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British Snap Up Nintendo's Wii Fit Video Game
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59527
For a nation perhaps better known for a fitness regimen of darts and a pint, the news from Elspa Ltd.'s Chart-Track was particularly startling. The data-compilation service, which among other things tallies the sale of software titles, announced that last week Nintendo's Wii Fit was the top-selling title in the United Kingdom. The company's Mario Kart Wii dropped to the number-two position.
Chart-Track said Wii Fit had the sixth-fastest-selling launch of any software title, recording more than $32 million in sales in its first seven days. Approximately one in 10 Wii owners in the United Kingdom purchased Wii Fit, the company said. Only games from the industry's major franchises -- Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto and Halo -- did better than Wii Fit in their opening weeks.
The strong debut by Wii Fit was considered all the more remarkable because of the higher cost for the title. The software is bundled with a proprietary balance board used in game activities, including step aerobics, jogging and even yoga. The board can measure a player's weight, center of gravity, and body-mass index, and a suggestion has been made that it could enable medical professionals to remotely assist patients with rehabilitation activities.
Together, the Wii Fit software and balance board retail for £70 (US$138) in England. A similar package is scheduled to debut in the U.S. on May 19 for $89.99. That is much more expensive than the general version of Grand Theft Auto IV, which retails for $59.99, but Take-Two also offers a "special edition" that costs $89.99.
The success of Wii Fit in the UK and its upcoming release in the U.S., where sales of the Wii console have been particularly strong, will only add to what has been a terrific year for Nintendo.
Just a week ago,...
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Windows XP SP3 Delayed as Death Nears -- or Maybe Not
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59526
The last upgrade to the popular but dying-or-maybe-not Windows XP operating system was supposed to be out Tuesday, but Microsoft decided to delay the release of XP Service Pack 3 to the Microsoft Download Center. SP3 was released to manufacturing on April 21 and a release via MSDN and Technet download was scheduled for May 2.
Microsoft cited a compatibility issue between SP3 and the Microsoft Dynamics RMS for small and midsize businesses. The glitch also affects Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which Microsoft began pushing out for automatic updates last week.
SP3 includes a variety of bug fixes and minor enhancements to XP. Several Windows Vista features are also provided, including Network Access Protection, "black hole" router detection, the Microsoft Kernel Cryptographic Module, and others. Each successive service pack includes all previous fixes.
The supported operating systems include Windows XP, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Home Edition N, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows XP Professional N, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Starter Edition, and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. The download size, depending on selected components, is between 428KB and one megabyte.
Microsoft has repeatedly said it will end OEM and shrink-wrapped sales for XP after June 30, but there has been a groundswell of support for XP as reports of problems with the newer Vista OS continue. XP Home has been granted a pardon until 2010 on low-end computers such as the Asus Eee.
Even as XP's end approaches, the reports of its death, to paraphrase Mark Twain, may be greatly exaggerated. On Monday, news reports indicated that computer makers Dell, HP and Lenovo will use loopholes in their Microsoft licenses to continue offering XP beyond June 30.
Dell's contract reportedly enables it to provide XP Professional as...
Wed, 30 Apr 08
New iMac Could Be Big Hit with Gamers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59525
The upgrades to Apple's iMacs announced Monday might seem pedestrian, but some observers see them as heralding an exciting new future for the Mac -- gaming.
The high-end version of the iMac costs $1,799 and boasts a 24-inch screen, a 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with an option for 3.06 GHz, and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics card, among other goodies.
Writing on his Hardware 2.0 blog, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes provided some intelligence on those specifications and some speculation on the hardware. The 3.06-GHz option, he writes, is a "special run on an existing CPU overclocked to handle the 3.06-GHz workload and 1,066 MHz" on the front-side bus. It's hosted on a Santa Rosa motherboard, he added.
"Apple's working the current technology hard to get 3.06 GHz out of something designed to give 2.8 GHz here. Why?" he asked.
As for an option for a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics processor, Kingsley-Hughes said, "This is a high-end GPU and certainly offers far more power than most Mac users currently need from the iMac."
"Putting the overclocked processor and a high-end NVIDIA GPU in a box makes this system look like a gaming system to me," he wrote. Even though Apple has some iMac design constraints, "the company does seem intent on squeezing as much power as it can out of the components."
If Apple is aiming for the gaming market, it might just be expecting gamers to run Windows games via BootCamp -- the software that lets users run Windows on Intel-based Macs -- or a Mac-based gaming push might be in the works. "Either way, it looks to me like Apple is getting into gaming. And why not, it's a lucrative market!" Kingsley-Hughes wrote.
However, several blog readers doubted Apple has any such intention. Noting that Apple...
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Profitable Rogers Will Bring Apple's iPhone to Canada
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59524
Rogers Communications said its first quarter net income grew 102 percent to $339.8 million. Revenues at Canada's largest wireless network operator rose 14 percent in the quarter to $2.57 billion.
Executives said the company's first-quarter revenue bump was driven principally by 97,000 additions to the carrier's postpaid subscriber base. Rogers Communications also was able to reduce its monthly postpaid subscriber turnover rate, or "churn," to 1.10 percent -- down from 1.17 percent in the year-ago quarter.
"This was a robust start to 2008 both operationally and financially," said Ted Rogers, the company's chief executive. "We added subscribers across the business at healthy rates" and achieved "a good set of balanced results overall," he told investors.
Wireless data revenue in Rogers' first quarter increased 47 percent in comparison with the year-ago period. Company executives said the increase reflects continued growth in a variety of wireless data services ranging from wireless Internet access to downloadable ringtones, music and games, and the company remains bullish about mobile broadband.
Data revenue currently represents approximately 15.1 percent of the Canada-based wireless carrier's total network revenue -- up from 12.3 percent one year earlier. And the impending addition of Apple's iPhone to Rogers' product lineup potentially could boost the carrier's data-plan adoption rates even further.
"We have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year," Rogers said. "We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned. This is just one of the many exciting wireless, cable and Internet innovations that you'll hear from Rogers over the coming months."
Though the iPhone delivers a good user experience, the ultimate success of Apple's red-hot handset in Canada will be entirely dependent on the data plan Rogers intends to offer for the device, said Brownlee Thomas, a Montreal-based...
Wed, 30 Apr 08
GTA IV Expected To Set Records, Boost Take-Two's Value
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59522
OK, a quick show of hands: How many people called in sick today (cough, cough)? If early reports are any indication, a sudden wave of Grand Theft Auto-itis swept the globe last night as eager gamers stayed up late -- or never went to bed at all -- to explore the rich graphics, extensive soundtrack, and detailed story in Rockstar North's latest installment.
Although exact opening sales figures will not be announced for a few days, there is every indication that Grand Theft Auto IV is on track to smash the existing first-week sales record, currently held by Microsoft's much-hyped Halo 3. Released last September, Halo 3 generated $170 million in sales in the first 24 hours and $300 million by the end of the first week.
Game critics have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about GTA IV. The video game has a near-perfect rating on the Web site Metacritic.com, which summarizes reviews for different types of media. While noting the inherent violence of the game, critics have praised the sophistication and detail of the story, in some cases likening it to films like The Godfather and Goodfellas.
Douglas Gentile, director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family, said consumers are consciously seeking out entertainment like GTA IV. "We want media to affect us," Gentile said. "But as we become more used to it, we get more jaded, and seek out even more stimulating media. So ... we seek it out, it affects us, we seek it out more, and it affects us more."
One market sector clearly not jaded by video games is the music industry. One of the features of GTA IV that has drawn the most attention is its extensive soundtrack. The game features hours of music from a wide variety of genres, including jazz,...
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Cray Will Add Intel Processors To Supercomputers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59508
Cray and Intel announced Monday a multiyear agreement to develop new supercomputers. Cray CEO and President Peter Ungaro said the agreement has the "potential of bringing together Intel's powerful silicon expertise and Cray's industry leadership" in scalable high-performance computing (HPC) systems.
Intel executive Patrick Gelsinger added that the collaboration will allow HPC users to take advantage of future Xeon and other Intel processor technologies.
The deal also involves Cray's licensing of Intel QuickPath Interconnect technology and an agreement for Cray to use Intel processors in systems that could be released as soon as 2011. Cray has been using processors from Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices, as well as AMD's HyperTransport chip interconnect.
Among other projects, Cray has been using AMD processors and HyperTransport for several supercomputers it is building with IBM under a contract worth about $500 million with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). AMD technology was being used for Cray's Cascade system, which was featured in the DARPA bid.
Reportedly, Seattle-based Cray has now asked DARPA to use Intel technology in its Cascade technology.
Ungaro said this is not a switch, and Cray will still use AMD technology. Intel's increased efforts in the supercomputing space, including scaling up a business unit devoted to this area, reportedly played a part in Cray's increased interest in its technology.
Among the component designs the companies will explore are multi-core processing and advanced interconnects. One of the goals is to link Intel's QuickPath Interconnect with Cray's systems-level interconnect. The collaboration is expected to result in a range of HPC systems and technologies over several years.
Supercomputers are used for computer-intensive tasks, ranging from weather forecasting to drug designing. Processors are typically two to four cores, but supercomputers have hundreds or thousands of processors, and new generations could have processors with more cores.
Martin Reynolds,...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Google Researchers Want To Improve Image Searches
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59507
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how valuable is the ability to find the perfect image of an object from the entire Web? According to a paper delivered by two Google researchers at the International World Wide Web Conference in Beijing last weekend, the search-engine giant may be one step closer to answering that question.
Information scientists Shumeet Baluja and Yushi Jing announced the development of an algorithm, called VisualRank, that generates significantly more relevant image-search results than current results using text-based clues (captions and other words associated with each image).
The goal ultimately is to train computers to move beyond text into the effective identification of "rich content" -- the shapes, colors and context of images that humans recognize with little effort.
VisualRank, Baluja and Jing reported, is designed to incorporate ongoing advances in computer recognition into Web search technology. The complicated process blends image-recognition advances with Google's sophisticated tools for assigning rank and weight to search results.
The net effect, they said, is that within a relatively narrow universe of search results, the algorithm was able to reduce the number of irrelevant results by more than 80 percent.
But as Baluja and Jing freely concede, it is highly impractical to try to identify comparable images among the billions currently stored on the Web. To test its system, the Google team created data sets of images of the 2,000 products most commonly searched for on Google. Team members then assigned a relevance score to images produced by Google's normal image-search tool and VisualRank.
One of the questions is whether VisualRank has practical market possibilities or is merely a challenging intellectual exercise. As industry observers have pointed out, the Web site Like.com also offers surfers the ability to locate images of similar products by searching for a particular element in each image....
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Blackberry Faces a Strong Challenge from the iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59506
Apple's iPhone has dramatically shaken up the smartphone market -- especially the leader, Research in Motion. In just the last three months of 2007, smartphone shipments shot up 60 percent from a year ago, according to industry research firm IDC. And RIM doubled sales of the Blackberry, adding 6.5 million subscribers in its last fiscal year, double the previous year.
But as the market has grown, the Blackberry's market share has dropped from 45 percent to 40 percent while the iPhone took 17.5 percent in the second half of 2007. The iPhone's "consumerization" of the smartphone market has forced RIM out of its enterprise comfort zone and into the unchartered waters of consumer marketing.
RIM's efforts in the consumer space have largely fallen flat, said Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, in a telephone interview. "All their marketing stuff falls flat. It's not persuasive, it feels forced," he said
Competing with Apple for consumers' wallets is a challenge. To pull it off, RIM needs to lure third-party developers, Sterling said. "If the Blackberry is able to get enough cool stuff on the device to make applications compelling to enough people, it's a hedge on iPhone's move into enterprise," he added.
Apple's appeal to third-party developers could easily overwhelm RIM. Apple has said it will launch a new version of the iPhone software to enable third-party applications on the iPhone and the iPod touch. Apple says more than 200,000 developers are working on applications for the iPhone.
Meanwhile, Apple will roll out Outlook and Exchange integration on the iPhone, which may give it a boost in the enterprise, putting additional pressure on RIM. "Blackberry's smartphone share will continue to erode if the enterprise responds to Outlook and Exchange on the iPhone," Sterling said.
Besides the iPhone, RIM is feeling pressure from...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Grand Theft Auto IV Ready To Roar Onto Screens
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59505
At midnight Monday around the world, rabid video-game players will finally be able to exchange $60 for the fourth installment of the wildly popular series from Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto. There is widespread expectation that GTA IV will sell more than six million copies in the first week, adding to its status as one of the gaming industry's most successful franchises.
There are even reports that GTA IV is on the radar of the Guinness Book of World Records for a possibility that the game could set new marks for units sold around the globe.
Not surprising, the release has renewed concerns about the game's pervasive violence, aggressive game play, and rampant racial stereotypes. As New York Times game critic Seth Schiesel put it, "[h]ardly a demographic escapes skewering." Associated Press reviewer Lou Kesten gave the game three and a half stars out of four, but noted the game "has lots of blood, some nudity and a nearly constant stream of filthy language."
The increasing realism of video-game graphics only heightens the concerns of observers. Last year, Rockstar North was initially blocked from releasing the second edition of its horror series, Manhunt, due to the game's extreme violence and sadistic themes. After some minor edits, the game was released under the most restrictive "M" (for mature) category. GTA-IV will carry the same label.
Douglas Gentile, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family, said the success of the GTA franchise is as much about its game play as its content. "When GTA III came out," Gentile said, "it revolutionized games through its open architecture -- that is, it allowed you to do anything you wanted ... you didn't need to follow a script. That was a great...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Apple's iMacs Get More Power, Especially for Graphics
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59504
Apple's all-in-one iMac line is being upgraded with new Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 6MB L2 cache, a faster 1066-MHz front-side bus throughout the entire line, two gigabytes of memory for most models, and the most powerful graphics yet available.
The 24-inch iMac can now have a 3.06-GHz Intel processor and optional, high-performance NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics with 512MB of video memory. Apple said it can provide up to twice the standard performance for graphically intensive applications.
Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said the iMac has been "an incredible hit with our customers" and that it is "just one of the reasons Mac sales are growing three and a half times faster than PC sales."
The new iMacs have suggested retail prices from $1,199 to $1,799. The new 20-inch 2.4-GHZ iMac features one gigabyte of 800-MHz DDR2 SDRAM that is expandable up to four gigabytes. The 20-inch is also available with a 2.66-GHz processor, and two gigabytes of memory expandable to 4 GB. The new 24-inch iMac comes with a 2.8-GHz Core 2 Duo processor that can be upgraded to 3.06 GHz, two gigabytes of memory, and a 320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm that can be upgraded to a terrabyte.
Richard Shim, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, noted that the upgrades were "pretty standard and nothing dramatic." But this upgrade is a regular step in moving the iMac up the ladder of performance, he said.
"While these things might seem to be pedestrian, the significance is that they are 'revving the engines' of performance," he said.
He said this kind of regular upgrading is, at least in part, a direct result of Apple's decision to use industry-standard hardware components, especially Intel processors. When Apple machines were still built around...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Yahoo Ignores Deadline, So It's Microsoft's Move
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59502
Yahoo ignored Microsoft's deadline to respond to its $44.6 billion takeover offer by Saturday, leaving the next move in this chess game to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft has a number of options, but none of them are particularly appealing and investors are impatient with the lack of progress.
Typical was a comment reported by Bloomberg last week: "They need to quit fooling around and get the deal done," said Ken Smith, director of technology investment at Munder Capital Management.
Last week, speaking to business executives in Madrid, Ballmer dropped numerous hints that most analysts viewed as posturing. At one point he said that if a deal with Yahoo failed to materialize, "we go forward alone" by trying to compete directly with Google in online advertising.
But he also emphasized that Microsoft is not interested in sweetening the pot. In the same speech he called Microsoft's offer "quite generous" and hinted that a hostile takeover was in the works. "By this point if they don't agree, we would have to take our arguments directly to the shareholders," Ballmer said. "We will see what they do, and we will move appropriately at that point."
Financial analysts viewed much of this talk as posturing. The consensus among analysts is that Microsoft needs Yahoo to quickly build a business that can compete with Google. "Microsoft does need Yahoo," Sachin Shah, a merger-arbitrage analyst for ICAP Securities, told Bloomberg Television. "If they didn't, they would have walked away a long time ago."
If Microsoft is truly committed to acquiring Yahoo, it basically has three strategies: raise the price, launch a hostile takeover bid, or take a breather and hope Yahoo continues to flounder over the summer.
Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, expects Microsoft to go hostile. "Microsoft needs Yahoo, so I think their next step...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Struggling GPS Device Market Faces a Turning Point
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59500
Consumer navigation devices have gone from expensive gadgets to mainstream gear in just three years, but Europe's largest maker is struggling.
The experience of Netherlands-based TomTom NV -- which saw earnings fall 83 percent in the first quarter -- suggests the market for stand-alone global-positioning systems is at a turning point.
"What we saw for the first time is that selling prices fell, but volumes didn't improve enough to compensate," analyst Eric de Graaf of Petercam said after the results were reported Wednesday. "It's a signal the market is getting saturated."
Some analysts believe that as stand-alone versions are overtaken by cell phones and other devices with navigation technology built in, GPS devices will become low-margin commodity products, like pocket calculators. But others think a smart company could turn GPS devices into premium products the way Apple Inc. made its iPod music player stand out from a host of cheaper devices.
For now, TomTom's larger U.S. competitor, Cayman Islands-based Garmin Ltd., appears to be faring better by virtue of its greater range of products.
Including Taiwan's MiTAC International Corp. -- owner of the Navman and Mio brands -- the top three GPS makers hold around an 80 percent market share, giving them scale advantages over smaller players. But competition is coming from many directions, including big names like Nokia Corp., Sony Inc., Google Inc. and probably Apple.
"TomTom and Garmin are branded well," said Thilo Koslowski of Gartner Research. "But functionally there's not much difference" yet among GPS devices.
In 2007 alone, including strong holiday sales, 33.9 million units sold, almost triple the 11.9 million sold in 2006. Now, 10 percent of U.S. drivers and 20 percent of those in Europe own a navigation device. But prices for basic stand-alone devices have fallen below $200 from $500 or more.
TomTom reported a net profit of $12 million in...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Somebody Stole My Internet Domain Name
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59498
When Alicia Navarro began casting about for a memorable name for her new company, she confronted a brutal reality. All her brilliant ideas for an Internet domain name were taken.
"I came up with so many gems, only to be devastated to find that the domain name was not available," Navarro, a former executive at Vodafone, said. "It means that Internet entrepreneurs are having to come up with ridiculous words to name their businesses -- Twango, Yugma, Stikkit, Rootly."
Add Skimbit, the invented name of her London Web-applications company, to that list. Her Web woes -- like those of many others -- are tied to the sharp acceleration of speculation in Internet names, a practice known as "domain tasting" in which names are registered by the millions and tested for their advertising prospects without charge during a five-day grace period.
Arbitrators like the World Intellectual Property Organization and the National Arbitration Forum attribute the record number of international trademark disputes last year to domain tasting. Since this form of domain name tasting emerged in 2005, for example, the number of disputes to come before the WIPO has risen 48 percent, to 2,156.
For companies like Microsoft, domain tasting creates the constant headache of chasing after typo-squatters -- those who create and register Web sites with misspelled variations of the Microsoft name. For individual users, it means that millions of names are tied up in a constant churn of registering and returning names before fees are charged.
Now ICANN -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization based in California that manages domain names -- is considering steps to stamp out the practice.
The board of ICANN will vote in Paris in June on a proposal to severely limit the number of domain names that can be returned without a fee, but the...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Social-Networking Applications Can Pose Security Risks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59495
Sarah Brown is unusually cautious when it comes to social networking. The college sophomore doesn't have a MySpace page and, while she's on Facebook, she does everything she can to keep her page as private as she can.
"I don't want to have to worry about all the different online scandals and problems," says Brown, an education major at St. Joseph College in Connecticut. She'd like to control her personal information and keep it out of the hands of identity thieves or snooping future employers. "It's just common sense."
It sounds like her info is locked down and airtight. But is it?
Turns out, even the privacy-conscious Sarah Browns of the world freely hand over personal information to perfect strangers. They do so every time they download and install what's known as an "application," one of thousands of mini-programs on a growing number of social networking sites that are designed by third-party developers for anything from games and sports teams to trivia quizzes and virtual gifts.
Brown, for instance, has installed applications on her Facebook page for Boston Bruins fans and another that allows her to post "bumper stickers" on her own page and those of her friends. It's a core way to communicate on social networking sites, which allow friends to create pages about themselves and post photos and details about their lives and interests.
People often think Facebook profiles and sometimes MySpace pages, if they're set as private, are only available to friends or specific groups, such as a university, workplace, or even a city.
But that's not true if they use applications. On Facebook, for instance, applications can only be downloaded if a user checks a box allowing its developers to "know who I am and access my information," which means everything on a profile, except contact info. Given little thought, agreeing to...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Growing Customer Base Boosts Verizon's 1Q Profit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59492
Verizon Communications Inc.'s first-quarter earnings rose 9.8 percent as its wireless division signed up more customers than rival carriers, the company said Monday.
The country's second-largest telecommunications company earned $1.64 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the quarter that ended March 31, compared with $1.5 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $23.8 billion from $22.6 billion.
Excluding one-time items, earnings were 61 cents per share, matching expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Analysts had expected revenue of $23.86 billion.
"Verizon has weathered the current economic uncertainty with strong first-quarter results," said Chairman and Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg.
Analysts have been looking to the telecommunications companies to hold up well as the economy slows. AT&T Inc., Verizon's largest rival, bore that out with an earnings report last week that showed little sign of trouble. On a conference call Monday, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Doreen Toben said there was no change in bad customer debt during the quarter.
Shares rose 56 cents to $37.60 in premarket trading.
UBS analyst John Hodulik said wireless results where strong, while the landline business was somewhat lower than expected.
Verizon Wireless added 1.5 million subscribers, beating AT&T, which added 1.3 million in the quarter. However, its growth rate was down from 1.7 million in the same quarter last year. Verizon Wireless still trails AT&T in the total number of subscribers, at 67.2 million compared with 71.4 million.
