell and China's Lenovo Group unveiled low-cost PCs last year for rural and novice users.
"This year, we plan to introduce 50 percent more notebook platforms than we introduced last year, including exciting new products aimed exactly at Chinese customer needs," Dell said at a news conference.
New models are meant to meet "specifically the requirements that we see in countries like China and India," he said.
Dell says its consumer sales in China grew by 54 percent last year, more than three times the industry average of 17 percent.
"When we look at the potential for expansion, we do see enormous opportunity ahead," Dell said. "As far as the U.S. goes, I think the U.S. will be OK, but not the fastest-growing. We expect more growth in Asia."
The company last month reported its fourth-quarter profit fell 6.4 percent and cautioned that more cautious spending by U.S. customers could hurt its business.
Dell says it has about 18 percent of China's market by revenue and 10 percent by number of units sold. Worldwide, it has a 16.1 percent market share, according to consulting firm Gartner Group.
In a bid for a bigger share of China's market, Dell broke with its Internet sales model and struck a deal in September to sell PCs through the country's biggest electronics retailer, Gome Group.
Dell's retail presence in China will expand to 1,200 cities by the end of this year, up from just 45 in 2007, said Amid Midha, Dell Greater China president, who appeared with Dell.
"By this summer, we will have more unique products coming to China," Midha...
Sat, 22 Mar 08
Google Sees Rise in Mobile Internet Use
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58891
Google has reported an acceleration of Internet activity among cell phone users since introducing faster Web services on some phones, fueling confidence that the mobile Internet era is at hand.
Early evidence showing sharp increases in Internet use on phones, not just computers, has emerged from services that Google began offering in recent months on the Blackberry, the iPhone and Nokia devices for business professionals and creators of multimedia pictures and videos, Google said Tuesday.
"We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet usage," Matt Waddell, a product manager for Google Mobile, said in an interview. "We are seeing that mobile Internet use is in fact accelerating.
The growing availability of flat-rate data plans from phone carriers instead of per-minute charges that previously discouraged Internet use, along with improved Web browsers on cell phones and better-designed services from companies like Google, are fueling the growth, Waddell said.
Google announced the findings as it introduced a software download for cell phones running Microsoft Windows Mobile software that conveniently positions a Google Web search window on the home screen of such phones.
Similar versions of the search software, which Google introduced for Blackberry users in December and certain Nokia phones in February, have sped up the time users take to perform Web searches by 40 percent and, in turn, driven usage.
The software shortcuts the time it takes for people to perform Web searches on Google by eliminating initial search steps of finding a Web browser on the phone, opening the browser, waiting for network access, and getting to Google.com. By making a Google search box more convenient, cell phone users have begun using the Internet more, the company said.
"We are actually seeing a 20 percent increase in the number of searches by people," Waddell said.
Google's mobile plug-in software lets users...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Lagging Broadband in U.S. Damages Economy
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58905
The broadband gap usually refers to the many people, particularly in rural areas, who have no access to high-speed Internet services. But there's another gap as well -- how the Federal Communications Commission defines "broadband" and how most of us define it.
The FCC still defines broadband as 200 kilobits per second (Kbps). If you think that's fast, consider that it would take a 256 Kbps connection more than 13 hours to download a 1.5GB movie.
The U.S. continues to lag many other countries in terms of broadband rollout. New research from Tellabs, which makes telecommunications infrastructure equipment, shows that while broadband is widely considered a critical asset for business in the 21st century, the U.S. needs to take steps to widen availability, and to update the definition of broadband to match business requirements.
Where the U.S. fits in terms of broadband penetration depends on who you ask and how the numbers are tallied, but it is not particularly high.
Research last year by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development noted that the U.S. has the largest broadband market of OECD countries with more than 66 million subscribers, but its broadband penetration was halfway down a list of 30 countries. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's figures put the U.S. at number 12, behind Korea, Japan, eight European and Scandinavian countries, and Canada.
Most of those surveyed (89 percent) by Tellabs said the lack of broadband damages the education and employment potential of those living in areas where broadband isn't available or affordable. More than eight in 10 of those surveyed felt that the FCC's Universal Service Fund, which provides federal money to alleviate the cost of telecommunications in underserved areas, should be used to expand rural broadband availability.
Expanding broadband isn't just about fairness. Research shows it could be a...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Sun Offers Virtual Desktop Management Tool
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58904
Sun has announced a virtual-desktop system with the release of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 2.0. With VDI, administrators running VMWare's virtualization solutions can provide a range of desktops to users running Intel x86 hardware or Sun's dedicated thin-client machines.
VDI 2.0 features the new Sun Virtual Desktop Connector, which supports Windows XP and Vista, Mac OS, Linux and Sun's Solaris operating systems.
The software allows organizations to "provide their users with secure access to a centralized desktop environment that can be accessed from practically any location, at any time, via the corporate network," said Jim McHugh, vice president of Solaris marketing.