Verizon Wireless started a minor price war for high-end cellular plans in February, introducing a $99.99 monthly plan with unlimited calls and no roaming fees. Other carriers quickly matched or undersold that plan, and stocks took a hit across the industry as investors feared for carrier margins.
But Verizon chief operating officer Denny Strigl said Monday that the plan was boosting results. Before the plan was introduced, 4 percent...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
The Real Threat to Google: Cell Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59491
Google's biggest threat may not be Microsoft or Yahoo.
No, one of the most formidable challenges facing Google is likely sitting in your pocket or purse. It's your cell phone, and it will put added pressure on Google and other Internet companies to revamp the way they handle online marketing.
As more people use cell phones and their tiny glass screens to gain access to the Internet, Google and its fellow online advertisers will have less space, or what's called ad inventory, to place marketing messages for customers. Google makes money selling ad inventory. And its ad inventory is diminished on a cell phone.
Google can now fit about 10 ads on a standard computer screen. [If you look at Google search results on a PC monitor, paid ads are the listings at the very top and along the right.] But on your cell phone, if you type in a search query at google.com you get only one or two paid ads in response.
Imagine the horror that would befall your business if a large slice of what you sell suddenly disappeared. A similar fate could befall companies that depend on online advertising, as small screens become the gateway to the Internet.
Of course, no one's suggesting that consumers will abandon standard computer screens overnight. And early research shows that mobile advertising may be more effective than standard online advertising, suggesting that it will be more lucrative for the companies that rely on it. Still, the shift is coming fast enough that Google must get prepared.
It was Apple, a frequent Google collaborator, that tipped the trend. Consumer use of mobile Internet in the U.S. has longed trailed Asia and Europe, where standardized cell networks made it easier for handset makers to produce gadgets that tap the Web at blazingly fast speeds. But...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Nokia Announces Three New Mid-Range Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59488
Nokia announced Monday three new cell phones for the mid-priced market. The world's biggest phone maker, based in Finland, described the Nokia 6600 fold, the 6600 slide, and the 3600 slide as balancing "stunning and sophisticated looks with the latest in mobile functionality."
Priced at 175 to 275 Euros (US$274 to $430), the new models will be released in the third quarter. Nokia executive Mikkel Drucker said the phones are a response to a "strong consumer demand for mobile handsets that blend elegant looks with modern features."
The 6600 fold features a 2.13-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen with 16 million colors that is opened by a button touch. On the outer high-gloss surface, a double touch can "wake up" its display, showing such information as missed calls, incoming messages, and the time. A double tap in the right place can also put alerts on snooze, and either reject or silence incoming calls.
A two-megapixel camera has double LED flash, and the 6600 has easy access to Yahoo Go.
Its sibling, the 6600 slide, has a steel cover and an aluminum center key. As with the 6600 fold, a double tap can also bring up the time or alerts, or can mute incoming calls. This model has a 3.2-megapixel camera for still pictures and video, sharing can be done directly from the photo menu, and there's a 2.2-inch QVGA display for high-quality viewing.
A Nokia Maps application is included, but the Global Positioning System is not -- although an optional GPS module can be added.
The colorful 3600 slide is, the company said, its first product to feature background noise cancellation. A built-in music player can play up to 3,000 songs, stored on an optional microSD card. For picture-taking, there's a 3.2-megapixel camera with two-LED flash and autofocus.
Chris Hazelton, an...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
CRM Mashup Apps Help Businesses Make Connections
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59485
If mashups sound like the kind of Web 2.0 application best used for checking traffic jams on Google Maps, think again: Mashups within the enterprise environment are becoming common for functions such as integrating social-networking information into CRM tools. And as they get easier to make, they'll continue to grow in popularity and usefulness.
Kapow Technologies, which creates mashup environments for businesses, has taken some steps forward in bringing mature mashups into the corporation. This week it released several mashup products that aim to bring business intelligence to desktops with little human intervention. One new product is Kapow OnDemand.
"It can be used in any instance where what you're trying to do is eliminate the manual process of having people sitting there in front of a monitor finding information they need externally, and then copying and pasting it to get it into the environment they need," said Ed Julson, director of product marketing for Kapow.
Kapow's mashups work with the help of "robots," automated tools that collect and integrate selected Web data into a spreadsheet. "If you were a pricing analyst going to a number of different Web sites to collect information on the competition, you'd go to these sites, search for and find what you want, copy that piece of information, and paste it into spreadsheet," Julson said.
With OnDemand, a robot does that instead. "Instead of a copy-and-paste function, you actually add structure to that data" by embedding the data model into the robot, he explained. "When you bring this information back to the spreadsheet, it has structure; you can put it into a database, and applications understand it. Now you have a way to make connections to anything on the Web."
All an organization's subscribers have access to that information to make sharing easier. "There's...
Tue, 29 Apr 08
What Awaits the iPhone in Europe?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59449
Will the iPhone change Europe? Or will Europe change the iPhone? Two recent newspaper reports published on the Continent say that Europe appears to be exerting the greater influence so far on the iconic device.
Neither report revealed its source, but both asserted that Apple was poised to fundamentally change the way it sells the iPhone in Europe, giving up its demand for a share of data revenue from operators -- which some analysts say is as much as 30 percent -- to accommodate local preferences for less expensive, subsidized devices.
In France, Les Echos reported on April 17 that Apple was pressuring Orange, the France Telecom subsidiary that is its exclusive sales partner in the country, to lower its euro 399, or $630, price for the iPhone to improve sales.
In Italy, La Repubblica reported Monday that Apple was prepared to give Telecom Italia a non-exclusive right to sell a new, high-speed version of the iPhone that would work on Telecom Italia's third-generation network without demanding a cut of revenue. Representatives of Apple and the operators declined to comment.
Carolina Milanesi, the research director of mobile devices in London at Gartner, the research firm, said it was likely that Apple would begin to tinker with, if not significantly change, the mechanics of its business model this year to ease its expansion into new European markets.
Several factors are pressuring Apple to abandon its exclusive sales strategy, Milanesi said.
One is softening demand for expensive cell phones in Europe, cited by both Nokia and Sony Ericsson in their latest quarterly earnings reports.
Another is the vagaries of the European national markets, which can make a single sales strategy impractical. In Germany and France, for example, consumers are conditioned to pay heavily discounted prices for new cell phones in exchange for one- to two-year service commitments.
But in...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Defense Could Object to Apple's P.A. Semi Purchase
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59487
Apple's planned acquisition of chip-design firm P.A. Semi may run into trouble from an unlikely source -- the Department of Defense.
According to EETimes, P.A. Semi informed several current customers Monday that it was about to acquired by an unnamed company and that it could not guarantee supplies of its chips going forward. Meanwhile, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told The Wall Street Journal that his company acquired P.A. Semi for its design engineering talent, not the product line.
But P.A. Semi's chips are widely used in every major branch of the armed services. If Apple stops production of the chips and no other manufacturer steps up, Defense may object to the purchase, EETimes said.
P.A. Semi's high-performance, low-cost PWRficient CPU is used in at least 10 Defense systems, including one that forecast using 70,000 of the chips over the next 10 years, the magazine said.
"We've had customers saying they are going to the DoD on this one," said a source who works with one of the companies that makes embedded computer boards with the processor.
"I've never seen such fast adoption of a product in the mil/aero world," said the source, who asked not to be named. "Typically users in this area take a wait-and-see approach on new products, but that didn't happen this time."
EETimes reported that P.A. Semi told customers that Apple "may be willing to supply the chip on an end-of-life basis, if it could successfully transfer a third-party license to the technology." That is probably a reference to the PowerPC architecture license from IBM.
"I don't know how a Lockheed Martin or a Raytheon would take the news that the part might not be available after a few months or perhaps two years," said the source. "Typically, these military programs last for many years."
Jobs also...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
AT&T Begins Wi-Fi Rollout at Starbucks Stores
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59486
AT&T and Starbucks on Friday announced the beginning of the rollout of AT&T Wi-Fi service at company-operated Starbucks stores, kicking off a nationwide effort that will continue through 2008.
At this year's AT&T stockholders meeting in San Antonio, Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson announced that the companies have started deploying AT&T Wi-Fi at Starbucks locations in San Antonio.
As of May 1, qualifying AT&T high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi customers will have complimentary Wi-Fi access at more than 7,000 Starbucks locations nationwide. For millions of AT&T customers, that means more speed in more places -- for free -- is on the way. Analysts said this gives the telecom giant an advantage over competitors like T-Mobile.
Stephenson said AT&T is moving to strengthen its ability to meet the needs of mobile consumers virtually everywhere.
"Expanding our reach across company-operated Starbucks locations nationwide
helps us bridge the gap between our wired and wireless offerings and affirms AT&T's commitment to connect people with their worlds, everywhere they live and work," Stephenson said.
Qualifying AT&T subscribers will be able to select "ATTWiFi" after powering up their mobile devices. Free AT&T Wi-Fi service is currently offered with AT&T's three higher-speed residential broadband packages, all small business broadband packages, and all AT&T U-verse offerings with high-speed Internet service.
For other customers, AT&T Wi-Fi will reach company-operated Starbucks locations throughout the year. The experience will include a mix of free and paid connection options for both frequent and occasional Wi-Fi users and qualifying Starbucks customers. Once AT&T Wi-Fi service is available, customers will be able to shop and surf both Starbucks' and AT&T's Web pages for products and services.
"We continue to build on the experience we know our customers expect from us," said Chris Bruzzo, chief technology officer for Starbucks. "By partnering with AT&T as our U.S. Wi-Fi provider we...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Stock Dip for Microsoft Does Not Mean a Yahoo Victory
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59483
Microsoft's stock was down Friday, but Yahoo may not have much reason to hope for a higher price in the acquisition drama. Despite lower-than-expected revenues, analysts said Microsoft isn't likely to raise its takeover bid.
Microsoft on Thursday announced third-quarter revenue of $14.45 billion, operating income of $4.41 billion and diluted earnings per share of 47 cents. Operating income and earnings per share results included a charge of $1.42 billion, or 15 cents per share, for a European Commission fine.
"Our third-quarter results demonstrate the benefit of our diversified business model," said Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer. "Our broad span across geographies, product categories and customer segments is a tremendous asset and supports our outlook for double-digit revenue, operating income and earnings per share growth for this fiscal year and also for fiscal year 2009."
Yahoo has rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover bid -- twice. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent what amounts to an ultimatum letter to Yahoo's board in early April. The letter made clear that Microsoft's goal in making "such a generous offer" was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction.
Ballmer wanted Yahoo to authorize a team to negotiate and come to a definitive agreement. He then threw down the gauntlet: a three-week deadline to come to a conclusive agreement -- or else. That three weeks ends on Saturday. Yahoo is still not budging, and neither is Microsoft.
In the earnings call, Liddell offered an update on Microsoft's plans: "Speed is of the essence for the deal to make sense. Unfortunately, the transaction has been anything but speedy and has been characterized by what would appear to be unrealistic expectations of value."
The Internet has always been Microsoft's weak spot, according to Marc Pado, a securities analyst with...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Ericsson Eyes Flat Mobile Infrastructure Growth
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59482
Mobile network equipment maker LM Ericsson told investors that its sales rose 5 percent to $7.4 billion in the first quarter, but its profit for the period fell 55 percent to $60 million. Still, the results were far better than many industry analysts had expected.
Ericsson's mobile infrastructure business developed well in the quarter, considering the present market environment and the declining U.S. dollar, noted Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg. "The sales development in the quarter reflects the demand for mobile infrastructure, especially in high-growth markets," Svanberg said. Absent the dollar's negative impact, "total growth would have been 11 percent in constant currency terms."
Though the proportion of new network builds in high-growth markets -- especially in India -- is increasing, "in combination with a weaker U.S. dollar, this continues to put pressure on our margins," Svanberg explained. Therefore, Ericsson still finds it prudent to be cautious and "plan for a flattish mobile infrastructure market in 2008," he said.
Still, Svanberg remains upbeat about the company's longer-term prospects in light of the rollout of mobile broadband on networks around the world. Subscriber growth on the network side of the business continues strongly -- up by 160 million in the first quarter alone. The numbers were "pretty impressive" in March, with China up by around 9 million, and India up by about 7 million, Svanberg said.
The global wideband CDMA subscriber base is also growing. "It's now over 200 million, and the number of HSPDA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) subscribers within that is also growing quite quickly," Svanberg noted.
What is important to understand here, Svanberg said, is that all these mobile technologies will continue to coexist for years to come.
"In the early days, one technology matured and was eventually replaced by another," he noted. "Now, with so many subscribers and such...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Yahoo To Rewire for Social Networking with Open Strategy
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59481
Yahoo may resemble islands of Web properties, but the company is launching a renovation that could turn it into one huge platform. On Thursday, Yahoo announced its Open Strategy at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
"Imagine a world where you can write code that will meaningfully reach millions of users in a single bound," wrote Yahoo's Neal Sample on the company's Yodel Anecdotal blog.
Open Strategy invites developers to use Yahoo's huge scale, he added, "to write applications that build on our existing properties," such as Mail, Sports, Search, the front page, mobile, My Yahoo, and others. Yahoo-owned properties also include the photo-sharing site Flickr, the bookmarking site Del.icio.us, and the social-calendar site Upcoming.
Sample also noted that, with 500 million unique users spending 235 billion minutes each month on its sites, and with 10 billion relationships in buddy lists and Yahoo address books, the company has "a massive, latent social network." The new initiative, he added, will "bring it to the surface."
In other words, he told news media, Yahoo is not building another social network, but "building social into everything we do."
He described it as a "rewiring" of Yahoo by building structures that change how its pieces work together. He said developers will be able to take advantage of the "vitality" that will exist within this unified platform. An application written for a Yahoo property will be able to integrate with other properties and with the extended social network.
An example is Yahoo's Search Monkey, where developers can blend other data with search results so that, for instance, an Italian restaurant could have reviews and ratings along with the link to its Web site. Search Monkey officially launches in mid-May.
Charlene Li, an analyst with industry research firm Forrester, wrote on her blog that Yahoo's rewiring "is...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Microsoft Insists XP Death Date Firm Despite Ballmer
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59480
Despite CEO Steve Ballmer's comments, Microsoft has no plans to continue selling Windows XP after June 30, the company said Thursday. It added, "Our plan for Windows XP availability is unchanged. We're confident that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our customers and partners."
Ballmer started a wave of speculation at a press conference in Belgium when he suggested that the June 30 deadline could be changed. "If customer feedback varies we can always wake up smarter, but right now we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments," he said, according to Reuters.
A spokesperson from Microsoft's public-relations firm, Waggoner Edstrom, told PC World that the company's research had led it to conclude that "the dates are right." Microsoft believes "we've made the right accommodations for customers in certain segments who may need more time to transition to Windows Vista," she said. "But as Steve noted, we maintain a constant stance of listening to our customers and our partners. That's what is guiding our plan, and will continue to guide us going forward."
The anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. More than 170,000 people have signed an online petition spearheaded by InfoWorld magazine to "Save XP." The petition calls for Microsoft to keep XP around "indefinitely. Not just for another six months or a year but indefinitely." And enterprise adoption of Windows Vista has so far been tepid.
"Ballmer's cryptic comments suggest that although they say they listen to customers, they're hard of hearing," said Galen Gruman, the InfoWorld editor who launched the petition, in an e-mail. "On one hand, Ballmer's comments acknowledge a demand for XP beyond June 30, but then he indicated that demand is trivial. I believe he's wrong."
Gruman foresees a rising chorus in favor of XP as the...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
One Laptop Per Child Controversy Centers on Windows
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59479
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative wants more kinds of Sugar, and some developers are not sweet on that idea. Sugar is the user interface created for the low-cost laptop developed by a team headed by MIT Media Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte. The XO laptop, originally intended for a price point of $100 and incorporating an open-source Linux operating system, is designed for use by children in third-world countries.
This week, Negroponte indicated that Sugar is not only a great interface for Linux, but for Windows as well. "Sugar is a very good idea, less than perfectly executed," he wrote in a posting on an OLPC site. It needs to be "disentangled," he said, from collaborative tools, power management, and other functions, so it can be modularized and evolve more efficiently.
He is also seeking to have it run on top of Windows, which has soured the enthusiasm of some for the XO. The laptop, if sold in the tens of millions worldwide as originally envisioned and if based on Linux, could become a key driver in moving that open-source operating system toward popularity on the desktop.
Negroponte has confirmed that OLPC has been in discussion for several months with Microsoft about a dual-boot version of the XO. In October, a Microsoft executive told news media that the company was spending "a nontrivial amount of money" on adapting Windows for the XO.
Negroponte, in his e-mail, said "some purism has to morph into pragmatism" as the organization reaches out to engage a wider community, and it is "absurd" to suggest this "forsakes open source or redirects our mission."
Some of the developers upset about the current direction are inside OLPC. On Wednesday, OLPC developer C. Scott Ananian posted a reply on the organization's site, in which he publicly criticized...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
CIOs Battle Hackers Using Olympic-Themed Attacks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59463
The run-up to the Beijing Olympics has been anything but smooth, with global protests marring the festivities. While police battle the protestors and athletes battle each other, CIOs are engaged in another battle: with hackers using the Olympics as a guise for digital attacks.
Security experts at MessageLabs, which scans e-mail messages for hostile content and provides Web security services, have found more than a dozen Olympic-themed attacks over the past six months, targeting different industries with Trojan attachments that could allow the attacker to conduct corporate espionage. These e-mail attacks have realistic and legitimate-sounding names, such as The Beijing 2008 Torch Relay, and purport to be from the International Olympic Committee in some cases, although most originate in Asia.
It's not new to say that e-mail attacks contain Trojans. What's new is the latest shift to delivering a malicious payload without being detected by antivirus programs, said Mark Sunner, chief security analyst at MessageLabs. "The file that was infected with the Trojan was an Access database (.mdb) file," Sunner said. "Throughout the time MessageLabs has been intercepting targeted Trojans, almost all of them have been inside Microsoft Word documents using the vulnerabilities within those file types."
But as those vulnerabilities have been fixed, the attackers have exhausted their options with Word documents and have moved on to new types of Microsoft files. Sunner said exploits within these file types are much less likely to be detected by traditional antivirus engines.
The evidence shows that the attacks were successful. While MessageLabs won't say who the target was, Sunner told us that "the social engineering in this attack has been so precise that the target passed the malicious e-mail on to others. It marks the first time that such an outcome was intended by the attackers."
Targeted attacks...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Cable Companies Pull Out of Joint Venture with Sprint
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59456
Three of the nation's largest cable companies are quietly pulling the plug on a joint cell-phone venture with Sprint Nextel Corp., called Pivot.
Spokespeople for Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Cox Communications Inc. said Wednesday they have stopped marketing the Pivot service and plan in the coming weeks to give their Pivot customers the option of switching to traditional Sprint mobile phone plans.
A spokeswoman for the fourth cable partner, privately held Advance/Newhouse Communications Inc., declined to comment.
Pivot customers will be able to keep their phones and their numbers and receive a month's free Sprint service for their trouble. They'll also be given a set period once they've switched over to cancel their contract without penalties.
Announced with great fanfare in November 2005, the four cable partners and Sprint each invested $100 million in the venture. The Pivot brand was unveiled a year ago.
The partnership's goal was to give the cable operators a "quadruple play" of voice, video, Internet and wireless products in their battle against telephone companies that have added TV to their arsenals.
But the cable companies said the complexity of the offering itself, as well as meshing what was essentially a retail operation with their cable service, made marketing Pivot a chore and controlling the direction of the joint venture difficult.
"We remain committed to bringing a wireless component to our portfolio of services, but we don't believe Pivot was the best option," said Cox spokeswoman Jill Ullman.
The cable companies refused to say how many customers they had signed up through Pivot, but each said it had launched the service in a limited number of markets.
Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley added that it's still unclear how important wireless services are in keeping customers from jumping to other providers.
"Wireless in some format may be part of our portfolio, but we...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Security Gaps Open When ISPs Hire Third Parties
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59455
When Internet providers hire third-party companies to serve up advertisements on unused Web pages, that creative attempt to make money can open major security vulnerabilities they can't control, a researcher has found.
One such vulnerability -- described last weekend at a security conference by Dan Kaminsky, director of penetration testing for Seattle-based computer security consultant IOActive Inc. -- works like this:
Say you mistype the name of a Web site into your browser. Instead of getting an error message, you get a wall of advertisements whose profits flow back to your Internet provider.
A hacker who breaks into the computer system of the company hired to display those ads can cause all kinds of mayhem, injecting code onto the pages you see or altering the pages to trick you into coughing up sensitive personal information.
"The security of the Web for these ISPs is limited to the security of these random ad servers," Kaminsky said in an interview.
Kaminsky's presentation centered around a "dead trivial vulnerability" he discovered on the servers used by U.K.-based Barefruit to serve ads for EarthLink Inc.'s Internet service.
The so-called "cross-site scripting" vulnerability allowed him to place his own code and content on pages Barefruit was serving.
Barefruit Chief Executive Dave Roberts said the company fixed the vulnerability -- which he said could be exploited only in "incredibly unlikely circumstances" -- within 30 minutes after Kaminsky told the company about it.
Kevin Brand, senior vice president for access products for Earthlink, said no users were harmed by the vulnerability, and he said Earthlink lets customers opt out of seeing ads on unused Web pages. But it requires them to alter the settings on their computers to do that.
"We're not trying to hold any of our customers hostage by any means," he said. "We're just trying to improve their experience."
Other security experts said Kaminsky's...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Some Car-Stereo Makers See Drivers Ditching CDs for iPods
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59446
First eight-track players slid off into history. Then that unruly stack of cassette tapes disappeared from glove compartments. Now, car-stereo makers are marketing units that threaten to boot compact discs into the auto audio graveyard.
On Wednesday, Blaupunkt announced it's shipping a second-generation, $160 stereo and AM/FM radio that ditches the CD player in favor of ports for other digital music technologies including Apple iPods and other MP3 players, thumb drives or other USB devices or SD memory cards.
Other makers have competing units that began appearing last year. All are aimed at the growing segment of music-loving auto enthusiasts who carry their tunes in their pockets.
"We're very close to an age when we're not going to have to carry around a bunch of discs anymore," says Ben Oh, editor of Car Audio & Electronics Magazine. Units "are starting to gain some popularity."
Going CD-free:
*Clarion. The car-stereo maker rolled out a $199 unit last year that plays music from MP3 players or SD cards. It was treated as a market test, but "we've hit our expectations" for it, says Kevin Kuenzie, senior manager. "You get better sound out of a CD, but very few people recognize it."
*Alpine Electronics. Three CD-less units were unveiled in January at $200 to $400, "for the consumer who takes their iPod with them everywhere," spokeswoman Connie Sung says. In the space vacated by the CD player, "We take that real estate and use it toward better sound quality and faster data transmission."
*Blaupunkt. The new unit adds capabilities to one introduced last year that was a "slow burner" in sales, not catching on right away, says Andrew Oswick, a general manager. But the future is clear: "There's a new breed of consumer who doesn't want to have CDs. They get their music from any number of online stores."
In industry...
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Motorola Plots Its Comeback as Cell Phone Icon
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59445
Talking with Greg Brown, Motorola's new CEO, is a bit like stepping into The Twilight Zone: Both require you to suspend disbelief, at least temporarily, and simply go with the story line.
Brown says the company's board is spinning off Motorola's troubled cell phone division for one reason and one reason only: to "unlock" the value of the business, which has no strategic value to the rest of the company.
Carl Icahn, the corporate-raider-turned-shareholder-activist, has pushed Motorola for more than a year to take such a step. Brown says, "That really wasn't a factor."
Even if the handset division were flying high and Icahn hadn't shown up, he says, "The result would have been the same. We would have spun it off anyways."
So it goes these days at Motorola, which is struggling to recover from a string of management, marketing and product blunders. The missteps have left it ill-prepared to compete in the wireless industry it birthed and promoted for more than 35 years.
Motorola's answer, for now, is to split itself into two parts: one devoted to the money-losing handset business, the other to the profitable parts of the company that provide software, hardware and broadband gear to a range of government and corporate customers. About half of Motorola's $37 billion in annual revenue is generated by the cell phone business. The balance is from the other two divisions.
The split, which will result in two independent companies with separately traded stocks, is expected to take about a year to complete. Investors will wind up with shares in both. Brown plans to join the successful part of the business. A search for a CEO for the handset business is underway.
Some analysts are lukewarm, at best, to Motorola's plan. "Breakups don't usually enhance shareholder value," says Mark Sue, an analyst at RBC Capital in New...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Google Offers Branding Ads for Mobile Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59462
In another move to extend its market-leading brand beyond the desktop, Google on Wednesday launched brand-image ads for mobile devices.
The image ads look like standard image ads for desktop Web pages, but they are smaller to fit on mobile screens and they run on the mobile-content network. All mobile image ads are keyword-targeted, priced on a cost-per-click basis, and must link to a mobile Web page.
Mobile image ads are currently available in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the U.S.
"For advertisers, mobile image ads serve as a branding tool and have shown to have good click-through rates," Alexandra Kenin, Google's product marketing manager for mobile ads, wrote in the company's blog. "Advertisers using mobile image ads will also benefit because we only show one image ad per mobile page."
For publishers, he continued, mobile image ads provide added flexibility. Publishers can choose to show text ads, image ads, or a mix of both, and Google will dynamically return the ad it expects will perform best at the time the ad is shown. Publishers who are already using AdSense for mobile content do, however, need to update their AdSense code to display mobile ads on their site.
"For those of you who are mobile Web surfers, mobile image ads provide a new way to interact with mobile content," Kenin said. "Contextual targeting keeps ads relevant, and with only one mobile image ad shown per page, you can uninhibitedly browse mobile Web sites while clicking only on the ads that interest you."
Worldwide mobile advertising is projected to surpass $2.7 billion this year, up from $1.7 billion in 2007, according to Gartner.
What's more, 23 percent (58 million) of all U.S. mobile subscribers said they were exposed to advertising on their phones...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Apple's Purchase of P.A. Semi Suggests New Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59461
Apple's surprising purchase of P.A. Semi, a niche chip designer, for $278 million has analysts and journalists trying to make sense of the deal and what it means for future products.
P.A. Semi is a 150-person company specializing in high-performance, low-power processors for the PowerPC platform -- the very platform Apple dumped a few years ago in favor of Intel chips for the Macintosh. P.A. Semi was founded in 2003 by Dan Dobberpuhl, a long-time Digital Equipment designer. He was a lead designer for DEC's Alpha and StrongARM processors in the 1990s.
Apple has been talking to P.A. Semi for about three years, just before abandoning the PowerPC line, Forbes reported. At that time, Dobberpuhl was talking about designing super-powerful chips that drew little power, but Apple ultimately chose to move the Mac to the Intel platform, Forbes said.
P.A. Semi boasts an impressive team of designers. Besides Dobberpuhl's work on DEC chips, its designers have worked on Intel's Itanium, AMD's Opteron and Sun's UltraSparc. Last year, P.A. Semi released a 64-bit dual-core microprocessor that consumes a mere five to 13 watts running at two gigahertz. The company said it was 300 percent more efficient than any other chip.
So what could Apple do with this kind of know-how? Tina Teng, a wireless analyst at iSuppli, doubts Apple is just looking at controlling designs for future version of iPhone chips, which are currently supplied by Samsung. "Just to have an internal design for a product that's going to be ready in the short term ... it's too much investment," Teng said. She thinks Apple is looking down the road to a next-generation product, where Apple can benefit from "having total control of what areas P.A. will focus on."
That's not to say P.A. Semi won't be involved in designing chips for the iPhone....
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Apple Reports 43 Percent Jump for Strongest Q2 Ever
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59460
It's been another boffo quarter for Apple. On Wednesday, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced revenue of $7.51 billion for its second quarter, compared to $5.26 billion a year ago.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company was "delighted to report 43 percent revenue growth and the strongest March-quarter revenue and earnings in Apple's history." Looking ahead to the third quarter, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the company expects revenue of about $7.2 billion.
The quarter's net profit was $1.05 billion, versus $770 million in the same quarter last year. The gross margin, however, was down from last year's 35.1 percent, to 32.9 percent.
Some financial analysts have noted that the gross-profit margin came in below expectations, while net income was higher.
Macintosh computers showed a 51 percent unit growth and 54 percent revenue growth compared with the year-ago quarter, and iPods had a one percent unit growth and an eight percent revenue growth. Actual sales were nearly 2.3 million Macs and about 10.6 million iPods.
Globally, the company sold 7.8 million desktop and notebook computers. Its growth rate worldwide for computers was 38 percent, more than twice that of the industry average. In the U.S., the NPD Group reported last month that Apple's share of the market was 14 percent, up from nine percent at the same time last year
The tiny increase sales growth for the iPod stems from the fact that it has been so successful, with the market saturated. Apple has lowered prices on some units, but it has also been replacing the growth in iPod hardware sales with its still-growing online music sales.
Apple sold about $880 million worth of music and accessories in the quarter from its iTunes Store, 35 percent higher than a year ago. And the iTunes Store was recently named by...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Ballmer Hedging Bets on Yahoo, Vista
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59459
Microsoft is "prepared to move forward without Yahoo," CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, speaking in Milan. Noting that $44.6 billion is "a lot of money," Ballmer said Microsoft does not plan to increase its offer from its intial offer in January. Originally worth $31 a share, the offer is now worth about $30.45 based on Microsoft's share price.
"Today Google has the lead, there's no doubt about it and I wanna make sure that they have plenty of competition," Ballmer said. "We think the best way to move that forward quickly is to come together with Yahoo. I hope that it works, but if it doesn't we go forward alone."
On April 5, Microsoft told Yahoo it had three weeks to agree to that offer or face hostile takeover actions. That deadline is this Saturday and Ballmer's speech fueled speculation that Redmond is rethinking whether the acquisition of Yahoo justifies the additional costs associated with a proxy fight and tender offer.
Many executives and ordinary workers are opposed to the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. While the opposition is not yet leading Ballmer to abandon the deal, his speech suggests he his "hedging his bets," the Journal said.
Ballmer was also hedging his bets on Windows Vista, the troubled successor to Windows XP. While consumer sales are strong, since Vista comes pre-installed on new PCs, the enterprise's response thus far has been tepid. Internet petititions to "Save XP" have gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Microsoft is due to stop selling XP on June 30 but Ballmer suggested XP sales could be extended.
"XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies we can always wake up smarter but right now we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments," Ballmer said. "In the...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
IBM Unveils Cool Web 2.0 Server System
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59458
IBM has unveiled a new server offering aimed at large enterprises with online operations that make use of Web 2.0-style computing. The IBM iDataPlex features innovative cooling and efficiency improvements that can help online organizations dramatically lower the cost of operating massive data centers with tens of thousands of servers, IBM executives said.
"With iDataPlex, IBM is making Web 2.0-style computing more efficient and commercializing it for Internet companies and other high performance segments like financial services and research," explained the senior vice president of IBM Systems and Technology Group Bill Zeitler. "iDataPlex can provide a foundation that companies can build on to provide improved services to Web users around the world," he said.
The exponential growth of online traffic due to the popularity of video streaming, online gaming and social networking is forcing many large organizations with an online presence to build ever vaster pools of computers that devour energy resources on a 24/7 basis. IBM notes that these massive data centers typically force many enterprises to spend 10 to 30 times more on energy costs per square foot than a typical office building. But that's about to change.
IBM says iDataPlex has been designed to reduce power consumption by 40% while simultaneously increasing the amount of computing that can be done by a factor of five. To achieve these breakthroughs IBM said it created a design that, among other things, turns the standard rack on its side.
According to Big Blue, the new server offering can be outfitted with a liquid-cooled back wall that will enable the system to run at room temperature -- eliminating the need for expensive air conditioning systems. And even without water cooling, IBM claims, iDataplex will run at least 20% cooler then a conventional rack approach.
The double-digit cost savings can be "a hefty...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Leaked: Grand Theft Auto IV Hits the Torrents
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59442
While the buzz is building that Grand Theft Auto IV will be the biggest video game release ever, the leaked copies of the software are making it onto the Internet.
The pirated copy is reportedly available for the PAL version of the Xbox 360. A group that calls itself iCON is making the pirated files available. Bootlegged copies of Grand Theft Auto IV are finding their way to torrent sites across the Internet.
Although it is yet unclear if the 6.32 GB download is the entire game, and while only a PAL version is currently available, the rumor mill is churning about an NTSC version of the pirated program coming online in the next few days. ICON warns downloaders not to play the game while connected to Xbox Live until next week.
U.S. computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion -- more than tripling industry software sales since 1996, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). But the group says piracy is threatening its growth.
The ESA in February asked for assistance from the U.S. Trade Representative. The report highlights persistent problems in countries like Canada, China, Malaysia, Russia, and parts of Europe that thwart healthy game industry growth and development.
"In 2007, our industry had a record-breaking year with receipts totaling $18.85 billion, but piracy closes off promising markets, artificially limiting our industry's ability to contribute even more economic growth to the American high-tech economy and economies of our trading partners," Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, said in a statement.
Michael Goodman, a Yankee Group video game analyst, agrees that piracy restricts sales, particularly at the launch of new video games. Six months after launch, pirated copies are often downloaded by folks who wouldn't have paid for the program anyway,...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Microsoft's Tellme Releases Mobile Voice Searching for Local Info
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59441
If your fingers are too slow for you to easily search for local info on your mobile devices, Tellme is offering a solution. Your voice.
On Wednesday, the Microsoft subsidiary announced it was adding local "on-the-go" information to its mobile voice portal, beginning with some BlackBerry models. Instead of typing or looking through menus, a user who has downloaded the software just holds the "talk" button and says a keyword. The results are shown on the screen.
After the BlackBerry, the service is expected to be available on future Helio, Windows Mobile, and Apple iPhone devices. According to news reports, it was launched on BlackBerry first, rather than devices with Microsoft's own Windows Mobile, because of BlackBerry's support for Java.
Mike McCue, TellMe's founder and general manager, said the service not only uses a voice interface, but it provides a specific answer to a specific question -- "like a movie show time, local weather info or driving directions."
Users also do not need to type in their location, as Tellme uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to gauge a user's position.
Some of the uses for the service include a Business Finder, Movies, Traffic, Weather, Maps, or Driving Directions. As one example, a user can say a business name or a business category, such as "coffee" or "hardware," and results from Microsoft's Live Search will provide the business address, driving directions, and options to call the business or to share with a friend.
Similarly, saying the name of a movie theater will result in theaters closest to you, movie show times, driving directions, and, via Fandango, the ability to buy tickets. "Traffic" will result in a map of current traffic conditions, "weather" will show a five-day forecast, and "driving directions" followed by saying or typing the destination yields turn-by-turn directions.
There...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Midsize Companies Spend Big on Storage, Security
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59440
Medium-sized companies (those with 100-999 employees) in the United States will spend nearly $8 billion this year on data storage and security -- a 12 percent increase over what they spent last year. One major factor in that growth is the need to guard against security breaches and to ensure that sensitive data is kept confidential.
Research by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners revealed that as much as 86 percent of medium businesses (MBs) reported a security breach or data loss over the past 12 months, while 77 percent said they had experienced a hard-drive failure in the same time period. Nichelle McKenzie, a research analyst with AMI Partners, said that the cost of security breaches is about $7,000 annually.
With data breaches occurring more frequently than ever (and receiving ever-higher profiles), organizations are moving toward security and storage investments that they hope will help prevent loss. McKenzie said that most MBs are investing in data backup and recovery software. Those investments are aimed at preventing hard-drive failures and outside attacks, while also providing sufficient storage.
"The types of storage investments that are popular among U.S.-based MBs are in the areas of upgrading and purchasing storage hardware," McKenzie told us. "For example, MBs are spending roughly $1.4 billion for storage hardware that includes fibre-channel storage area networks, IP storage area networks, network attached storage, PC-attached storage, SAN switches, server-attached storage, and tape-backup devices."
These investments are needed to constantly manage the growing volume of e-mail data, ensure business continuity, make storage management/maintenance easier, and ensure legal compliance.
In terms of security, companies are investing in technologies that will keep them safe from hackers, as well as secure in case of a disaster.
McKenzie said that security hardware, managed security services and security software -- such as antivirus,...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Low-Cost Laptop Program Sees a Key Leadership Defection
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59433
A key person behind the "$100 laptop" for schoolchildren has left the project as the organization overhauls its operations and prepares to tweak its open-source approach by welcoming Microsoft Corp.'s Windows.
While the One Laptop Per Child Foundation is known as the brainchild of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Nicholas Negroponte, his longtime MIT colleague Walter Bender was a close No. 2. Bender oversaw software and content for the green-and-white "XO" laptops, whose user interface was specially designed as an educational tool.
But in March, after OLPC's initial run of its $188 laptops reached fewer children than originally envisioned, Bender became head of "deployment."
Officially, OLPC said it was streamlining its organization because the laptop's technology essentially had been built. A different view came from the XO's former top security architect, Ivan Krstic, who wrote on his blog that Bender got demoted. Krstic said OLPC was undergoing a "drastic internal restructuring" and "a radical change in its goals and vision."
Then last week, Bender left the group entirely. That marked a third high-profile departure from OLPC. In addition to Krstic, Mary Lou Jepsen, who had been chief technology officer, left in December.
Negroponte said Bender was burned out after helping to shape OLPC for two years, during which time it has sold more than 500,000 laptops for children in such countries as Haiti, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Peru, Uruguay and Mongolia.
But Bender already has new plans: to launch an independent effort to further the development of the XOs' homegrown software, known as Sugar, and get it to run on Linux computers other than XOs. "Sugar is in a narrow place and it is ripe to be unleashed," he wrote in an e-mail exchange.
Sugar relies heavily on icons and other graphical features and avoids Windows' files-and-folders format. That was done to be intuitive to children in developing countries...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
EMC 1Q Profit Dips 14 Percent, Revenue Up 17 Percent
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59428
EMC Corp.'s first-quarter profit dipped 14 percent on acquisition-related charges, but the data storage vendor managed to post a double-digit revenue gain amid a slow U.S. economy, beating Wall Street expectations.
Its shares rose more than 2 percent on morning trading.
Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC said Wednesday that net income fell to $268.8 million, or 13 cents per share in the three months ended March 31. That's down from $312.6 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The latest quarter's performance was hurt by a $79 million non-cash charge to write off research and development operations from recent acquisitions. Without that charge and other one-time items including employee stock options costs, EMC's profit was $477.3 million, or 23 cents per share.
Revenue rose 17 percent to $3.47 billion, beating the $3.45 billion consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Despite a lagging U.S. economy that threatens to slow technology spending, EMC posted 14 percent revenue growth in North America, which accounted for 57 percent of total company revenue. Overseas, where EMC has consistently posted stronger growth, the revenue gain was 21 percent.
EMC's biggest business area, storage systems, posted a 10 percent revenue gain, with software license and maintenance revenue rising 18 percent. Revenue from a segment that includes professional services and systems maintenance posted 30 percent revenue growth.
EMC shares rose 35 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $15.94 in morning trading.
"EMC is off to a solid start to the year, and we remain on track to achieve the 2008 financial targets we set for the business at the beginning of the year," said Joe Tucci, chairman, president and chief executive of EMC, whose rivals include IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Network Appliance Inc.
EMC reported earnings a day after VMware Inc., a storage software maker in which EMC holds a majority...
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Opinion: Why the Apple TV Doesn't Make Toast
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59422
"You know, our next big step is we want it to make toast."
- Steve Jobs (2004, referring to iPods)
I have written a lot about the Apple TV. I've written about updates, I've pointed to stories and reviews, and I've discussed the compression issues related to getting HD content into the customer's Apple TV via the Internet. All along the way, I've resisted buying one for several reasons. I didn't think much of the content selection, I was trying to avoid another "buy the box then pay for the content" syndrome, and finally, I was using an iPod nano 3G to physically move content from my Mac to my HD TV system's A/V receiver input, and that seemed good enough.
In time, I decided those reason's weren't good enough, so over the weekend, I bought a 40GB Apple TV, and while my perceptions about the device haven't change a lot, my perceptions of the Internet culture surrounding devices like this have.
First of all, I should say that I like the Apple TV. The feed from a Comcast cable modem goes to a hardware firewall/router, then a D-Link gigabit switch in my office. From there, it continues through the walls to the living room via a Cat 5 Ethernet cable to an uplinked Linksys 10/100 switch. From there, I'm into the Apple TV and out to the Denon A/V Receiver via HDMI. I'm easily exceeding the 6 Mbps required to utilize an Apple TV for HD trailers and movies, since the link exits the Linksys switch at a measured 12 Mbps. All's well there.
I've not purchased any movies or TV shows yet, but I have looked at some trailers in HD, synced to my Mac's iTunes that has Jeremiah, Season II, (one of my all-time favorite TV shows) and...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Customs Can Search all Files on a Laptop, Court Rules
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59439
Business travelers carrying laptops into the U.S. from overseas may be in for a rude experience. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers can search laptops -- including opening every file on the hard drive -- without any reasonable suspicion.
The decision in United States v Arnold by a three-judge panel reverses a U.S. District Court decision that said such searches require reasonable suspicion.
The case concerns Michael Arnold, who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from the Philippines and was pulled aside by customs agents for a random laptop search. When the officers started up the computer they found two folders on the desktop labeled Kodak Pictures and Kodak Memories.
When they found photos of nude women in those folders, they spent several hours opening multiple files until they found images of child pornography. They seized the computer and two weeks later obtained a warrant. A grand jury charged Arnold with breaking federal child-pornography laws.
In its ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that international arrivals at U.S. airports are subject to the same rules as border crossings. Those rules give customs officials broad leeway to conduct searches of anything a traveler brings into the country. The international terminal of a U.S. airport is the "functional equivalent of a border," the court said, citing the U.S. Supreme Court case of Almeida-Sanchez v. United States.
In arguments before the court, Arnold's lawyer, Marilyn Bednarski, had a creative argument to get around the presumption that border searches are reasonable. Computers are "an extension of ourselves," she told media outlets this week. "It really is like looking into someone's mind, rather than looking into a box or a folder or a purse."
In other words, Bednarski argued, laptops are actually an extension of our bodies. That argument is based...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Sony Ericsson Sees Softening Demand for Some Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59438
Sony Ericsson said it shipped 22.3 million mobile handset units in the first quarter of 2008 -- a two percent increase from the year-ago period, but a sharp fall from the 30.8 million units the company moved in the prior quarter.
The world's No. 4 handset maker also estimates that it held an eight percent share of the global handset market at the end of the quarter -- a one percentage point decline from the prior period.
"We have experienced a softening of demand for mid-to-high-end phones in the markets where we have a strong presence, particularly in Western Europe," said Dick Komiyama, Sony Ericsson's president.
Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi noted that the company is heavily dependent on the region for its overall sales performance. "No other player from the top five has a similar exposure to Western Europe," she said.
During the first quarter, the average selling price (ASP) of Sony Ericsson's phones decreased both sequentially and year-on-year. Company executives stressed that this should be considered the overall market trend.
Milanesi thinks two different elements are playing specific roles in perpetuating the overall trend. "One is the lengthening of the replacement cycles, as operators sign up users for longer contracts on more expensive devices in the attempt to get some return on investment on the subsidies," noted Milanesi, who does not see this dynamic changing in the remainder of 2008.
Moreover, consumers currently might be a bit more careful with their spending and be opting for cheaper devices that do not lock them into longer contracts and high monthly tariffs. "I do not see this trend lasting into the second half of 2008, unless the economic situation gets much worse," Milanesi said.
Komiyama also cited the negative impact of "quicker than anticipated" growth in emerging-market sales of lower-priced phones --...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
FCC Chief Says Comcast P2P Blocking Was Widespread
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59437
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin lashed out at Comcast Tuesday in testimony before Congress, asserting that the cable company blocked peer-to-peer traffic widely, and that he doesn't know when or even if the company will stop blocking P2P applications.
Comcast used equipment from Sandvine Inc., or similar equipment, which provides a "relatively inexpensive, blunt means to reduce peer-to-peer traffic by blocking certain traffic completely," Martin told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. "More modern equipment can be finely tuned to slow traffic to certain speeds based on various levels of congestion."