The software offers improved information security, more effective control of access to critical data, reduced operational costs and increased employee mobility, McHugh added.
VDI 2.0 is the result of a deal with VMWare, announced last month, to offer and support VMWare infrastructure virtualization software on Sun hardware. Sun demonstrated VMI 2.0 in announcing that deal.
The software seems to build on years of Sun's work on thin clients, said Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT, in a telephone interview. Internally, Sun has for some years operated "remote office centers," outfitted with Sun's Sun Ray clients. Employees simply swipe an employee ID through a card reader "and your desktop comes up from a central data center," King said. "It sounds like what they've done here is partner with VMWare to run on the back end and incorporate that with" the desktop-serving application.
What Sun is offering with VMI 2.0 is "basically the thin-client model, just utilizing virtualization on the back end to get better performance than you would get on a thin client," he said.
Desktop virtualization makes a huge amount of sense, not least because of the reduction in energy consumption. "With virtual desktop environments, you can take a...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Adobe Offers DRM Content Control for Media
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58903
Adobe Systems has unleashed a new software product that will enable content providers to add digital-rights management (DRM) protection to media files. What's more, Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server also allows media outlets to limit access to live Webcasts as well as deliver pay-per-view programs on demand.
"The new capabilities in Flash Media Rights Management Server provide media publishers with the option to help control and protect their unique media assets," said Adobe Vice President of Dynamic Media Jim Guerard.
Content managers will be able to use Adobe's new software to specify a range of parameters governing user access limits and media expiration. And they will be able to alter a user's access rights even after the file has been distributed.
One of the core strengths of Adobe Acrobat is its ability to lock content, noted IDC Program Director Al Hilwa. "So it's pretty good for Adobe to also be able to offer the same protection for media content," he said.
The server features full integration with Adobe AIR -- a new and potentially game-changing technology that was brewed in the hallways of Macromedia years before it was acquired by Adobe, Hilwa noted.
"If AIR takes off, the economics of a new generation of rich Internet appliances that do away with or completely embed the traditional computer operating system might be at hand," Hilwa said.
The tight integration of Adobe's server with Adobe AIR and Adobe Media Player -- the first consumer application expressly designed to run on the AIR platform -- means video content can be viewed in the Adobe player in both offline and online modes. Content providers using Media Player will be able to prohibit the later reuse or remixing of their programs.
"To understand Adobe AIR better, we need a little context," Hilwa said....
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Google Online Spreadsheets Get New Gadgets
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58890
Google added more capabilities Wednesday to its growing arsenal of hosted online applications as it took the wraps off Gadgets for Spreadsheets in Google Docs. The new Google Gadgets are HTML and JavaScript mini-applications that can be used to create graphics from spreadsheet data and then publish the graphs on a Web site.
"Developers now have an easy way to add features to Google Docs," said Google engineers Zach Lloyd and Mike Harm on The Official Google Docs Blog. The additions to Google Docs, they said, will begin with an implementation in spreadsheets, and developers can also "pull collaborative data from Google Docs into gadgets on iGoogle and other platforms." iGoogle is a customizable Google start page.
As one example, Lloyd and Harm suggested taking a project plan spreadsheet, adding a custom time-line chart via Google Gadgets, and letting users see the plan's progress. If you use it for a wedding plan, they wrote, how better to let your intended spouse know that you'll be "late to your own wedding?"
The software enhancements enable users to add new ways to display data, and to notify users via e-mail that data has been updated. Those who have signed up for collaborations can see in their e-mail notifications the user names of people who've made changes. Ordinary viewers can set up notifications, but without seeing user names.
Google Gadgets are expected to be added to spreadsheet's companions in the Google Docs suite, the word-processor and presentation applications, although that time line is not yet known.
Additionally, third-party developers can join Google in creating new capabilities for the spreadsheet. Gadgets include interactive time-series charts, Gantt charts, funnel charts, time lines, organization charts, tables with filters and grouping, pivot tables, and maps. To add a gadget, the user simply clicks on "insert" in a drop-down menu and...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Adobe Says Apple's SDK Blocks Flash on iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58889
Flash on Apple's iPhone has been on and off several times in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, Adobe Systems dampened expectations following a report that it would build a Flash player for the smartphone.
The report, first cited in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, said Adobe had begun work on a Flash player for the iPhone. The Journal cited remarks by Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen, who reportedly made the comments during a conference call with investors. He said Apple's recent release of a software developers kit (SDK) gave his company the tools it needed to create a media player for the popular iPhone.
According to news reports, Narayen said Adobe had evaluated the SDK and "we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves."
Adobe said Wednesday it has "evaluated the iPhone SDK and can now start to develop a way to bring Flash Player to the iPhone." But it added, "to bring the full capabilities of Flash to the iPhone Web-browsing experience" the company needs to work with Apple for capabilities beyond what the SDK allows.