The FCC has conducted two public hearings focused on Comcast's blocking of file uploads over the peer-to-peer protocol BitTorrent. At a hearing earlier this month at Stanford University in California, Martin strongly suggested the commission would take action against Comcast.
If the FCC finds that Comcast violated the principles in the FCC's Internet Policy Statement, "the commission stands ready to enforce this policy statement and protect consumers' access to the Internet," Martin said.
Martin contradicted several claims Comcast made in defense of its actions. "Contrary to some claims, it does not appear that cable-modem subscribers had the ability to do anything they wanted on the Internet," he said. "Some users were not able to upload anything they wanted and were unable to fully use certain file-sharing software from peer-to-peer networks."
In addition, Comcast's blocking activities were clearly not "content-agnostic," since Comcast has since announced plans to migrate to a "protocol-agnostic" method of network management, Martin said.
Perhaps most importantly, Martin said Comcast did not block traffic only at high-volume times, but blocked BitTorrent traffic even at low-volume times. "Based on the testimony we have received thus far, this equipment is typically deployed over a wider geographic or system area...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Apple Buys P.A. Semi for iPhone, iPod Advances
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59436
Apple has agreed to buy P.A. Semi, a boutique microprocessor design company, according to Forbes magazine. The deal is reportedly worth $278 million in cash.
Led by chip-industry veteran Dan Dobberpuhl, P.A. Semi is perhaps best known for its PWRficient processors for the multibillion-dollar high-performance embedded-computing markets. PWRficient 64-bit multicore processors aim to redefine power, cost and throughput efficiency in high-performance processing.
P.A. Semi's processors could provide advanced features in future iPods and iPhones.
The acquisition may be a dream come true for P.A. Semi, as well as deja vu. When Apple was ready to dissolve its relationship with IBM and its PowerPC processors, P.A. Semi was the rumored heir apparent processor maker for the Mac. P.A. Semi is an active member in Power.org and leverages IBM's Power Architecture in its processors.
However, Apple selected Intel as its chipmaking partner for the Mac. This time around, it appears Apple CEO Steve Jobs is more concerned about a competitive advantage for the iPhone.
"P.A. Semi makes some great technology, very power-efficient and ideal for a variety of mobile devices. It does appear to be something of a slap in Intel's face. Intel is making such a big deal of its Atom processor, which is aimed at that same market," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT Research.
Indeed, Intel announced five new Atom processors and Centrino Atom processor technology for mobile Internet devices and embedded computing solutions earlier this month.
The technology package includes the Intel Atom processor (formerly code-named Silverthorne) plus a single chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub that enables PC-like capabilities, including an Internet experience and long battery life, in devices that can fit in your pocket.
"Acquiring P.A. Semi is an interesting opportunity for Apple that probably reflects the company's tradition of...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
AMD Launches Phenom X3 Triple-Core Processors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59435
Advanced Micro Devices has released three new Phenom X3 triple-core processors, saying they provide "a full HD experience and visually stunning gaming and digital performance." AMD added that its Phenom X3 line offers the "world's only triple-core x86 processor," with balanced platforms of "great value."
Leslie Sobon, AMD director of product and brand management, went further, calling AMD the only company in the world to "deliver a balanced platform solution without compromise," offering a "thrilling visual experience and powerful multi-threaded application performance."
The company said Phenom X3 processors, along with AMD 780G chipsets, provide the processing and display performance historically available only in higher-end systems. The X3 will come in three versions -- the 8750 running at 2.4 GHz, the 8650 at 2.3 GHz, and the 8450 at 2.1 GHz.
The new triple-cores play to AMD's strength in the marketplace. Martin Reynolds, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner, said AMD's challenge is that rival Intel has the performance edge. "So they can't match Intel head-to-head" on that front, he said.
Instead, he said, AMD can compete by providing the same performance with lower power requirements and a lower price with the new triple-cores.
He also described "triple-core" as interesting, because it is one of the ways AMD can "play with the silicon" -- that is, release products with various combinations of cores, speed, price and overall performance. We used to have "gigahertz races," he said, where a chip might not be released if it wasn't fast enough. Now, he said, you can take several slower cores and package them together into a new product.
He also noted that a triple-core product can allow a company to use quad-core chips that may have a single defective core, not uncommon in the manufacturing process.
AMD is in the process of finding product solutions...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Live Mesh Will Help You Connect all Your Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59421
Too many devices in your life? Microsoft wants to help you simplify, and on Wednesday it launched a limited technology preview of Live Mesh.
Microsoft said Live Mesh is its new "software-plus-services platform and service that uses the Web as a hub to centrally connect people to the information, applications, people and devices they care about most." The preview is currently limited to a relatively small number of testers, but a larger beta is expected later this year.
The platform came about, wrote Microsoft's Amit Mital on a company blog, following an internal discussion about digital life. The Web is central to Microsoft employees' lives, he noted, and they stay connected to it through a variety of devices.
"Unfortunately, at least initially," Mital wrote, "every new device I add makes my life a little harder, not easier." He said there were many times where he would find that a file was on another machine, or he couldn't access something because he was offline.
Hence, Live Mesh. It allows devices to work together, data and applications to be available from anywhere, sharing to happen with just a few clicks, and your information to always be up to date and available.
In practice, a user signs up with a Windows Live ID and then goes to a personal Live Mesh page. The user then adds a device to a personal "device mesh," which allows each Windows device to become "aware" of others. Mitral noted that, in the future, Live Mesh will support the Mac and various mobile devices.
After a device has been added, there are a few changes in the device, most notably a new notifier icon in the Windows Taskbar. When a user hovers over the icon, a list of devices, news feeds and folders in the mesh pops up.
A user...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Yahoo Profits Up, But Microsoft's Bid Holds Steady
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59420
Yahoo's first-quarter revenue and profit beat Wall Street's estimates, but Microsoft is unfazed by the financial progress. In fact, before the earnings reports were even released, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he wouldn't raise the bid for Yahoo no matter how well Yahoo performed.
Yahoo's revenues were $1.82 billion for the first quarter of 2008, a nine percent increase compared to $1.672 billion for the same period of 2007. Marketing-services revenues were $1.572 billion for the first quarter of 2008, a seven percent increase over the year-ago period. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.063 million, an 11 percent increase over the first quarter of 2007.
Jerry Yang, co-founder and CEO of Yahoo, said he believes the company can significantly accelerate its revenue growth, return to its historically high margins, and double its operating cash flow by 2010.
"This quarter's solid performance underscores the fact that we are executing on that plan. Yahoo is beginning to realize the benefits of the very substantial and deliberate long-term investments we've made to capitalize on the opportunities ahead in display and to recapture momentum in search," Yang said.
Yahoo has rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid -- twice. Ballmer sent what amounts to an ultimatum letter to Yahoo's board in early April. The letter made clear that Microsoft's goal in making "such a generous offer" was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction.
Ballmer wanted Yahoo to authorize a team to negotiate and come to a definitive agreement. He then threw down the gauntlet: a three-week deadline to come to a conclusive agreement -- or else. That three weeks ends on Saturday. Yahoo is still not budging, and neither is Microsoft.
"We are offering a lot of money," Ballmer said at a Microsoft conference in Milan on Wednesday....
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Study Finds Infected Web Pages on the Rise
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59415
A year ago, one out of every 909 e-mails was infected with malicious code. In the first quarter of 2008, only one out of every 2,500 was infected. Good news? Not really. All it means is that the attackers have changed tactics to overcome the defenses you're building, according to security company Sophos.
"As companies implement better e-mail defenses, the hackers are looking for new avenues of attack. E-mail also lacks some of the flexibility that Web-based attacks can offer," said Richard Wang, U.S. SophosLabs Manager.
A study done by Sophos that examines the security events and trends of the first quarter of this year showed that the decline in attacks against e-mail was balanced by what the company calls "an unprecedented number of threats" targeting Web pages. Last year, the company detected an average of roughly 5,000 infected Web pages a day; this quarter, the average is 15,000 per day. That's one new infected Web page every five seconds.
And these are sites you may well visit: 79 percent are legitimate sites, not sites set up specifically to host malicious attacks.
"The Web gives hackers an easy way to deliver software to their victims," Wang said. "It also allows them to change the software they are using at a moment's notice. This makes the Web far more flexible as an attack vector than e-mail."
Companies in the United States are taking the worst beating from the switch in tactics, with domestic companies now unwittingly hosting the greatest number of malicious content. (Last year, the number-one spot was held by China.)
"The most likely cause of this is the hackers' move away from purpose-built malicious Web sites. The vast majority of sites that we now see hosting malware are legitimate sites that hackers have broken...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
How You Can Eliminate Cell Phone Text Spam
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59409
Like most of the 148 million consumers who signed up for the Do Not Call list a few years back, I rarely get unsolicited calls to my home telephone.
But my wife has recently been receiving telemarketing calls as well as text messages on her cell phone, and several readers report having the same experience.
Unfortunately, regulators don't make it easy to deal with this problem.
Under federal law, auto-dialed calls to cell phones are prohibited, even if the cell phone is not registered on the Do Not Call list.
That's why a "Truth About Cell Phones" fact sheet issued two weeks ago by the Federal Trade Commission said, "It is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls."
But the unscrupulous telemarketers ignore the rules, leading to 10 "missed-call" notices and voice-mail messages from New Hampshire, Nevada and several California numbers we've gotten in the past month.
Each says it is our last chance to extend an auto warranty.
When I called the numbers left on caller ID, a recorded message -- the same one on each -- told me how to get on this telemarketer's do-not-call list. None gave any indication who was calling.
On several I left a call-back number, but I'm still waiting.
When calls are made to my home phone, they are merely annoying. But for people on a cell phone plan with limited monthly minutes, they can be costly.
Two of the calls came while we were vacationing in Australia last month, and each came with a $1.49 roaming charge. The cost would have been even higher except we ignored four other voice-mail messages until we got home.
My experience seems to be increasingly common.
"Phishers are now sending unsolicited text messages to your cell phone which, as you...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Analog Chipmakers Seek Deals as Business Slows
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59406
Analog chip makers, faced with slowing industry growth and looking to put their piles of cash to use, are likely to search out deals in the coming months.
The pace of deals had lagged behind the overall technology sector because of strong growth opportunities within the industry. The analog semiconductor industry grew at about 25 percent annually from the mid-1990s until about five years ago, driven by exponentially increasing demand for these chips from industries ranging from housing to communications.
Analog chips receive continuous signals and are used in products that involve sound waves or pressure, which cannot be broken into ones and zeros -- the stuff of digital signals. Mobile phones, computers, planes, cars and radios all use analog chips.
But the industry is now maturing, with the rate of growth dropping to about 10 percent annually. Analysts expect growth to decline slightly over the next few years.
"Growth isn't as explosive anymore," Patrick Wang, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan, said. "The industry is ripe for consolidation."
Analog chip makers are also feeling the sting of the economic downturn, which has shrunk demand for mobile phones, consumer electronics and other products that use analog components. Last month, Texas Instruments, the largest U.S. maker of chips for cell phones, lowered its first-quarter earnings forecast, citing a weaker market for chips used in high-end phones.
These factors are likely to spur companies that have the cash to look for alliances designed to lead them to new markets and plug holes in their product portfolios, analysts said.
Wang said he expected a handful of acquisitions over the next 12 months, as companies try to scale up by combining products, cross-promoting them and bundling sales.
The uncertainty in financial markets may also lead these cash-rich companies to seek acquisitions, since they could get better returns from a deal than...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Get Ready for the Monitor-Connection Format War
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59402
The computer world is no stranger to format wars, and we're about to have another one, with the new connection format to the next generation of computer monitors.
Oh yes, we're about to mix it all up again.
We used to connect monitors via those blue plugs and get the so-so VGA picture. A step up from that is the white DVI plug, the bigger, flatter one that started showing up on video cards and monitors a few years ago. That gave computer users a digital output and a pretty glorious picture, if consumers knew enough to use that connection instead of the blue one.
Now comes the confusing part.
Many manufacturers now are shipping monitors with HDMI ports, the USB-looking ports found on many HDTVs. These are cool ports (when they work, but that's another column) that also are capable of carrying digital audio. There is a large push to make HDMI the standard for computer monitors going forward. However, manufacturers have to pay a 4-cent per-device royalty for the right to use the HDMI technology.
Four cents! That will never stand, so some, including Dell, are trumpeting a competing (royalty-free) format called DisplayPort, which is not compatible with HDMI, of course. There are nerds and geeks who are trumpeting the merits of both in Apple bars everywhere, but the bottom line is we have another war on our hands.
The good news is the winner is already at hand. HDMI is already installed on every high-def TV on the planet and will be crowned the winner in the monitor wars, as well. Everyone knows what it is, everyone knows how it works, and the cables are in Wal-Mart.
For a while, we will see monitors that have both jacks on it, but in the end, it will cost lots more than 4 cents to...
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Is the Mobile Market Ready for Virtualization?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59399
Peter Richards, who runs software startup VirtualLogix, carries three phones. He uses a Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve 8300 for e-mail, a Motorola Razr for calls, and an Apple iPhone for mobile Web browsing. He'd rather get that combination of features from a single phone.
Sunnyvale [Calif.]'s VirtualLogix wants to help build that phone using a kind of software known as virtualization, which increases the efficiency of computers. One of last year's most successful initial share sales came from VMware, a company that uses virtualization technology to help companies make better use of their servers, the computers that run Web sites and corporate networks. Orders for VMware's products surged 88 percent in 2007, to $1.33 billion. VirtualLogix and a handful of other companies, including Trango Virtual Processors, Green Hills Software, Open Kernel Labs, and Wind River Systems, are hoping to replicate that success by applying virtualization to cell phones.
Handset makers could use virtualization to more easily replicate the features found in one another's devices and confront the threat posed by Apple, which introduced the iPhone in 2007. Virtualization could also help cell-phone makers offer more features at a lower price. "Ultimately, the [handset] winner is going to be determined by their ability to manage security, costs, and time [to market]," says Steve Subar, CEO of Open Kernel. VirtualLogix got a push forward in its effort by a funding infusion from Motorola, unveiled on Apr. 21.
Here's how mobile virtualization works. Currently, programmers have to rewrite every application -- be it a game, social networking service, or other feature -- for each of the various operating systems, including Symbian, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, or Google's Android. The tinkering can take months. But virtualization software would enable a mobile-phone maker to add features regardless of the operating system. So Motorola could grab...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Sony BMG Jumps on Nokia Music Phone Bandwagon
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59414
Sony BMG just became the second recording label to join Nokia's mobile music platform and service.
Dubbed Comes with Music, Nokia has already wooed Universal Music Group to its new system for delivering music on mobile phones.
Here's how it works: People who buy a Nokia Comes With Music device will have a year of access to the Sony BMG catalog of music. Consumers will be able to download tracks to both their mobile device and computer through the Nokia Music Store during the first 12 months that they own their Nokia device.
"As one of the leading major music companies in the world, our collaboration with Sony BMG means we can offer a huge range of fantastic music from both international and local artists via Comes With Music," said Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business. "It's great to have them on board as we move forward with bringing our unlimited music bundle to the market."
As Ojanpera sees it, Nokia Comes With Music is an innovation that not only helps people discover and enjoy music, but also expand the overall business and revenue for the benefit of artists, labels and other rights holders.
At the end of the one-year period, consumers can keep their downloaded tracks and, should they purchase a new compatible device or computer, can transfer their downloaded material by substituting their new device or computer for the original devices. That means music fans who participate in the Comes With Music experience will be able to keep their downloads on their device and/or computer for the rest of their lives.
Consumers will have a number of options for continuing to get new music after the Nokia Comes With Music subscription is over: They will be able to continue to purchase additional...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
New Jersey Court Says IP Addresses Are Private
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59413
Individuals have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in the connections between their personal information and the IP address they use to access the Internet, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday.
While the court's ruling was based on the New Jersey constitution's expanded definition of privacy, it is "an open question" as to whether the same privacy rights would be upheld in federal court, said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University Law School, in a telephone interview.
The case concerns an employee accused of changing content on her company's Web site and altering the password so no one else could correct the misinformation. On Aug. 27, 2004, Timothy Wilson, owner of Jersey Diesel, noticed his company's shipping address had been changed on its Web site.
The company's IT specialist reported that someone had logged onto the server, changed the address and changed the login password. The specialist found the IP address of the person who made the changes.
Wilson suspected an employee, Shirley Reid, with whom he had recently argued, and reported her as a likely suspect to the Lower Township, N.J., police. When Wilson contacted Comcast to request the identity of the IP address user, Comcast declined without a subpoena.
The local police then obtained a deficient subpoena from the municipal court and served it on Comcast, which complied, identifying Reid as the person who changed the site. The subpoena was captioned Wilson v Reid, although no such case existed -- a blatant violation of the process.
The question for the Supreme Court was whether the evidence gathered from the deficient subpoena should be suppressed. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court has found no privacy expectation in Internet subscriber information, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state's constitution goes further and New Jersey citizens do have a...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Apple Seeks Patent on iPhone Instant Messenging
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59412
Apple fans who were expecting an iPhone instant-messaging client based on AOL's popular software could be in for a surprise. Apple has applied for a patent on a chat feature.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an application entitled Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging on March 6. That's the same day Apple offered details on its software development kit for the iPhone.
Last month, Apple mentioned AOL's test version of the first "official" native Web chat for the popular iPhone. But that could be a temporary solution. The patent was filed in August 2007.
The application reads, "The GUI has a set of messages exchanged between a user of the device and another person. The set of messages (is) displayed in a chronological order. In response to detecting a scrolling gesture comprising a substantially vertical movement of a user contact with the touch-screen display, the display of messages (is) scrolled in accordance with a direction of the scrolling gesture."
Of course, the iPhone already has SMS messaging. But an Apple-branded chat feature would offer Apple multiple benefits, so Ilan Barzilay, a member of the Electrical and Computer Technologies Practice Group at Wolf Greenfield in Boston, was not surprised to learn about the patent.
"Texting is a huge part of cell-phone service, so if Apple could build an IM client into its iPhone that's just another feature, that would be very appealing to consumers," Barzilay said. "Apple could take that power out of the hands of the cell-phone companies so consumers have one less thing to worry about on their cell-phone bill."
If Apple releases its own chat feature, the company would also have more control over the modifications consumers make to the software. Apple has taken a relatively proprietary approach until now, only...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Sony Again Delays PS3 Home Online Community
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59411
The launch of Sony's Home 3D online community for the PlayStation 3 is being delayed again, this time until autumn. Last year, Home was also pushed back, with a now-postponed launch set for early in 2008. As with last year's delay, Sony executives said the reason is to improve the quality of service.
Home is a Second Life-like virtual world, where PS3 users can create online, visual representations of themselves called avatars. A user's avatar can chat with other visitors, add personalizing touches, and play games, among other activities.
Mike Goodman, an analyst with industry research firm Yankee Group, said he is "never surprised when game software is delayed." Rightly or wrongly, he added, delays are part of the process for software development, so the second delay should not have a great impact on Home's acceptance.
But, he noted, it does need to be released in the not-too-distant future, and the company needs to get it right. "It's a very important project for Sony," he said, adding that PS3 could use the leverage of exclusive offerings that its younger sibling, PS2, was able to use to drive sales of its platform.
PS2 had "all these exclusive games," Goodman noted, but the PS3 is not getting that many exclusives, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 is. Sony is being forced to follow the route that Nintendo has been using to boost the Wii, he said -- launching its own software.
"Home gives them an exclusive, something that no other platform has," he pointed out, and Sony sees it as a clear differentiator.
Goodman said he has seen Home in earlier versions, and it was "pretty cool." But he said it wasn't completely clear, in the versions he saw, why someone would use Home rather than some other virtual world.
The PS3 is locked in an intense...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Intel Embraces 45nm with Price Cuts on Older Processors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59410
Intel has substantially reduced prices on some of its dual- and quad-core processors -- in some cases as much as 50 percent. However, industry observers note that most of the discounted products were fabricated using 65-nanometer technology.
The price cuts make sense as the world's leading chipmaker moves to 45 nanometers, noted iSuppli principal analyst Matthew Wilkins. "This is precisely the sort of expected price cut that goes hand-in-hand with Intel's transition over to the new process technology," Wilkins said. "They are transitioning those products down through their price schedule. And if you look at the same time last year, Intel refreshed its price list on almost exactly the same day."
According to CEO Paul Otellini, Intel saw particularly strong demand for its 45nm products in the first quarter. "And we continue to ramp that process rapidly -- both in terms of volumes as well as in the breadth of product offerings," Otellini told investors earlier this month.
Virtually all the products that Intel produced during the first quarter were 45nm processors. "At this point in time, we've shipped in excess of 8 million units, so we are moving very quickly up the ramp curve," Otellini explained.
One tangible benefit of the 45nm technology, according to Intel executives, is that chips cost less to produce. Another is that 45nm enables Intel to combine outstanding performance with low power consumption. "We expect our differentiation to grow as we aggressively ramp this new technology," Otellini said.
Intel's price drops will make the microprocessor sales environment "just a bit tougher" for rival Advanced Micro Devices, Wilkins observed. "There's a quad-core chip that Intel has cut by 50 percent, which is a pretty aggressive move," Wilkins said. "And it comes at a time when AMD has come out with...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Due Out Next Week
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59396
The last service pack for Microsoft Windows XP was released almost four years ago. In the meantime, engineers in Redmond were busy on a little project called Vista. Now that Vista has been out the door for a year, Microsoft has finished up Service Pack 3 for Windows XP and released it to manufacture. The new release will be available for public download next Tuesday, April 29.
"Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and enterprise customers," Chris Keroack, release manager for Windows serviceability, posted to Microsoft's TechNet forum. "We are also in the final stages of preparing for release to the Web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center."
SP3 will be distributed to home users via Automatic Update in early June, the company said. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3 will be updated next week.
The new service pack is a 70MB download to update Window XP and can be installed on top of either SP1 or SP2. It doesn't work with the 64-bit version of XP, however.
Much of SP3 consists of previously released patches, according to Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Network Security. "In terms of functionality, SP3 delivers eight mainline items, which had already been previously available by download," Storms noted in an e-mail.
While consumers won't notice much difference, "enterprises will welcome the added functionality of Digital Identity Management Service (DIMS) and support for WPA2," Storms said. WPA2 is a wireless security solution derived from the 802.11e standard. DIMS allows users to access all their certificates and private keys for applications and services.
As for the new items in XP, enterprises will be mostly concerned with Network Access Protection, a platform that enforces compliance with network policies, and...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Wireless, Enterprise Drive Strong AT&T Growth
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59395
Strong results in wireless and enterprise sales led AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in the U.S., to first-quarter revenues 6.1 percent higher than the same period a year ago. Net income for the quarter was $3.5 billion, a 21.5 percent jump from $2.8 billion in the year-earlier quarter, and earnings per diluted share were up 26.7 percent.
Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, said his company had "good momentum across key growth areas, major cost initiatives are on track, and our operational results reinforce the confidence we have in our outlook." He added that steps are being taken to expand AT&T's networks and range of products "to drive continued growth in wireless, broadband and IP-based services."
The company attributed the good news to several areas. Wireless revenue rose 18.3 percent, and revenue from wireless data -- including Internet access, messaging and media bundles -- jumped 57 percent. Wireless-data revenues are now about 21 percent of AT&T's total wireless-service revenues. Customers sent more than 620 million multimedia messages and 44 billion text messages, more than twice the volume in the same quarter last year.
The key to the revenue growth in wireless, AT&T said, was strong subscriber gains and a continued improvement in the average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU). The company noted that it has had seven consecutive quarters of growth in wireless ARPU, measured year-over-year.
The net gain in wireless subscribers was 104,000, nearly nine percent more than in the same quarter a year ago. Total average monthly subscriber churn was only 1.7 percent.
Broadband revenues rose 13.2 percent, with nearly half a million broadband connections added in the quarter for a total of 14.6 million.
The company's U-verse TV service added 148,000 customers, making a total of 380,000 as it heads toward its goal of a million...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Turn Your Smartphone into a Wi-Fi Hot Spot
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59392
If you've always wished you could carry a wireless hot spot with you and have access to the Internet wherever you had mobile coverage, TapRoot Systems is ready to make your wish a reality. The company, which creates software for smartphones, announced that it is letting Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone users try its WalkingHotSpot solution for free.
Before you get too excited, note some caveats. First, BlackBerry users can sit down; the free trial version is for a few selected smartphones that use the Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile 6 Professional platforms. Support for other platforms is under investigation, though there's no word on when that might be available.
The trial version allows one device to connect to a single WalkingHotSpot through a secure connection, but the full version will allow multiple devices to connect via the hot spot.
WalkingHotSpot "enables 3G/Wi-Fi smartphones to become mobile hot spots with no additional client software required on the laptop or Wi-Fi-enabled device to connect. The solution provides seamless connectivity to client devices while enforcing the security methods required by mobile network operators," said Bob Bicksler, TapRoot's CEO.
The product was created by "a group of seasoned, embedded Wi-Fi software professionals," Bicksler said, and is fully supported and maintained by TapRoot Systems, "a trusted partner in the mobile-device industry for over seven years, [with] solutions shipped in millions of mobile handsets worldwide."
Connecting to the Internet through your phone may give you visions of sluggish page loads and a frustrating experience, but that won't be the case with WalkingHotSpot, Bicksler said. Connection speeds will vary depending "on the carrier network, but we are able to perform reliable video streaming with multiple laptops connected via a single WalkingHotSpot device."
Security is paramount for mobile users, and TapRoot says the WalkingHotSpot client-server architecture...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Critics Fault FCC Wireless Spectrum Auction
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59382
As far as Kevin Martin is concerned, the government's recent auction of wireless airwaves that fetched a record $19.12 billion was a resounding "success." A chorus of critics begs to differ with the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Sure, the FCC-led auction fetched almost twice the $10.2 billion Congress expected, and as much as all U.S. government wireless auctions of the past 15 years combined. The FCC also succeeded in imposing rules on one winning bidder that in Martin's view will result in increased competition and innovation in wireless technology.
But a wave of revisionist thinking is beginning to wash over that sanguine view. Members of Congress, industry analysts, and smaller wireless carriers are crying foul over the auction, faulting the FCC for failing to sell a section of airwaves set aside for emergency responders and alleging that the auction left too great a concentration of assets in the hands of the two biggest mobile-phone carriers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which is owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone. Some lawmakers insist tighter regulation is needed to undo what they consider the auction's damage.
In a recent congressional hearing, Representative Edward Markey [D-Mass.] evoked Charles Dickens to describe the auction. It was "the best of auctions and the worst of auctions," he said. Martin rejects that view and on Apr. 15 appeared before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications & the Internet to debunk what he calls "myths" about the auction, including the notion that it wasn't a success. Thanks to the requirement that winners of part of the spectrum open their network to competing handsets and features, "consumers will be able to use the wireless device of their choice and download whatever legal software or applications they choose," Martin said.
Open-network stipulations indeed represent a victory for new players such as Google, which...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Avoiding Net Traffic Tie-Ups Could Cost You in the Future
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59380
Back in the days of dial-up, Internet users were content to watch text download onto screens, one excruciating line at a time.
Nowadays, people get annoyed if they have to wait more than a few seconds for downloads to their PCs, laptops or mobile devices. They also want Hollywood-quality video feeds for everything from TV shows and blogs to breaking news.
"People's expectations of the Internet have changed significantly," says Imran Shah, co-founder and managing partner of IBB Consulting in Boston. "As soon as they click, they expect video to be a seamless experience."
The good news for consumers is that the Web is awash with cool new applications -- such as high-definition video -- that tap into the power and reach of the Internet. The bad news: Net obsession in the future could cost you.
AT&T and Verizon have spent more than $70 billion in the past two years to expand capacity and fortify their networks with optical technology and other capacity-enhancing gear. Consumers will ultimately foot the bill. Trying to get broadband costs and revenue in line, some carriers are eyeing Internet service plans that charge by the megabyte. That could set the stage, eventually, for the end of Web plans that are priced on speed instead of actual consumption, which is now the case.
The basic problem: Consumers are becoming enamored with applications such as streaming high-definition video that eat up a lot of bandwidth. It was OK so long as those applications were on the fringe, with few users. But pressure on broadband networks ratchets up significantly once millions of people start engaging in bandwidth-intensive activities simultaneously, says Suraj Shetty, a senior director at Cisco, the big equipment maker.
Pushing the trend along, he says, is the explosion of digital cameras and other Web-enabled devices. Peer-to-peer services, which give users a cheap...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
China Vaults Past U.S. in Number of Internet Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59379
China, already the world leader in cell phone use, has surpassed the USA as the No. 1 nation in Internet users.
The number of Chinese on the Internet hit more than 220 million as of February, according to estimates from official Chinese statistics by the Beijing-based research group BDA China. The government is likely to confirm the leap at its half-yearly report in July.
The longtime Internet leader, the USA, which founded and developed the network of computers, had 216 million users at the end of 2007, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
The percentage of American users -- 71 percent -- still exceeds China's 17 percent. China has 1.3 billion people, compared with nearly 304 million in the USA.
China, however, has a higher growth rate, says BDA's chairman, Duncan Clark. By the end of March, for example, Chinese users climbed to 233 million.
At the end of 2007, China's Internet users reached 210 million, a jump of 53 percent from the previous year, says Zhang Shanshan, media director for the China Internet Network Information Center, which gathers statistics for the Ministry of Information Industry.
Clark says the rapid growth is powered in part by China's economic boom. While the government "continues to filter the Net and encourage self-censorship, it also has a mandate to promote cheaper technology and the knowledge economy."
And there is strong government backing for companies such as China Netcom, which offers broadband service at $10 a month, Clark says.
At the company's Xibahe branch in north Beijing, dozens of people recently lined up to buy broadband service.
Sun Xin, 19, a student, was helping his parents sign up for DSL.
"My friends all agree -- no Internet, no life," Sun says. "We use it every day for MSN, and I love playing games like World of Warcraft." The game is so popular that players can pay companies...
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Yahoo Scrambles as Microsoft Deadline Looms
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59377
Factors in play for Yahoo this week could decide whether the pioneering Web company can remain independent or must surrender to an unsolicited takeover by Microsoft.
Yahoo is racing to forge a credible alternative that lets it stay independent or at least pushes Microsoft to raise its $31 a share cash-and-stock bid, now valued at $42.8 billion.
"Yahoo is willing to try things at the 11th hour that it never felt the urgency to try," according to the Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay. "Shareholders win, either way."
"They are coming up with some of their best stuff now," he added. "We just wish they had done these things last year."
Yahoo reports first-quarter results on Tuesday, and has perhaps a last chance to demonstrate a degree of the financial strength and progress it has made in stabilizing the company's Internet media and advertising business after two years of decline.
By midweek, Yahoo is planning to complete a test with Google on whether Google should run a piece of its Web search ad sales.
Saturday is the deadline Microsoft has set for Yahoo to accept the deal or face a drawn-out proxy battle to unseat the Yahoo board. Two weeks ago, Microsoft threatened to lower its offer if Yahoo did not conclude friendly merger talks by the end of this week.
The chief technology officer for Yahoo will deliver a speech Thursday at the Web 2.0 Expo industry show and is expected to spell out a strategy to open up Yahoo services like e-mail, news, sports and advertising to make them more relevant across the Web, not just for users drawn inside its own sites.
That same day, Microsoft reports its own quarterly results. It is expected to show strong underlying fundamentals across its range of businesses.
But despite the time pressures, and indirect threats by Microsoft...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Skype Offers Unlimited Flat-Rate Calling Plans
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59393
Skype on Monday lowered the cost of nationwide and international calling with the debut of new unlimited calling subscriptions. The launch marks the first time Skype has offered a flat rate for unlimited calls to 34 countries, including Mexico.
Unlimited Skype calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada will cost $2.95 per month. Skype subscribers in Mexico can make unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey for $5.95 a month. Unlimited calls to 34 countries are now $9.95 a month, up to 80 percent less than normal SkypeOut rates. Skype-to-Skype calls remain free.
"We know Skype users have different communication needs -- whether it's doing free video calls to others on Skype, or using Skype to make calls to friends or family members who are on landline phones," said Don Albert, vice president and general manager of Skype North America. "Our goal is to provide simple, clear options that allow people to choose the free or inexpensive communication methods that work best in their lives."
The 34 countries included in an Unlimited World subscription are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.
Each subscription includes a Skype To Go number, which lets users make international calls at local rates from a cell phone or landline phone. A user dials an assigned access number and the call is connected by Skype to overseas numbers. Calls are charged at standard Skype calling rates. The subscriptions do not require a long-term contract and give customers the choice of paying monthly, quarterly or annually. From now...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
IBM Acquires Deduplication Software Maker Diligent
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59384
IBM has acquired privately held storage software provider Diligent Technologies. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Diligent's deduplication software substantially reduces the amount and cost of physical storage required in data centers while maintaining the integrity of the data, noted Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM System Storage.
"Exceptionally suited for midrange and enterprise clients," the newly acquired technology is designed "to eliminate redundant data and streamline the infrastructure required to support their businesses, which can result in dramatic improvements in data-center efficiency," Monshaw said.
"For IBM, Diligent is a good fit," noted Forrester Research analyst Stephanie Balaouras. "The company offers both mainframe and open systems virtual tape libraries and they are a pioneer of deduplication," she said.
Deduplication is important because storage capacities are growing 50 percent or more a year and most of the information that we store -- at a file and at a block level -- is redundant, Balaouras noted. "With deduplication, companies can reduce storage-capability requirements by a factor of 10 to 15 times," Balaouras said.
As corporate information grows, so does the amount of time required to back up that data. Deduplication technology enables enterprises to cut costs by reducing this time requirement.
The technology also reduces the amount of physical storage required in the data center, which leads to lower energy costs, noted Diligent CEO Doron Kempel. "Any economically oriented customer who cares about data protection will need this technology," Kempel said.
The Diligent acquisition follows Sun Microsystems' announcement that it is adding deduplication capabilities to its virtual tape library storage portfolio. The announcement was no big surprise, according to Balaouras.
"Customers now expect virtual tape libraries and other backup to disk appliances to support deduplication," Balaouras explained. "Every VTL and appliance vendor will support deduplication within three months, if not...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Ballmer Calls Windows Vista 'A Work in Progress'
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59383
You might have thought Windows Vista was a finished product. But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week described his company's newest operating system as "a work in progress."
According to a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Ballmer told a professional gathering in that city that the product has gotten "a lot of things right," but "we have a lot of things we need to learn from." While acknowledging complaints about the new OS, Ballmer also said the company has a fair share of satisfied users.
One of those lessons to be learned, he said, is not to go five years between releases of an OS -- the time from the release of Windows XP to Vista. "We can't ever let that happen again," he said. Earlier this month, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates made a point of noting during a conference that Vista's successor, currently called Windows 7, will be completed within a year.
This admission of less than completeness comes at a difficult time for Vista, which was first released in January 2007. Earlier this month, analysts from industry research firm Gartner said the Windows franchise and Vista in particular were in danger of collapsing.
Gartner analysts Neil MacDonald and Michael Silver, speaking at a conference, echoed many of the complaints Microsoft has been hearing from consumers and businesses. They cited development times for Windows releases that were too long, especially in relation to the innovation delivered, and the failure to deliver a consistent experience between platforms.
MacDonald and Silver also cited compatibility issues and the substantial hardware requirements to run Vista. And they predicted that, by 2011, there will be more operating system-agnostic applications in the market, notably those hosted on the Internet. This will diminish the dominant position Windows has held for decades, they said.
Some consumers...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
300GB VelociRaptor Hard Drive Is Bigger and Faster
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59378
Western Digital announced Monday that it has begun shipping a VelociRaptor hard drive, an enterprise-class device the company said has twice the capacity and a 35 percent performance increase over its previous generation of hard drives.
Tom McDorman, WD vice president and general manager of its enterprise business unit, said the new drive "delivers the greatest performance and reliability of all SATA hard drives currently on the market." He added that the drive was created to lead "PC enthusiasts into the next era" of storage performance and to satisfy their thirst for speed.
This 300GB monster spins at 10,000 rpm, has a three Gb/s interface and a 16MB cache, and is initially targeted at gamers and owners of professional workstations. There are expectations that it will be used in business settings as well, with a mean time between failures rating of 1.4 million hours. WD said that spec was the highest available reliability rating of any SATA drive.
The SATA drive itself is squeezed into a 2.5-inch chassis, although it is enclosed in what WD calls the IcePack, a 3.5-inch mounting frame with a heat sink built-in. This arrangement allows the small unit to be mounted into a standard 3.5-inch system bay and to stay cool. At present, the drives are not compatible with notebook computers.
John Rydning, research manager for hard drives at IDC, said the VelociRaptor is primarily intended for the gaming market, although its reliability standards are closer to those of an enterprise. He described WD's approach to the cooling issue in this form factor as being "clever and innovative."
To give some idea of how much storage is in this drive, WD offered some guideposts. The drive can store up to 85,700 digital photos in JPEG mode with an average size of six MB each, or...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Albany Is a Step Toward the Future for Microsoft Office
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59372
Microsoft will launch an all-in-one subscription service for many of its key productivity applications, the company announced Friday. Code-named "Albany," the service will give subscribers instant access to the latest versions of Microsoft desktop software, ongoing security updates, and connections to Microsoft's online Office Live Workspace.
The service entered private beta on Monday, but availability and pricing information will not be available until later in the year.
Included are Microsoft Office Home and Student, which has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, Microsoft's subscription-based digital notebook service; Windows LiveOneCare, an antivirus and firewall service; and the free Live Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery applications.
A key appeal of the new offering is that subscribers will be able to download the latest versions of the applications for no additional charge. "When the next release of Microsoft Office comes out, Albany customers with an active subscription will automatically get an upgrade to this version -- at no extra cost, as part of their subscription," said Bryson Gordon, Albany group product manager for Microsoft.
"They're responding to what they perceive to be the market demand for easy access to the latest version of the software, but it's an open question as to how big that demand is," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research. "How many people go out and buy the latest version of Office? You usually only do it when you're forced to" when buying a new computer or when a old version is no longer compatible with most other users' software.
While Microsoft Office is under growing pressure from Google's online productivity suite, Albany is much more about online delivery of updates to Microsoft's desktop software than about the online collaboration features that are at the heart of Google's suite.
"Albany is not the next version of Microsoft Office; it's just...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Six Apart Launches Advertising Network for Blogs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59371
Is it a blog or an advertising network? On Monday, the line between the two got a little thinner at Six Apart, a blogging-software company that offers Movable Type and TypePad, announced a restructuring that includes three new legs: acquiring creative agency Apperceptive, launching its own advertising network and consulting services division, and opening an office in New York.
The company founders call the moves an evolution that marks a return to the roots of the company. Six Apart Services and Six Apart Media will leverage the power of the company's blogging community to generate new revenue streams.
"Our customers have asked us for complete solutions as their blogging and social-media efforts grow," said Chris Alden, CEO of Six Apart. "Our mission is to help everyone succeed in blogging."
The Apperceptive acquisition becomes the foundation for Six Apart Services. The division will offer design, development, implementation and integration services to build blog-powered communities for publishers, companies and major bloggers. Apperceptive is known for building blog-powered communities for sites including The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, major-league baseball and iVillage.
Six Apart Media aims to complement Six Apart Services with a premium advertising program that offers more control over advertising on blogs. The goal is to help bloggers produce more revenue than simple text ads provide.
The five-year old company has also created a suite of VIP services aimed at helping bloggers achieve their goals, whether it's traffic or influence or simply connection to a community. Services for VIPs include blog assessment and optimization, design and template analysis, and educational services and webinars.
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, said Six Apart's moves could create an advertising opportunity that reaches many millions of people. The opportunity with blogs, he noted, is not undeveloped but less developed than other aspects...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Egypt: A Rising Star of an Outsourcing Destination
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59363
"Egypt is a rising star of contact center offshore destinations. Comparative analysis has shown that it has good potential to become a location of choice for European companies, as well as an interesting alternative for companies based in the U.S." (Frost and Sullivan 2007, Whitepaper)
Many experts have analyzed Egypt in the past few years, and they have stated that, according to economic indicators, Egypt's GDP has been growing over the past five years and its inflation has been kept at stable levels. Egypt's telecommunications infrastructure is very well developed, and the international long-distance rates have been lowered in an effort to promote the contact center industry.
Egypt is rapidly emerging as a world-class hotspot for the outsourcing and offshoring sectors, and is proving attractive to international investors. With stiff regional and international competition, this burgeoning country on the cusp of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia is gaining steam.
"Offshore outsourcing has become one of the keys to lowering operating costs, increasing the focus on core competencies and improving customer relationship management While it provides companies with substantial benefits, there are a number of pitfalls. These can be avoided by diligent location and provider selection process." (Frost and Sullivan 2007, Whitepaper)
Since the inception of its "technocratic" government in 2004, Egypt has been ranked as the number one global economic reformer in two out of three years as an investor-friendly environment by the World Bank. The new government has set about making changes to attract more foreign direct investment into the country that boasts a favorable cost structure, skilled labor force and an enviable location.
There is much speculation about which region could be the next "in" destination for outsourcing. Many candidates are on the starter blocks: The Philippines, South America, China, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Each destination boasts a...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
New Data Reveal Online Video Views Are Soaring
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59359
New data released Wednesday show online views of videos soared 66 percent in the U.S. in February from a year earlier, with TV networks grabbing just a pittance of those eyeballs.
The numbers from comScore Inc. underscore a problem being discussed by network executives this week at the National Association of Broadcasters annual meeting in Las Vegas, as they search for ways to drive viewers to their Web sites and TV channels.
Some networks said their online strategies involve trying to stay ahead of video pirates who upload broadcast content online just minutes after it hits the airwaves.
The culprits often post the footage on Google Inc.'s YouTube, the dominant video service in the new survey.
YouTube racked up one-third of the estimated 10 billion views of online video in February, up from 15 percent last year, according to comScore.
"We still see our content pop up on YouTube," CNN.com Executive Producer Sandy Malcolm said during the broadcasters meeting. CNN is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
"You deal with it," she said. "You try to work with them on rights and things, but I don't think you can completely stop it. You just try to beat the tide and try to get your content out as fast as you can."
Excluding AOL.com, Time Warner sites including CNN.com grabbed just a 1.3 percent share of video views on the Internet in February, or roughly 133 million views, comScore reported.
Other TV-based entities remained back in the pack, with Walt Disney Co.'s ABC.com attracting 98 million views, or a 1 percent share.
Even as the YouTube juggernaut continued to attract more viewers, comScore analyst Andrew Lipsman said TV networks were fighting back.
He cited last month's launch of Hulu.com, a video Web site that's a joint venture of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal and News Corp.
"It seems there's a certain amount...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Samsung Vows Reform After Chairman Indicted on Tax Evasion
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59357
Scandal-plagued Samsung Group vowed Thursday to reform the way it does business after its powerful chairman was indicted on criminal charges.
That's a familiar refrain from South Korea's biggest conglomerate, which for decades has helped drive the country's economic growth while drawing flak for claims of shady practices.
Special prosecutors earlier Thursday indicted Chairman Lee Kun-hee on charges of evading 112.8 billion won (US$114 million; EU71.82 million) in taxes and breach of trust, ending a three-month probe prompted by allegations by a former Samsung lawyer.
But the prosecutors dismissed the most explosive claim -- that Samsung used subsidiary companies to raise a slush fund to bribe influential South Koreans -- saying there was no evidence.
In carrying out their probe, however, prosecutors discovered what they said were serious irregularities, long alleged by civic groups, that Samsung engaged in dubious financial deals to ensure corporate control passes from Lee to his son.
Besides the top boss, nine other Samsung executives were indicted, including the group's vice chairman, considered the right-hand man to the 66-year-old Lee.
Samsung issued a statement after the indictments, apologizing "for causing concerns" and adding it was "preparing reform plans" that it would announce next week.