One of the problems is the SDK's fine print, which is being interpreted by many observers as prohibiting the kind of plug-in capabilities offered by Flash. To use the SDK for those purposes, Adobe would need cooperation and permission from Apple.
Earlier this month, following persistent reports on various Web blogs that Flash on the iPhone was imminent, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the current Flash mobile player is not ready for the iPhone.
He said Flash Lite, designed for mobile devices, is not powerful enough, and regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly on the iPhone. "There's this missing product in the middle," he told the Dow Jones news service.
Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with industry...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Dell Offers New Servers for SMBs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58884
Dell launched two new servers for small and midsize businesses that the company claims perform as much as 51 percent faster than comparable IBM servers. The two new PowerEdge servers offer high-availability features as well as larger memories, and come in rack- or tower-server configurations.
The rack server, the PowerEdge R300, uses the Intel Xeon x5460 quad-core processor. Dell says tests show its performance is as much as 26 percent better than the comparable server from HP, the DL320 G5p, and as much as 51 percent better than the IBM System X 3250 server. The new tower server, the T300, similarly beats comparable HP and IBM systems, according to Dell. (Performance data was published with the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation, or SPEC, a nonprofit organization that sets benchmarks for high-performance computers.)
"The R300 and T300 are the industry's fastest one-socket quad-core servers," a Dell spokesperson told us. "Because of the way we've designed the systems, we've made it possible for a processor typically used in higher-performing two-socket servers to be used in a one-socket server."
SMBs often rely on memory-intensive applications, such as Web serving, to run their businesses, and slow performance can hurt productivity. Dell says the R300 and T300 help address this pain point by delivering three times the memory capacity of a typical one-socket server; better memory scalability means they can better handle memory-intensive applications.
"These servers take the performance, memory capacity, and high-availability features previously available only in more expensive, higher-end systems and make them available at a small-business price," the spokesperson said. "Because of these features, the R300 and T300 can help increase uptime and productivity for SMBs. They also help simplify [information technology] for SMBs by helping to reduce cost and complexity, enabling customers to focus more on innovation, productivity, and growing their businesses."
"We're delivering...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Digital Certificates Key to iPhone Development
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58879
Apple will require iPhone developers to digitally sign their applications. The result is that any application can be traced back to the developer and the digital signature can be used to prove the app has not been altered, according to Dan Dilger at Roughly Drafted on Tuesday. That creates a native application development system that also creates a new kind of software market.
Apple holds the keys to that certificate, and the developers ability to distribute software can be terminated by Apple if they do something questionable in terms of the best interests of the users. "Apple can also vet software as it is submitted, and rapidly respond to user complaints by terminating the distribution and revoking the run rights of signed software. With such a system in place, there's no need for iPhone anti-virus software. Our children will never know why Symantec and Norton ever existed," Mr. Dilger explained.
In quite natural way, the certificate and security system will also help the developers' bottom line. "All iPhone apps will similarly be wrapped by FairPlay, again making it easier for users to buy a legitimate copy than to find a stolen version," Mr. Dilger observed. "This will result in two positive effects: first, developers will be able to price their software lower to entice volume purchases. Second, users buying software will get a better overall experience, with automatic update notifications and records of their purchases."
The mobility of cell phones and their greater exposure to influences outside the home and office makes this new metaphor necessary. "Apple's ability to both give out signing certificates to developers and to revoke those certificates afterward gives it the same kind of control over developers that the DMV holds over drivers," Mr. Dilger noted.
"If drivers faced no threat of losing their license, there would be no way...
Fri, 21 Mar 08
Nokia Invites Users to Shape Products
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=58878
A popular video on YouTube shows a so-called concept phone that can bend to fit a user's wrist. The phone, the Nokia Morph, shows how the world's largest mobile phone maker wants to change.
As more people use mobile devices for the Internet, and companies like Apple and Google find more ways to embrace this move, Nokia is rewriting its product development rule book. Instead of working in secrecy, it wants to start sharing.
"For Nokia, this is probably the biggest throw of the dice since they entered the cell phone business," said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, who has followed the company since 1994.
In addition to using video-sharing sites to post futuristic ideas -- like the Nokia Morph concept, which imagines a stretchable, flexible, solar-powered, self-cleaning device which also has a sense of smell -- the company has invited bloggers and tech-savvy media specialists to brainstorm on future mobile products.
"We realized in early 2005 that if we only focused on innovation from within, we were limiting our scope for real breakthroughs," said Nokia's chief technology officer, Bob Iannucci. "We want more wild ideas."
At stake is a share of the next phase of growth in the Internet. Forrester Research expects the number of mobile Internet users to triple over the next five years in Western Europe alone, to 125 million, while Nokia expects its double-digit margins on handsets to shrink.
To make its move into Internet services, Nokia plans to use its large base of customers as consultants.
The market for Internet services is approaching euro 100 billion, or $156 billion, and Nokia is the first big cell phone manufacturer to embrace the Internet media business. Close rivals like Samsung and Sony Ericsson could follow, but they