"The central question is whether they are going to turn this case into an opportunity to reform their corporate governance," said Kim Joongi, a professor of law at Seoul's Yonsei University.
Kim, who noted Samsung has made similar promises in the past, has been active in pushing for better management practices at Samsung and other conglomerates.
Those industrial groups, known as "chaebol," have long been accused of influence-peddling as well as dubious transactions between subsidiaries to help controlling families evade taxes and transfer wealth to heirs.
Civic groups critical of Samsung complained that independent counsel Cho Joon-woong failed to indict Lee for the alleged bribery and levied the other charges without arresting...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Microsoft Hires Firm To Lobby on Proposed Yahoo Takeover
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59356
Microsoft Corp. has yet to convince Yahoo Inc. to agree to a friendly takeover, but the software company is already hiring lobbyists to help it convince regulators to let the deal -- hostile if it has to be -- go through.
Software company Microsoft Corp., bracing for a regulatory squabble in its takeover bid, recently hired Bryan Cave Strategies LLC to lobby the federal government on the proposed multibillion-dollar deal.
The firm disclosed the information on a registration form filed online Tuesday by the Senate's public records office.
Microsoft announced the unsolicited offer of $31 per share, or more than $40 billion, in February for slumping Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, which rejected the initial bid and is seeking alternatives. Options include an experimental advertising alliance with Google Inc. that could lead to a long-term partnership and, according to published reports, a combination with online operations of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.
Yahoo has not yet disclosed whether it's hired outside consultants on the bid. But Google, which also opposes the deal, recently tapped Franklin Square Group LLC, run by two top Democratic lobbyists, to help with "competition issues in the Internet industry," according to a disclosure form.
A message to one of the lobbyists was not returned while Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said the company does not comment on its lobbying activities.
Bryan Cave's president, Broderick Johnson, is registered to lobby for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft. A veteran Capitol Hill staffer, he also served in the White House legislative affairs office from 1998 to 2000. Until 2007, he was vice president for congressional affairs for AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp.
Johnson, who is an attorney, has "developed deep relationships" with House and Senate Democratic leaders and several committee chairmen, including those in the House and Senate Judiciary committees, according to his profile on the firm's Web site. Both judiciary committees...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Facebook Seeks Free International Translations
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59354
The three-year-old social networking phenomenon Facebook, worth more than US$15 billion (EU9.5 billion) by many estimates, got a good deal on going global.
Its users around the world are translating Facebook's visible framework into nearly two dozen languages -- for free -- aiding the company's aggressive expansion to better serve the 60 percent of its 69 million users who live outside the United States.
The company says it's using the wisdom of crowds to produce versions of site guidelines -- especially terms specific to Facebook -- that are in tune with local cultures.
"We thought it'd be cool," said Javier Olivan, international manager at Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California. "Our goal would be to hopefully have one day everybody on the planet on Facebook."
Coolness aside, and many users are embracing the idea, other social networks aren't "crowdsourcing" translation. The move is generating mounting criticism online, where some users question whether amateurs can produce good translations. Critics complain of sloppiness and skimping, even as Facebook says it is improving service in an innovative way.
The concept of collaborative translation is familiar in open-source programming communities. But Facebook's effort -- as it builds sites in Japanese, Turkish, Chinese, Portuguese, Swedish and Dutch to join versions in Spanish, French and German that launched this year -- is among the highest-profile attempts to harness users' energy to do work traditionally handled by professionals.
The Spanish-language version has taken a particular beating for grammatical, spelling and usage problems throughout.
Ana B. Torres, a 25-year-old professional translator in Madrid, Spain, called the translation "extremely poor," citing "outrageous spelling mistakes" such as "ase" instead of "hace" (for "makes" or "does") and usage of the word "lenguaje" for "language" rather than the correct "idioma."
Other critics say Facebook just wants free labor.
Valentin Macias, 29, a Californian who teaches English in Seoul, South Korea, has...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
IBM Thrives Despite Downturn in United States
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59352
IBM owes much of its recent success to the business it does outside of the United States, but even while Americans tighten their belts, the company is continuing to prove remarkably successful in its home market.
International Business Machines reported a 26 percent increase in quarterly profit Wednesday from a year earlier, easily surpassing Wall Street's estimates. Earnings were helped by the decline of the dollar; Most of IBM's business is outside of the United States, so a falling dollar lifts reported income.
But the company also gained because of 6 percent rise in U.S. sales, an improvement over the last quarter of 2007, when revenue rose only 2 percent.
Mark Loughridge, the company's chief financial officer, said during an interview that IBM's resilience in challenging times was the result of its strategy, which was fine-tuned early last year. He described it as "two separate views of the global market."
In developed countries, including the United States, where customers were likely to be cutting back, IBM tailored its services and software offerings to help customers cut costs, conserve cash and improve productivity. Those kinds of technology investments, Loughridge said, made sense when the economy was weak.
In fast-growing markets like China, India and Eastern Europe, Loughridge said, IBM had invested heavily to capture business, and had positioned itself as a leading supplier of hardware, software and services to banks, government agencies and telecommunications companies. In India, for example, IBM is a major supplier to the three largest telecommunications companies in the country, who together are signing up 55,000 cell phone customers every day.
"In these emerging markets, it's all about technology infrastructure for us," Loughridge said.
IBM, the largest technology services company in the world, reported first-quarter profit of $2.32 billion, compared with $1.84 billion a year ago. Its earnings per share were $1.65, well ahead of...
Tue, 22 Apr 08
OneWorld Eases Growth Into Global Management
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59346
The Internet has made it easy for companies to jump from startups to global enterprises. But growing pains from going global, such as currency exchange, tax issues and travel costs, just to name a few, quickly become apparent. A global business-management tool that takes advantage of cloud computing promises to ease some of those growing pains, though at first glance the price might cause some pain.
NetSuite has added OneWorld to its suite of business-management software. OneWorld is a "cloud computing solution" that uses Software as a Service (SaaS) to help multinational companies manage global operations in real time. OneWorld can deliver data using local currencies, taxation models and so on that typically would be difficult or impossible for headquarters staff to drill into. The SaaS model allows its functions to be accessed anywhere users have a browser and Internet access.
Targeted at midsize enterprises, OneWorld costs $1,999 per month -- steep, perhaps, except when compared to the millions it would cost to embrace big-name on-premise competitors. And if SaaS makes it possible to hire one less administrator, return on investment could potentially be reached quickly.
"OneWorld is for the upper-mid-market company, specifically for companies with operations around the world," said China Martens, senior software analyst for IT research company The 451 Group. "They want more insight, but their wallets might not allow them to invest in lots of business intelligence capabilities and analytics."
Martens said the offering allows organizations to easily do more "slicing and dicing" of CRM, ERP and e-commerce. It might be a good way for midsize companies short on cash to gain visibility into overseas operations, she said. "You could roll up all your financials around the world and come up with a figure, but what does that figure mean? You typically can't drill down into it...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
PayPal Plans To Block Older, Unsafe Browsers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59370
The name PayPal is almost synonymous with phishing scams. According to anti-phishing service PhishTank statistics from last year, PayPal was the number-one target of scams -- more than twice as often as PayPal's parent, eBay, the second most popular target.
On Friday, PayPal announced it was taking an unusual step to combat phishing abuse: blocking old and insecure browsers from its site. It is "an alarming fact that there is a significant set of users who use very old and vulnerable browsers, such as Internet Explorer 4," the company said.
PayPal now supports only the use of Extended Validation SSL Certificates. Browsers that support the technology highlight the address bar in green when users are on a legitimate site. The latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer supports EV SSL certificates. Firefox 2 supports them with an add-on, but Apple's Safari browser doesn't.
"By displaying the green glow and company name, these newer browsers make it much easier for users to determine whether or not they're on the site they thought they were visiting," said PayPal.
"While refusing to do business with people who don't use one of these browsers may seem disruptive," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security, "it is actually a rather old technique used by software vendors." Just as software vendors specify approved and required components, "providers of services not only protect their bottom line by making such demands, but also in the long run protect the consumer," Storms explained.
The problem is that it's relatively easy to impersonate browsers. "Exactly how and if PayPal attempts to act on this initiative will be interesting. Apple's iTunes Store is in essentially the same situation. If someone wants to use the iTunes Store, they need to use iTunes. So far, that limitation hasn't seemed to...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Albany Will Handle Microsoft Office, Security Updates
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59369
You can add Albany to your list of upcoming Microsoft products and services. On Friday, the software giant announced the launch of the new service as a private beta. The announcement confirmed months of rumors.
In an extension of its growing "software plus service" strategy, Microsoft said it is harnessing the Internet to keep productivity and security software up to date.
Albany is described by Microsoft as "a new all-in-one subscription service of essential software and services consumers told us were most important to them." The essential products are productivity and security, Microsoft said, and subscribers will be able to install, with a few clicks, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, Windows Live OneCare, Windows Live Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery.
The Office Live Workspace connector is also installed on the Office toolbar, allowing users to save documents on a dedicated online space for collaboration. Subscribers will be able to get the latest versions and the most recent security updates. Live OneCare includes firewall and antivirus protection.
Consumers have "expressed frustration at having to spend time and effort installing different types of software," noted Group Product Manager Bryson Gordon in an interview on Microsoft's Web site, and they want a service for "keeping current on new versions and getting their computers set up." An Albany subscription is good for up to three computers.
The Albany service does not replace the traditional distribution of software packages, Microsoft said. Rather, it addresses the needs of consumers who want the easiest possible way to receive the latest Microsoft Office and security updates. Such updates can be more troublesome for a consumer than a business with an IT department.
Albany is an alternative way to get Office, not its next version. When the next version of Office is released, customers with an active Albany...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
MySQL Users Upset by Sun's Dual-Track Development
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59368
MySQL users are upset about plans Sun Microsystems disclosed this week to keep some strategic planned features -- and the source code -- closed. Only paying customers will get access to the new database features.
Sun acquired MySQL in February and confirmed the new online backup capabilities that are under development will only be available to MySQL Enterprise customers. Most of the software's users have the free MySQL Community edition.
The details emerged this week at MySQL's annual user conference in Santa Clara, Calif., where Sun also revealed it will delay the release of MySQL 5.1, the latest upgrade, until June to fix bugs.
"This represents a substantive change to their development model -- previously they have been developing features in both MySQL Community and MySQL Enterprise," long-time MySQL contributor Jeremy Cole wrote in his blog.
The shift means a dramatic change in the number of MySQL users who will test the new features. In effect, Cole said, Sun will give its paying customers untested code.
"How is this supposed to work?" he asked. "In addition, this means that they are changing their internal development model, splitting the relationship between the two trees, and overall going even further down the path of getting the RHEL/Fedora model backward."
Marten Mickos, formerly MySQL's CEO and now the senior vice president of Sun who oversees the MySQL project, responded to Cole's concerns with a post of his own.
"I appreciate your concern for our paying customers," Mickos wrote. "They are, after all, the ones who pay our salaries and allow us to produce more GPL software. They are also the ones we listen to when we decide what to develop for them, and how."
"If we happen to develop a feature that we ship only to our paying subscribers, there is nothing stopping others (including...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Video Games Booming as Xbox 360 Returns to No. 2
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59367
The sluggish economy doesn't seem to be hurting the video-game market. U.S. sales of game hardware and software skyrocketed 57 percent in March compared to the year-ago period, according to the NPD Group.
The total for gaming hardware, software and accessories was $1.7 billion in March. Nintendo led the pack with its Wii console, according to NPD. Nintendo sold 720,000 Wiis, buoyed by the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which sold 2.7 million copies.
"You'd never know that the U.S. economy was under distress by looking at the video-games industry sales figures," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said.
Microsoft's Xbox regained the number-two position, bumping Sony's PlayStation 3 into the third spot in sales. Microsoft sold 262,000 Xbox 360s compared to Sony's 257,000 PS3 units, giving Redmond only a slight lead. Microsoft blamed its recently slowed sales on supply constraints.
"You have to give Microsoft a lot of credit here. Microsoft is losing the sales battle to Nintendo, but Microsoft is the hero product for third-party publishers," said Michael Goodman, a video-game analyst at Yankee Group. "Despite the strength of Nintendo's installed base, Microsoft is increasingly becoming the platform of choice for publishers."
Goodman pointed to Grand Theft Auto as an example. It's the same product on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but the 360 also offers online play with lots of bells and whistles, including exclusive downloadable content. It's a sign, he said, that publishers are recognizing the 360's importance.
"Think back to the previous generation and EA and Sony were best buds. They were joined at the hip. This time around Microsoft is getting the preferential treatment," Goodman said. "Think back to Madden in the fall. Microsoft got a superior version because the frame rate was better on the 360 than it was on the PS3."
PS3 sales...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
FCC Likely To Act on P2P Internet Throttling
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59366
The Federal Communications Commission's hearing at Stanford Thursday was a chance for the public to vent frustrations at Comcast's and other Internet service providers' network-management practices, but -- unlike at a similar hearing in February -- the ISPs were not around to listen.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin explained that the commission several weeks ago invited Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner and Cable Labs, but they all declined to attend. Martin reached out again to Comcast last week after it announced plans for a P2P "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities."
In the absence of the ISPs, the commissioners more clearly outlined their thinking on Net neutrality, even as some speakers blamed the FCC for creating the problem.
"We are here facing these problems because of a failure of FCC policy," said Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. "The FCC has failed to make it absolutely clear that network owners, if they're building the Internet, have to make it absolutely open."
Martin hinted the FCC might fashion an order to regulate if and how ISPs can throttle Internet traffic. He said ISPs must adequately disclose their practices and should not discriminate on an application or protocol basis.
"There must be adequate disclosure by the network operators of the particular traffic-management tools being used," Martin said, "not only to consumers," but "to the designers of various applications and to entrepreneurs."
He also warned against "arbitrary blocking or degrading of a particular application." Martin said, "As we move into an era in which network operators are taking particular actions against individual applications or content, we need to evaluate those under stricter sets of scrutiny to make sure that whatever actions they're taking are actually furthering a legitimate purpose, and that their actions are narrowly tailored to serving that legitimate purpose."
It's likely that the FCC will take...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Google's 42 Percent Revenue Surge Jolts Wall Street
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59365
Google posted revenues of $5.19 billion for the year's first quarter -- an increase of 42 percent compared to one year earlier and a seven percent rise from the prior quarter. By contrast, the company's traffic-acquisition costs amounted to only $1.49 billion, or 29 percent of advertising revenues, company executives said.
The search giant's ongoing innovation in search, ads and apps helped drive healthy growth globally across its product lines, noted Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt.
"As we integrate DoubleClick into our advertising platform, we see exciting new ways to improve the user experience and increase value for our advertisers and partners," Schmidt explained. "Also, while exercising operational discipline, we continue to explore opportunities that add value to users everywhere and to Google in the long term."
Despite a weakening economy, Google's paid-click growth in the U.S. "remains healthy, and other markets showed strong growth as well," noted CFO George Reyes. Aggregate paid clicks -- which include clicks related to ads served on Google properties as well as ads served on partner sites -- grew 20 percent over the year-earlier period, and were up by four percent over the prior quarter.
Even better, Google's overseas revenue increased to $2.65 billion and now accounts for 51 percent of the company's total revenue. "International markets have tremendous potential for growth," Reyes said. "Asia and Latin America continue to show impressive growth, as well as India, Argentina, Australia and Japan being notable performers in the quarter."
Although the advertising business is still nascent in China, the Chinese Internet is so large that the numbers are significant, Schmidt said. "We believe that China will continue to be a good market for us," he said.
Google's CEO also pointed out that Google's paid-click growth has turned out to be much higher than expected by third...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
AT&T Adds Table-Like Information Center to Stores
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59345
As part of its effort to recast itself as an innovative retailer, AT&T is putting its cell-phone business on the table -- Microsoft's Surface table, to be exact.
On Thursday, the telecommunications giant became the first to use the table-like touch display in a retail environment. AT&T stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco will feature the 30-inch display. If the pilots go well, there are plans to deploy it across AT&T's 2,200 retail stores in the U.S.
Both companies said the use of Microsoft Surface "will transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices." Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, added that Surface can provide shoppers with "an entirely new, unique and personalized shopping experience."
Microsoft said Surface, previously shown at trade shows, gives users "the opportunity to interact with devices and content in a way that feels familiar." Interaction can include touch, gestures, or even the recognition of devices placed on its surface. For instance, coverage maps can be displayed at national, state, local or even street levels, and users can scale and move the maps with gestures and touch.
Customers can review the features of a specific mobile device simply by placing it on the table display, which will recognize the model and display a graphical overview of its particulars. Two devices placed side-by-side will result in a display that compares them.
During the pilot phase, Surface can recognize eight AT&T phones and display information, including the LG Shine, the BlackBerry Curve 8310, and the Samsung BlackJack II.
Even before customers get used to this new form of retailing with Surface, new features are being planned. The companies said in the future customers will be able to add ringtones, graphics, video and other media or services to their phone by "grabbing" the...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Nokia Profit Fails To Impress Wall Street
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59343
Nokia posted a 25-percent uptick in its first-quarter profits, and reiterated its expectation that mobile handset unit shipments would rise by 10 percent globally this year.
"We had strong profitability, even with the seasonal drop in sales," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told investors. "The overall device market developed as expected, with the greatest demand in emerging markets, where our position is very strong."
However, Nokia's $1.94 billion profit failed to live up to Wall Street expectations. Moreover, investors were less than pleased about certain aspects of the company's outlook for the remainder of this year.
Kallasvuo attempted to downplay Nokia's expectation that the mobile device market would decline in value this year due to the negative impact of the recently weakened U.S. dollar. "In fact," he said, "the market is expected to clearly grow in value terms on a constant currency basis, according to our estimates."
Kallasvuo also noted a downside to the fact that the mobile market this year looks similar in many ways to 2007 -- when industry growth was driven by sales in emerging markets such as India, China, Brazil and Africa. Because of this, Nokia expects to see some decline in industry-average selling prices this year, "primarily to reflect the increasing impact of the emerging markets, and competitive factors in general," Kallasvuo explained.
For its part, tech research and advisory firm Gartner sees the looming recession in Western Europe and North America -- together with increased food prices in emerging markets -- possibly impacting the overall value of the mobile device market. "This means that in mature markets, consumers might be choosing mid-tier devices over high-end devices," noted Carolina Milanesi, Gartner's research director.
"We were expecting replacement sales in emerging countries to famously impact average selling prices (ASPs), possibly offsetting the trend in mature markets," Milanesi...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
SafeCentral's Virtual Bunker Foils ID Thieves
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59341
What's the difference between identity theft and identity fraud? In the first case, identifiers such as your credit card information and Social Security number are stolen. In the latter case, they are being misused by the bad guys. If you could prevent the first instance, you wouldn't have to worry much about online fraud.
That's the rationale behind a new service from Authentium called SafeCentral. It marries a secure desktop with a secure Web browser, and adds secure portals to banking, e-commerce and other popular online destinations, preventing attackers from being able to compromise personal information that could be used for fraud.
Authentium's vice president of marketing, Corey O'Donnell, told us that the two predominant approaches to Web-commerce security were important, but flawed. Tools such as antivirus or anti-spyware software, which try to keep off or cleanse hacker tools from computers, are reactive, while the ever-more-sophisticated (and complicated) authentication measures in place at e-commerce sites can be subverted.
"If someone is able to watch you long enough, meaning they've already installed a piece of spyware, or they've inserted a man-in-the-middle attack, and they're at the network level watching everything that you do, it really won't take them that long to gather enough information to become you," O'Donnell said. "These are great layers in preventing fraud, but they don't really prevent theft."
SafeCentral's approach begins by securing desktops with proprietary technology that "sits as a traffic cop in between all Windows calls," O'Donnell said. It allows "only the stuff that we know, that we trust, to be part of a session, and nothing else." So suspicious behavior -- a command to capture keystrokes, for example -- will be blocked.
The next element is the SafeCentral browser, which performs transactions and visits sites only where security is paramount; it is...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Video-Game Reviews: Golf, Tennis and Fishing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59333
Spring is well under way, and you know what that means: Time to put down that joystick, get off the couch, go outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.
Or not.
One of my best gaming buddies says that if God wanted us to be outside, he wouldn't have invented air conditioning. And when video-game consoles can simulate just about every outdoor sport imaginable, what's the point of leaving your living room?
Of course, you don't get any exercise from virtual sports, and most hardcore gamers could probably use a little sun. But video games are definitely less expensive than the gear you need to golf or fish. And you can play a round of video golf in a lot less time than 18 holes on a real course would take.
The Hot Shots series has long offered the zippiest golf games on the market, providing a lighthearted alternative to more realistic simulations like EA Sports' Tiger Woods games. Out of Bounds doesn't mess around with the formula much, delivering the same bright graphics and lively, anime-style characters that fans have come to expect.
The most significant improvement is the advanced swing control. As in the past, you used timed button presses to determine power and accuracy -- but instead of watching a flat meter, you have to watch your golfer's movements. It does make you feel like you're more in control of the character, even if it's not as intuitive as the analog swing stick that Tiger uses.
The other major addition is online play. You can now compete in tournaments with up to 49 other hackers; everyone plays simultaneously, so you don't have to twiddle your thumbs while the competition's on the fairway. It's fast-paced, challenging and addictive. My only complaint is a...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Most Computer Users Repeat Passwords -- at Their Peril
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59329
Using the same password for multiple Web pages is the Internet-era equivalent of having the same key for your home, car and bank safe-deposit box.
Even though a universal password is like gold for cyber crooks because they can use it to steal all of a person's sensitive data at once, nearly half the Internet users queried in a new survey said they use just one password for all their online accounts.
At the same time, 88 percent of the 800 people interviewed in the U.S. and the U.K. for the survey by the Accenture consultancy, which is to be released Thursday, said personal irresponsibility is the key cause of identity theft and fraud.
Researchers say the findings suggest that many users underestimate the growing threat from organized cyber criminals who can reap big profits from selling stolen identities.
"There's a lot of confusion out there -- a lot of people don't think there's a problem," said Robert Dyson, a senior executive in Accenture's global security practice. "There's still the kind of head-in-the-sand situation: 'My identity hasn't been stolen. I don't know anybody who's had their identity stolen. So it must not be happening.'"
Dyson said the problem with repeating passwords is that a hacker who successfully breaks into one account then has an easy time guessing how to get into all the user's other accounts.
Many users repeat passwords so they don't forget them, which shows in another finding that 70 percent of survey respondents in the U.K. said they don't write down their passwords, versus 49 percent in the U.S.
Only seven percent of the respondents said they change their passwords often, use password management software or use a fingerprint reader to access their machines and accounts.
The survey looked at people who used a computer at home, have high-speed Internet access and go online at...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
How the World Got All a-Twitter Over Berkeley Student
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59327
When Egyptian police scooped up University of California, Berkeley, graduate journalism student James Karl Buck, who was photographing a noisy demonstration, and dumped him in a jail cell last week, they didn't count on Twitter.
Buck, 29, a former Oakland Tribune multimedia intern, used the ubiquitous short messaging service to tap out a single word on his cellular phone: ARRESTED.
The message went out to the cell phones and computers of a wide circle of friends in the United States and to the mostly leftist, anti-government bloggers in Egypt who are the subject of his graduate journalism project.
The next day, Buck walked out a free man with an Egyptian attorney hired by the university at his side and the U.S. Embassy on the phone.
Twitter, the micro-blogging service for cell phone users, allows messages up to 140 characters long. He recalls advice from his Twitter friends came in mounds of terse messages.
"It was a combination of things. My Egyptian friends told me to play the 'American (card)' and try to force my way out," Buck said. They also told him that it was no big deal and to just stay calm.
Meanwhile, U.S. friends on his Twitter net called the university and the American Embassy. They also alerted The Associated Press, the International Herald Tribune and other media, which helped put the heat on the Egyptian authorities. He was released Friday and returned home Sunday.
Back home in Berkeley on Monday, he said he's worried about his interpreter and friend, Mohammed Salah Ahmed Maree, who was arrested with him and is still being held incommunicado by Egyptian authorities. Unlike Buck, he didn't have the muscle of the U.S. Embassy and UC Berkeley behind him.
Buck said he's called on the Egyptian government to free Maree.
"I believe he's totally...
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Samsung Chief Charged with Tax Evasion, Breach of Trust
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59326
Special prosecutors indicted the chairman of Samsung Group on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust Thursday, ending a probe that shook South Korea's biggest conglomerate for months.
But the independent counsel dismissed as unsubstantiated what was seen as the central allegation in the case: that Samsung created a massive slush fund by siphoning money from subsidiaries to bribe prosecutors, officials and other influential figures.
The outcome was decried by some as yet more special treatment for top tycoons, even though the charges potentially carry a stiff prison term if Chairman Lee Kun-hee is convicted.
The three-month investigation determined that the assets were what Lee inherited from his late father and Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, and rejected bribery allegations from former Samsung lawyer and whistleblower Kim Yong-chul.
Prosecutors also chose not to arrest Lee, saying it would cause "cause enormous disruptions" to Samsung's corporate management and have "negative repercussions on our economy amid the extremely competitive global economic situation."
That's a familiar argument in South Korea, where tycoons like Lee are considered indispensable.
Last year, Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., though found guilty and sentenced to prison for embezzling corporate money, got a suspended jail term on appeal because his role was seen as too important to the nation's economy.
The tax evasion charge against Lee carries a possible sentence of between five years to life in prison, though judges have leeway to decree that no jail time be done.
"We can't accept" the results of the investigation, said Lee Sang-min, an official at People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the largest South Korean civic group. "It's nothing but an attempt to condone (wrongdoing by) Samsung."
Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo, regarded as Lee's closest confidante, and two other executives were also indicted on breach of trust charges. In total, 10 Samsung executives were charged.
Samsung is...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Google Opens Optimizer as Yahoo Offers Traffic Analysis
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59344
It's a busy time in the world of Web analytics. On Wednesday at the ad:tech conference in San Francisco, Google announced its free Website Optimizer is available to anyone. This comes on the heels of last week's announcement of Yahoo's acquisition of IndexTools, a major provider of Web analytics software for online marketing.
Website Optimizer is a tool for testing designs, headlines and graphics for the highest results. As a beta, it was part of Google AdWords, but now it has its own Web site and an official blog. Google said the standalone Optimizer is virtually the same as the one that accompanied AdWords, and that it can be accessed by any Google account.
Google also announced that its Urchin software, also formerly in beta, is now available in a release version. Urchin, which runs on a customer's servers, is the basis of the Google Analytics hosted service.
Urchin can be used to analyze firewall-protected content, such as an intranet, or to sift through several years of old server log data. It can also be used if a company needs to have its traffic audited by a third party, if custom reports need to be generated, or if a site owner wants to see if visitors are getting "Page Not Found" errors.
Urchin is only available through Google's professional services network, which consists of partner companies that offer support and consulting services. A free 30-day trial version is available, and an Urchin license is about $3,000.
Yahoo said its new IndexTools technology will boost its analytics services by adding the ability to deliver "relevant insights and metrics for online campaigns that run across the entire Yahoo network."
IndexTools COO Dennis R. Mortensen wrote last week in his blog that IndexTools will be offered free to Yahoo's current partners and clients who...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Red Hat Drops Consumer Desktop Linux
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59342
Red Hat is dropping its consumer Linux desktop. That makes sense, analysts said, because the desktop is not Red Hat's core strength. Red Hat develops Linux-based software and solutions for enterprises.
As a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with consumer desktops this is much harder than with servers, the company said on its blog this week.
"The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative. Of course, a growing number of technically savvy users and companies have discovered that today's Linux desktop is indeed a practical alternative," Red Hat said.
Nevertheless, building a sustainable business around the consumer Linux desktop is tough, and history is littered with efforts that either failed outright, stalled or are run as charities, the company said. It added that technical developments are accelerating the spread of the Linux desktop.
Red Hat will, however, deliver a commercial Linux desktop. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop, which is fully supported and 100 percent compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux server products, is in the works. The company is also working on Red Hat Global Desktop, designed exclusively for small, reseller-supplied deployments in emerging markets.
"Looking to the future, Red Hat customers and partners appreciate that the world is moving to thin/virtualized/appliance-based clients, so we are working with them to deliver open-source technologies that make these systems possible," the company said. "In fact Red Hat's Appliance Operating System project, announced late last year, is expected to enter beta in mid-2008."
In a sense, technology and economics have moved the marketplace, according to Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions. The need for and lower PC costs is being satisfied by service...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
FCC Looks at Network Management -- Without Comcast
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59340
The Federal Communications Commission continued its Net-neutrality road show Thursday with a seven-hour hearing at Stanford Law School in the heart of Silicon Valley. The FCC held a similar hearing at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., in February, in which cable giant Comcast was castigated for its network-management activities.
The FCC's attention to these matters was spurred by an Associated Press report that Comcast was engaged in throttling the uploading of media files over the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network. In Cambridge, Comcast strenuously denied it was doing anything wrong, citing the need to manage its network. The idea that ISPs are required to let a few P2P users degrade quality for the vast majority of other users is untenable, the company argued.
Comcast declined to appear at Thursday's hearing. A Comcast spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the company "felt the issues specific to us were well covered at the first hearing, and the focus of this event should be broader than any individual company's issues."
In the weeks following the Cambridge hearing, Comcast made an abrupt turnaround. Two weeks ago, it announced an agreement with BitTorrent, in which Comcast agreed to stop blocking BitTorrent and adopt a "protocol-agnostic" network-management scheme. For its part, BitTorrent said it would work with Comcast to make its application more network-friendly.
Before the advent of peer-to-peer applications, most Web usage was downstream. Users sent short HTTP requests upstream, and Web sites sent larger text and graphic files down. But with P2P applications like BitTorrent, PCs around the world become servers themselves -- and when a lot of Internet users are serving up files, shared networks can become clogged.
Comcast is currently dealing with the situation by interrupting some of those uploads. Under the new approach, Comcast will throttle back traffic only at peak overload times, and...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Observers Fear Mac Cloner May Not be Legitimate
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59339
The mysterious company that claims to be selling a clone of Apple Macintosh computers posted a message on its Web site Thursday proclaiming that it is a legitimate company -- and that its credit-card processor has been unable to handle a flood of orders. But many bloggers and observers suspect the company may be a fraud and warned consumers to stay away.
Psystar, which is registered as a Florida company, started promoting its Mac clone on its Web site in March. Originally called the OpenMac, the company changed the name to Open Computer after press reports focused attention on the company. Apple has declined to comment on the story.
Asked if Psystar was actually shipping the computers, a woman who answered the company's phone told this reporter, "The Web site is fully functional." She said units would be shipped within seven days of placing an order.
Earlier this week, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that the address on Psystar's Web site changed Tuesday, from 10645 SW 112th St. in Miami to 10481 NW 28th St., also in Miami.
A day later the site was sporting yet a new address: 10471 NW 28th St.,
Miami. Later, the address changed to 10475 NW 28th St., Miami. As of this writing, the address was changed to 10475 NW 28th St., Doral, Fla.
The Web site shows the new address on or near NW 107th Ave., near the Miami International Airport. However, a check of Google Maps reveals that no such address exists. While there is a 28th Street in the area shown on Psystar's map, it's a one block long and it appears there is no 10475 address. Mapquest, however, shows that 10475 does exist.
Psystar explained the address changes this way: "We're in the process of moving to a new location...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Global PC Shipments Jump as U.S. Market Softens
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59338
Global PC shipments during this year's first quarter rose 12.3 percent in comparison with year-earlier results, say researchers at Gartner Client Computing. By contrast, PC shipments in the U.S. grew just three percent year over year to 15.2 million units.
Preliminary results show that PC sales in the U.S. were "modestly affected" by a downturn in the nation's economy, said Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa. Though there was no one obvious indication of a "fundamental change" in market conditions, Kitagawa noted that the U.S. market is undeniably softening.
"This can potentially hasten downward price pressure and further intensify competition for the rest of 2008," Kitagawa said. "Our U.S. shipment projection for the April quarter is 1.5 percent," she said.
Though Dell's leading U.S. market share rose to 31.4 percent in the first quarter, Apple saw its sales climb by a robust 32.4 percent year over year -- the strongest rate of growth among the region's top five PC vendors. "Apple enjoyed strong retail sales, and there were indications that Apple showed decent growth in the professional market as well," Kitagawa said.
The growing popularity of Apple's Mac lineup was definitely one of the growth drivers, Kitagawa observed. Other growth drivers included continuing Power PC to Intel-based Mac replacements, growing interest among small to midsize business users, and retail expansion -- both direct and indirect, she said.
By contrast, Acer's PC shipments within the U.S. declined during the first quarter due to the Taiwan-based company's attempt to shift its target market from low-end to mid-range systems, Kitagawa said. In addition, global PC market leader Hewlett Packard failed to grow its volume shipments in the U.S. during the first quarter.
"Our early study indicates that HP dealt with excess inventory which may have originated from the fourth quarter of 2007," Kitagawa noted. "HP faced...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Apple, Mozilla Plug Critical JavaScript Browser Flaws
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59337
Remember the hacked MacBook Air at the CanSecWest security conference a few weeks ago? Apple has fixed the flaw that let Independent Security Evaluator researcher Charlie Miller gain unauthorized access to the machine as part of the Pwn 2 Own hacking contest.
Apple issued a security patch for its Safari Web browser, the vector that opened the door to Miller and his team of expert hackers. Miller won $10,000 for his feat, and now Apple has made sure that malicious attackers can't repeat the performance and walk off with much more through scams.
The flaw was in the Webkit open-source HTML rending engine Safari and several other Mac OS X programs use. The problem was the way Webkit processed certain specially crafted JavaScript commands. Miller exploited the flaw by using the Safari browser to visit a Web site containing malicious code.
"It's encouraging to see a quick turnaround time from Apple as they patched Charlie Miller's exploit approximately three weeks after it was reported to them following the Pwn 2 Own contest at CanSecWest. Would it have been patched in three weeks had the contest not received such a high degree of media attention?" asked Michael Sutton, a security researcher at SafeChannel and former VeriSign iDefense director. "Probably not."
Whether you agree or disagree with such contests, Sutton said, it's difficult to argue that they don't focus attention on software vulnerabilities in widely used software and put pressure on vendors to patch quickly. Sutton hopes such a quick patch cycle becomes the rule rather than the exception.
Beyond Webkit, the Safari 3.1.1 for Windows XP or Vista had a timing issue that allows a Web page to change the contents of the address bar without loading the contents of the page.
This could be used to spoof a...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Mac Cloner Accuses Apple of Mac OS X Monopoly
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59323
Psystar is not only pushing cheap Mac clones, it's defending its right to do so by accusing Apple of running an operating-system monopoly. Will Apple get a taste of Microsoft's Windows woes? Or will Psystar wind up out of business?
The Miami-based company claims to be "reinventing the wheel" with its Open Computer, formerly called OpenMac -- for $399.99. Psystar tapped into efforts known as the OSx86 Project, and its goal of running OS X on a PC have been realized. Even the latest releases of OS X can run on PC hardware, Psystar said, but compatibility can be an issue.
"Why spend $1999 to get the least expensive Apple computer with a decent video card when you can pay less than a fourth of that for an equivalent sleek and small form-factor desktop with the same hardware," the company's Web site says.
Apple has made it clear that Open Computer violates the Leopard end-user license agreement (EULA). The agreement forbids installation of the operating system on third-party hardware. Apple CEO Steve Jobs may have taken the violation personally, suggested Ilan Barzilay, a member of the litigation practice group at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
"When Jobs left the company in the 80s, there were internal struggles about how to keep the company profitable and how to increase market share. Apple decided to take the Windows route and license the operating system, and we saw Apple clones," Barzilay recounted. "When Steve Jobs took control of Apple again, he cut that off."
Now, news reports indicate that Psystar is challenging Apple's EULA. The company is using the "unfair monopoly" card, claiming Apple overcharges for its hardware and its EULA might not hold up in court. Legal analysts said the dispute could ultimately wind up in a federal court.
Making the case for...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Autonomy Makes E-Discovery Easier
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59318
Any executive who's ever been involved in litigation -- or at least watches Law and Order on a regular basis -- knows that the process of discovery calls for all information related to that litigation to be disclosed. No matter how big the company, that's a tall order, given the number of ways such information can be created using the plethora of high-tech tools, from BlackBerry handhelds to voice mail, available to workers.
Say hello, then, to information governance. "It's a unified view of your information and what you need to do with that information for compliance purposes, legal-hold purposes, and also overall for deletion purposes," explained Nicole Eagan, chief marketing officer for Autonomy. Her company creates server-based software that helps companies identify and hold information. The company's newest product, Autonomy Information Governance, takes the task of identifying data that could be relevant to litigation or compliance efforts to a new level by making "human-friendly" information understandable to computers.
Eagan defined human-friendly data as "the type of information that people create and consume." It can be contained in the e-mails or instant messages we send, conference calls we participate in, and the PowerPoint presentations we read. Computers have a hard time understanding that information, she told us, compared to structured data that "can be put in rows and columns [that] the computer can process and understand." Most organizations have massive amounts of this unstructured data, since every employee has the tools to create it.
So when a company wants to ensure it's in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley or other regulations, or is facing litigation, it's important that there be a way to locate and hold information in a way that is legally sound. That, Eagan said, is what Autonomy Information Governance does. "This system will automate that [process] for them...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Customers Are Increasingly Happy With Online Banking
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59310
Banks have been disappointing customers in many ways lately -- tightening mortgage lending standards, paring back home-equity and credit-card lines and lowering savings interest rates -- but they're receiving higher marks for at least one thing: their Web sites.
Customer satisfaction with online banking sites has risen significantly over the past five years, according to a survey released Tuesday by ForeSee Results. ForeSee's survey uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, and this year, the index registered a score of 82 out of 100 for online banking, up 12 percent, or 9 points, from a score of 73 in 2003.
The reading of 82 was higher than customers gave banks overall -- 78 in 2007 -- suggesting they are more pleased with banks' online operations than with branches and call centers. The score is also strong compared to other arenas: Online retailers, the highest-scoring category measured by the ACSI, recently scored 83.
Satisfaction is up partly because people are more comfortable banking online than they used to be, said ForeSee Results president and CEO Larry Freed. Other big reasons he cited include efforts by banks to boost security, allow more types of transactions, and ease navigation.
Web site technology is expensive, Freed said, but the payback is significant. The same survey showed that highly satisfied online banking customers are 31 percent more likely to buy additional services from the bank and 54 percent more likely to recommend the bank to others.
So as banks wrangle with a deteriorating credit climate and huge mortgage-related losses, they will need to keep investing in their Web sites to hold onto their customers.
"If banks don't evolve with the latest and greatest technology ... they'll fall behind again. It's not something where they can rest on their laurels," Freed said. "Banks should not only look at themselves and...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Papers Tailor Online Content To Boost Audience, Ad Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59309
With classified revenue dwindling, the news industry must get better at tailoring articles and display advertising to online readers, several newspaper executives agreed Tuesday.
Papers must more aggressively "slice and dice" content to readers' particular interests, Leon Levitt, vice president of digital media for Cox Newspapers Inc., said during a panel discussion at the annual conference of the Newspaper Association of America.
"We're at the early stages of doing that," said Levitt, whose company, a unit of privately held Cox Enterprises Inc., owns 17 daily and 26 non-daily newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Palm Beach Post in Florida and the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.
Newspapers faced with dwindling print advertising are turning more to the Internet to make up for lost revenue. Overall newspaper advertising revenue last year fell 7.9 percent, including a 9.4 percent dip in print advertising that was offset partially by an 18.8 percent hike in online advertising, according to the newspaper association.
Levitt said newspapers are leaning most heavily on online display advertising, which is growing at a faster clip than classified advertising.
Other newspaper executives on the panel said the industry must first become more familiar with readers' online behavior before they can deliver personalized content and advertising.
Several executives said they're developing multiple Web sites, blogs and other products to reach distinctive audiences.
Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com, said The New York Times is a "strong believer" in creating multiple brands.
She said DealBook blog, which provides financial news, started as an e-mail newsletter service in 2001 and then also became a Web site two years ago. The company also has a Great Homes and Destinations Web site that provides information about the luxury real estate sector.
She said despite the housing market's current situation, there is "still an appetite for it," she said.
Eleanor Cippel, director of...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Seagate Profit Jumps, but Key Notebook Market Weakens
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59307
Hard-drive maker Seagate Technology's third-quarter profit jumped 62 percent from a year ago, but the company missed revenue forecasts and acknowledged weakness in sales of drives used in notebook computers.
In the quarter ending March 28, Seagate earned $344 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with $212 million, or 37 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue grew 10 percent to $3.1 billion from $2.8 billion last year.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned $369 million, or 70 cents per share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting the company to post a profit of 69 cents per share on revenue of $3.25 billion.
Seagate Chief Executive Bill Watkins said the results were driven by strong global demand for storage, but the company fell short in the notebook and retail market.
Watkins said in an interview with The Associated Press that the company decided to sacrifice volume for higher margins.
"We did not want to do deals that would lower our overall price going into June," Watkins said. "We had our choice: We could have shipped a lot more products, lowered prices and done deals. We decided not to do that. We decided to focus on high profit, keep our prices up. I'll take the revenue hit."
The company sold 43 million disk drives in the third quarter, up 9 percent from the 39.4 million the world's largest hard drive maker shipped in the same quarter a year ago.
Seagate shares were down 31 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $19.86, in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst at Caris and Co., said Seagate is feeling the sting of its late start shipping high-capacity notebook drives compared to rival Western Digital Corp.
Western Digital offered 250-gigabyte notebook drives before Seagate and began shipping 320-gigabyte drives last quarter, while Seagate won't...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
LG Electronics Swings to Profit on Record Phone Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59306
LG Electronics said Wednesday it turned a net profit in the first quarter after a loss the year before, boosted by record mobile phone sales, strong performance overseas and gains from its investment in flat panel maker LG Display.
LG Electronics Inc., the world's fifth-largest manufacturer of mobile phones, said in a statement that it earned 422 billion won ($427 million) for the three months ended March 31. LG posted a net loss of 123 billion won in the same quarter of 2007.
The first-quarter result was slightly worse than expected. The average of seven analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast LG to report a profit of 429 billion won ($435 million).
Sales during the quarter rose 14.8 percent to 6.9 trillion won ($7 billion), LG said.
The company said it sold 24.4 million mobile handsets in the quarter, a record performance.
Phone sales were led by the high-end Viewty, Voyager and Venus models, LG said. Handset sales in emerging markets including Asia and the Middle East rose 36 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, the company said.
"We expect handset sales to exceed 100 million in 2008," Jung Do-hyun, chief financial officer, told an analysts' conference, according to LG spokeswoman Judy Pae.
The company had said in January it expected shipments of 100 million handsets for a 25 percent increase over 2007's record 80.5 million total.
LG manufactures a variety of products including plasma televisions, personal computers, and refrigerators and other household appliances.
Last year's first-quarter loss came amid weakness in LG.Philips LCD Co., the predecessor of LG Display Co. LG Electronics owns 37.9 percent of LG Display, which last week reported that it swung to a net profit in the first quarter amid booming demand for flat panels.
LG.Philips, originally a joint venture between LG Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands, changed...
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Vodafone Hesitant to Join Mobile Stampede to LTE
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59304
As the wireless industry presses ahead with plans for a next-generation wireless technology, one key player keeps dragging its heels. Indeed, on April 14, several dominant wireless companies agreed to a licensing framework for patents addressing the emerging technology, known as Long Term Evolution [LTE]. The companies, including handset maker Nokia and network equipment maker Ericsson, join major wireless operators including Verizon Wireless and China Mobile as supporters for LTE, a technology widely seen as an on-ramp to truly speedy mobile Internet connections.
If it lives up to its billing, LTE would make today's cable and DSL modems -- as well as the "3G," or third-generation, mobile networks wireless carriers have spent billions to deploy -- seem downright snail-like.
But conspicuously absent from this LTE confab has been Vodafone -- the world's largest wireless service provider, and thus the company that buys the most mobile phones from the likes of Nokia and strings the most territory with network gear from Ericsson and others. "We announced a month ago with Verizon Wireless and China Mobile that we are going to press for development of the LTE standard," Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin told BusinessWeek in a recent interview. "But we have not said we are definitely going to LTE."
And yet, Sarin wants to make two points crystal clear: Despite his noncommitment to LTE, Vodafone is not a technological-age laggard, and it is not blindly locked into serving Europe. Rather, the gargantuan wireless company is branching aggressively into emerging markets such as Latin America, India, and Africa. Of Vodafone's globe-leading 250 million subscribers, 40 million customers are located in these distant markets, and that segment of the customer base is growing by 20 million a year, he notes.
And though Vodafone has been criticized for not being a 3G leader in its native European lands,...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
100 Million Sims Can't Be Wrong
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59322
A milestone in the world of computer games was reached Wednesday. Electronic Arts announced that it has sold 100 million copies of The Sims franchise, one of the most famous game brands in the world.
The Sims has generated some $4 billion in sales over the past eight years, a level few titles have matched. The entire Star Wars franchise was estimated to be worth $22 billion in a Forbes article published last year.
"If 100 million boxes of The Sims were lined up end-to-end, they would stretch from New York city to Moscow," EA trumpeted. "And, with 100 million sold, one out of seven homes in Europe and one out of three homes in America would have a product of The Sims franchise."
Since its launch in 2000, Electronic Arts has released dozens of add-on packs, spin-off games and ports to various console units. EA released The Sims 2 in 2004 and recently announced that The Sims 3 will be released next year.
The game, developed by Will Wright, also stands as an early version of a virtual world, which most people now associate with Second Life. But long before Second Life, Sims users were designing, uploading and purchasing custom furnishings, clothes and housing for the games' inhabitants.
The Sims Web site (www.thesims2.ea.com) has more than 4.3 million unique visitors and more than 70 million user-created items. The Sims has also made a contribution to a trend known as "machinema" -- movies made from game play. YouTube hosts more than 100,000 such videos featuring players' Sims characters.
But unlike Second Life, The Sims has not become a shared online experience. Rather than inviting other people into their creations, many users care for them like a prized dollhouse, inviting only a few close friends to see the world and the people they've...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Fring Brings Mobile VoIP to Apple's iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59321
Israeli company Fring is bringing its Voice over Internet Protocol application to Apple's iPhone. Dubbed fring, the application lets users talk, chat and interact with other so-called fringsters -- and their online communities -- using the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection.
A light, sneak-preview R&D version of the mobile VoIP application, developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology academic research labs in Israel, is available as a download from fring.com.
The prerelease version aims to measure demand from iPhone users and learn about the user experience. Fring said it is looking for feedback that will influence the full release version, due for launch later this year.
"Voice over IP has been available on cell phones for some time. Nokia through its Gizmo project makes it available," said Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis. "So this is certainly not new. Obviously, you stick the word iPhone in front of something and suddenly it's news."
The prerelease version gives iPhone users to an early taste of fring, such as adding contacts and buddies from other online communities.
Users will also have the ability to make free and low-cost mobile calls over Wi-Fi and do IM-style live chat with their online contacts, regardless of whether they are on their mobiles, PCs or other Internet devices.
During login, fring automatically creates a single, integrated contact list, combining contacts from all the user's selected Internet communities. Specifically, fring users are able to communicate with each other and with contacts from Skype, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Twitter, Yahoo and AIM.
An always-on, always-connected application, fring promises special features such as real-time, PC-style "presence" indicators that continually display whether contacts are online, away, offline, in a call, on their mobiles or in front of their PCs.
There are some requirements, though. Users need an "opened" iPhone with the...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Six Apart and Facebook Create Web-Wide Blogging Tool
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59320
With so many blogging tools out there -- and so many bloggers trying to earn some bucks with advertising networks -- as well as dozens of social networks, it's getting increasingly difficult and time-consuming to manage so many different online presences.
Six Apart has at least a partial solution. The maker of the popular blogging software MovableType and TypePad has partnered with Facebook to create BlogIt, a write-once, publish-many solution.
"BlogIt brings some of the best social aspects of Facebook to blogging, making it easy to blog from within Facebook and tell people you know all around the Web that you're doing so," said David Recordon, the open-platforms tech lead at Six Apart.
The program, which is used within Facebook, supports not only Six Apart's platforms, but also many others, including Blogger, LiveJournal, Pownce, Tumblr, Twitter, Vox, WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
"By bridging the gap between blogging and social networking, Six Apart brings social tools to bloggers all over the Web no matter the publishing platform they use," Recordon said. "BlogIt is a power tool for bloggers who want to spread the word to their friends and colleagues about the content they're creating."
In addition, BlogIt can send a message to the Twitter and Pownce alert systems, making it easy for bloggers' subscribers to find out when they make a new post.
"Twitter makes it easy for anybody to tell their friends or the world what they're up to," said Evan Williams, Twitter's founder. "BlogIt works perfectly with that goal."
"After using Facebook for four years, it's the first place I go to stay in touch with my largest social network," said Jessica Young, a Kiva Fellow in Cambodia. "I'm based in Cambodia now, and I was keeping in touch with my friends and family through my personal blog on Vox,...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Comcast, Pando Want to Develop a P2P Bill of Rights
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59319
Comcast and Pando Networks have agreed to help forge a bill of rights for peer-to-peer file distribution on broadband networks. The companies want to include other industry experts to clarify which choices and controls consumers should have when using P2P.
"Working together, Comcast and Pando can help lead the discussion about what consumers should expect," said Comcast CTO Tony Werner. "Doing so is in the best interest of everyone involved -- ISPs, P2P companies and consumers."
Comcast and Pando hope to foster an industry-wide consensus on the processes and practices that Internet service providers should use. In particular, executives from both companies say they believe PC users should have the right to control their computer resources when using P2P applications.
"By having this framework in place, we will help P2P companies, ISPs and content owners find common ground to support consumers who want to use P2P applications to deliver legal content," Werner said.
To quantify their recommendations, the two companies will jointly conduct tests of Pando's Network Aware P2P technology that will measure performance, speed, bandwidth consumption, distance and geography, and their collective impact on ISPs. In addition, Pando said it plans to conduct further tests on the cable, DSL, fiber and wireless networks of other service providers.
"We need more data and analysis of how P2P applications deliver content over a variety of different networks," said Pando CEO Robert Levitan. "By sharing the test methodology and results, all P2P companies and ISPs can learn how to more efficiently deliver legal content."
Earlier this month, Pando released trial results indicating that its new P4P protocol is capable of operating at higher speeds than conventional P2P, which in turn promises to optimize network costs for ISPs on Comcast's fiber-optic network, noted Martin Lafferty, head of the Distributed Computing Industry Association.
"The fact...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Fake Subpoenas Drive the Latest Phishing Attack
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59316
The SANS Internet Storm Center on Monday issued a warning to CEOs: don't be fooled by fake federal subpoenas sent by e-mail. The fake e-mails are part of a phishing attack targeting CEOs of some companies. Such targeted attacks are widely known as spear-phishing attacks.
"We've gotten a few reports that some CEOs have received what purports to be a federal subpoena via e-mail ordering their testimony in a case. It then asks them to click a link and download the case history and associated information," said John Bambenek, a security researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Internet Storm Center handler, in an online post. "One problem," he continued, "it's total bogus."
Bambenek described the attack as a "click-the-link-for-malware" typical spammer stunt. His immediate advice: First and foremost, don't click on such links. An interesting component of this scam, he said, is that it properly identifies CEOs and sends e-mail directly.
Federal courts do not "serve" formal processes by e-mail. While there is an Electronic Case Management System, the initial contact for a subpoena, lawsuit or other process is done the old fashioned way -- hand delivery.
"Presumably, if you did already get served, you would have a lawyer handling the case for you. In that instance, the lawyer, not you, would be getting electronic notices from the court after service has been handled," Bambenek said.
Cyveillance President and CEO Panos Anastassiadis was one of the corporate chiefs targeted. The e-mail instructed Anastassiadis to appear in a U.S. courthouse on May 7, and provided a link to download the subpoena.
The Web page says the case has been closed and no further action is required from the visitor. However, clicking on the link will not only load the page, but also download a Trojan that would...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Zoho's Enterprise CRM Challenges Salesforce.com
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59315
Stories of broken relationships often end with bitterness and reprisals. Zoho, which offers a wide range of software-as-a-service applications, said it had been wooed by Salesforce.com, but rejected its advances. With that relationship dead, Zoho is now taking on the CRM giant mano a mano.
Over the past few months, Zoho has aggressively been rolling out new pieces of its business applications set, such as invoicing, project management and HR functions. Its release of the Zoho CRM Enterprise Edition is designed to make it "easier for medium to large organizations to implement Zoho CRM."
The company isn't shy about its goal: to steal away customers from Salesforce.com, which Zoho says it is doing successfully, with one or two customers leaving Salesforce.com for Zoho daily.
Raju Veges, Zoho's evangelist, told us that he's seeing firsthand evidence of the migration away from Salesforce.com. "Regarding the migrations from Salesforce, these are the requests coming to us from their users, and in some instances, they are taking help from our support team to migrate their data from Salesforce to Zoho CRM."
Apparently, those customers like what they're finding. "Many users who migrated from Salesforce are happy to find similar, functionally rich applications at one-fifth the price. That's the common reaction we are getting," Veges said. Zoho claims to have more than 800,000 users.
Zoho was invited several months ago by Salesforce.com to participate in AppExchange, which would allow Zoho applications to run on the Force.com platform. "We integrated into AppExchange. We were about a week from the release, and [Salesforce.com] asked us not to integrate into their platform, as we compete with them with Zoho CRM," Veges told us. According to Zoho, Salesforce.com knew about Zoho CRM before the company was asked to participate in AppExchange.
Salesforce.com then offered to purchase Zoho outright. According to a...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
AOL Buys Sphere to Expand Search, Online Ads
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59300
In the latest in a strong of acquisitions, AOL on Tuesday acquired Sphere, a contextual-search tool developer that broadens AOL's publishing network and offers more relevant search results.
Founded in 2005 and based in San Francisco, Sphere uses its contextual technology to make connections between content from blogs, video, media, photos and advertisements. Results are then displayed in a pop-over window or an integrated widget that lets publishers enhance articles by incorporating related articles and blog posts.
"Our focus at AOL is providing consumers relevant content wherever they are on the Web, and Sphere's capabilities fit in perfectly with this effort. Not only will it let us enhance content on our own sites, it will let us distribute our content across Sphere's growing third-party publisher network," said Ron Grant, AOL president and COO. "In addition, this acquisition provides AOL with access to advertising inventory across Sphere's network, while growing its reach to content publishers via the widget."
AOL and Sphere were not strangers. AOL test-drove the company's technology before bringing it into the fold. Specifically, AOL partnered with Sphere to offer its widget technology on AOL News and the myAOL service and Mgnet.
Sphere also has some heavy-hitting clients, including MLB.com, Newsweek and Reuters. Sphere's third-party network includes more than 50,000 content publishers and blogs and is live on an average of more than 2 billion article pages across the Web every month, according to the company's internal data.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but observers are speculating Sphere may have cost about $25 million, making it an inexpensive acquisition for AOL, according to Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.
"It's true that various content properties have been remade in the fashion of blogs, so Sphere offers a way to enrich that content," Sterling said. "The Sphere...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Intel Expects Processor Business to Keep Growing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59299
Intel surprised Wall Street by posting a record $9.7 billion in revenue for the company's first business quarter -- a 9 percent rise from the year-earlier period. The world's leading microprocessor maker also reported net income of $1.4 billion, together with earnings of 25 cents per share.
Company executives said Intel's microprocessor business strength and strong execution helped the company overcome a challenging flash memory market in which the company's combined NOR and NAND chip revenues fell 15 percent from the prior quarter.
In particular, Intel saw healthy demand for its processors and chipsets across all market segments, noted Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini.
"Our first-quarter results demonstrate a strengthening core business and a solid global market environment," Otellini told investors during a conference call. "Looking forward, we remain optimistic about our growth opportunities as we continue to reap the benefits of our 45nm technology leadership," he said.
Looking ahead, Intel anticipates growing its revenue base by achieving an ever-growing number of design wins for its new Atom microprocessor family for mobile applications. One good sign, Otellini said, is that the crossover from the desktop to the notebook appears to be happening essentially a year sooner than Intel had expected.
"I think that is good news for Intel given the strength of our product line, both on the Centrino side and now with the notebooks and Atom starting to show fairly good volume projections," Otellini said.
He noted that the bulk of the early notebook sales to date were either in mature markets or in tier-one cities in China and other places, with most people buying them as fashion accessories or as a second or third notebook for the household. "But I think we are still in the early stages," Otellini said.
"It's like the early days of the...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
New Verizon Offerings Make Small Businesses Look Big
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59298
It just got a little easier for small and midsize businesses to look like giant enterprises. Verizon Wireless has introduced several plans aimed at SMBs that offer wireless e-mail solutions.
The first offering is Hosted VZEmail Services, which allows customers to synchronize e-mail accounts as well as calendars, contacts and tasks on Windows Mobile devices. Free technical support is included.
Mike Tomassi, product manager for Verizon, told us that the company is responding to customer requests for mobile workers. "A customer like a mom-and-pop shop doesn't have the money to purchase a behind-the-firewall solution or an enterprise server," he said, nor can they afford to hire and manage a team of IT workers.
For now, the service is limited to the Windows Mobile platform, though Tomassi said the company is looking into supporting other platforms in the future. There are two plans available.
The Basic Exchange Plan costs $7.99 a month per seat; it supports POP3 and IMAP protocols and includes 25MB of storage as well as Outlook Web Access.
The Premium Exchange Plan for $14.99 a month per seat includes 100MB of storage and adds options such as Outlook Mobile Access to access e-mail and PIM data (which is automatically reformatted regardless of device); Outlook Anywhere to access Hosted VZEmail without using a VPN; ActiveSync to receive push e-mail; and Outlook 2007 to provide "a familiar and friendly PC interface," according to the company.
VZEmail uses direct-push technology for e-mail updates. Customers can create a global address list of employees, manage distribution lists, and schedule meetings and other resources. Using Outlook Web Access, they can securely access corporate e-mail. Users can also use their existing Internet domain addresses, Tomassi said.
"Our research has shown that small businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals from an array of industries need e-mail pushed directly to...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Disturbing Security Breaches Raise Questions
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59291
Any form of identity theft is problematic. But to lift the Social Security numbers, bank statements and other personal information of people applying for food stamps, financial aid, child-care subsidies and government medical programs is despicable.
Anyone who has experienced identity theft can attest that it is highly expensive and nearly impossible to undo the damage that can occur when someone has access to one's bank accounts or uses personal information to obtain loans or credit cards. If someone's income is so limited that they qualify for government programs, they will face extreme difficulty unraveling such a mess.
"It's a particularly gross crime," said U.S. attorney for Utah Brett Tolman in announcing federal indictments against four Utahns -- including a woman employed on and off in the state Department of Workforce Services, where the identity thefts allegedly occurred. The woman had access to a database containing the personal information of some 1,775 people. "Gross crime" is an understatement.
These indictments come on the heels of two other high-profile incidents of employees snooping through records. Earlier this year, officials at the U.S. State Department learned that employees had accessed the passport files of a number of powerful Americans, among them presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.
The snooping was not politically motivated but, rather, garden-variety snooping by idle employees, agency officials said. Regardless, there's no excuse for it. People who have access to such records have a specific duty to read them for official purposes only.
But at a time when security of sensitive government records should be iron-clad, Americans learned this past week that Internal Revenue Service computers have such poor controls that disgruntled employees, agency contractors or outside hackers could steal taxpayers' confidential information.
Taxpayers at all levels deserve far better. Any time they provide personal information to a government agency...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Future of Emergency Network in Doubt
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59286
A congressional panel wants to know why a plan aimed at using public airwaves and private money to create a nationwide emergency communications network failed to attract any interest in an otherwise successful spectrum auction.
The House Energy and Commerce telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee on Tuesday was to hear from all five members of the Federal Communications Commission as well as key figures in the behind-the-scenes negotiations that failed to lead to an agreement to construct the wireless broadband network.
The recently completed auction of a portion of the public airwaves, while raising a record $19.1 billion, failed to attract a bidder to build the network.
Disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, revealed limitations of the nation's emergency communications networks, like the inability of police and firefighters to communicate with one another.
Ideally, a new network would help solve the interoperability problem and avail emergency personnel of many of the advances in wireless technology that are available to commercial users.
Among the witnesses scheduled to testify is wireless industry pioneer Morgan O'Brien, a co-founder of Nextel Communications Inc., now chairman of a new company called Cyren Call. O'Brien was the first to aggressively advocate the idea of using publicly owned spectrum to lure private investors to build a national emergency network.
O'Brien's plan was shot down last year on Capitol Hill over fears it would endanger the success of the spectrum auction. O'Brien is still involved because of an agreement his company signed to act as adviser for the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corp., a nonprofit run by safety officials that oversees the public portion of the public-private partnership.
The FCC approved the emergency communications plan last summer.
It largely incorporates a proposal developed by Frontline Wireless LLC -- a company fronted by a former FCC chairman and high-tech...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Yahoo-Google Alliance Could Bring Antitrust Scrutiny
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59285
Yahoo's attempt to form an alliance with Google to stave off Microsoft could run into more trouble with antitrust regulators than Microsoft's unwelcome takeover bid.
While Yahoo is seeking a business partnership with Google -- unlike the outright merger that Microsoft wants -- legal experts say any deal between the world's two largest Internet search services would draw heavy scrutiny from U.S. and European competition regulators.
"The Justice Department would certainly want to take a serious look at that because it would mean that a firm that would want to take advertisements or to place advertisements would have only one place to go," said Aaron Edlin, who teaches law and economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Web search services have taken over from once-popular portals or home pages, like AOL, MSN or Yahoo's own home page, as the primary starting point for many consumers seeking information on the Internet.
Google held a 59.2 percent share of the U.S. Web search market in February, compared with Yahoo's 21.6 percent and Microsoft's 9.6 percent, the research firm comScore said.
To counter that dominance, Microsoft offered in January to buy Yahoo in a cash-and-stock deal now valued at $42 billion.
Yahoo rejects that price as too low and has been casting around for other partners. It announced last week a test to outsource search advertising to Google, which sources say is part of Yahoo's plans to form a three-way alliance with Time Warner's AOL unit to fend off Microsoft.
Antitrust experts said that regulators would probably oppose any permanent alliance between Google and Yahoo, while they would probably approve Microsoft's proposal for a Yahoo merger.
"A Yahoo-Microsoft merger would primarily be designed to attack Google," said Thomas Hazlett, who teaches law and economics at George Mason University in Virginia. Hazlett said that this type...
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Do a Cloud Scan for Malware and Try for a Prize
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59276
Is your PC infected with malware? Panda Security says it is, and they're putting their money where their mouth is. Submit to their free online scan and be found totally malware-free, and your company could bring in a cool $7,500. Or, if you're a consumer and you clear the scan, you might win an iPod nano.
Sound too good to be true? I took the challenge and, unfortunately, I brought home no iPod trophy. Happily nothing serious was located, but the scan did locate more than 100 tracking cookies I thought I had already deleted. (There are two scan options: one takes a few minutes, the other a few hours.) The bigger point, though, is that "malware" can have a fairly broad definition.
Ryan Sherstobitoff, who serves as Panda Security's chief corporate evangelist, told us that the free scan offering, ActiveScan 2.0, came about after the company noticed the extent to which consumers and small businesses were infected with malware major and minor.
The company did what Sherstobitoff calls "alarming research" on 1.5 million PCs. "We found that 23 percent had active malware even though they had paid money to be protected against these types of threats" to well-known antivirus vendors. "According to our data, it's quite likely that someone's going to be infected with something that's currently undetected by current software."
While the cookies found on my machine might be minor issues, Sherstobitoff said more troubling issues are increasingly common. "Forty percent of what we're seeing now is 'banker Trojans,'" he said, where "consumers interacting with their banks have a high chance of having their credentials stolen and becoming victims of identity theft because their antivirus solution wasn't able to see that they were at very serious risk."
Sherstobitoff is confident in Panda's ability to uncover...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Online Petition Favors Windows XP Over Vista
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59273
Windows may or may not be collapsing, as two Gartner Group analysts indicated last week, but Microsoft is receiving substantial pushback against Windows Vista. With less than three months left until Microsoft says it will stop selling and supporting most versions of Windows XP, will customers be forced into an operating system they don't want -- or is Microsoft facing a customer revolt of stunning proportions?
Resistance is strong enough that InfoWorld Executive Editor Galen Gruman has launched a "Save Windows XP" online petition that has received more than 100,000 responses.
"Millions of us have grown comfortable with XP and don't see a need to change to Vista. It's like having a comfortable apartment that you've enjoyed coming home to for years, only to get an eviction notice," the petition reads.
"The thought of moving to a new place -- even with the stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and maple cabinets (or is cherry in this year?) -- just doesn't sit right. Maybe it'll be more modern, but it will also cost more and likely not be as good a fit. And you don't have any other reason to move."
Gruman wants Microsoft to do something similar to its handling of the disastrous Windows Millenium Edition -- continue selling XP until an acceptable version of Vista can be developed.
It's not clear whether businesses are really pushing back on Vista, said Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT, in a telephone interview. "We're just a few weeks past Service Pack 1 for Vista," he noted. "The availability of SP1 is usually the trigger point for serious implementations." While business implementation of Vista so far has been minor, "I expect it to pick up speed," King said.
At the end of the day, though, neither Microsoft nor any other company...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Psystar Offers a Mac Clone, OpenMac, for $399
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59271
Move over Mac. You've been cloned, or at least a company called Psystar says you have. Psystar claims to be "reinventing the wheel" with what it calls an OpenMac -- for $399.
"Mac enthusiasts have been experimenting with running the new Apple operating systems on commodity PC hardware ever since the Intel-based Apple computers were introduced in early 2006," the company's Web site said. "Psystar has assembled a system that is completely operational with Leopard [Mac OS X 10.5] called OpenMac."
Psystar tapped into efforts known as the OSx86 Project. The project's goals of running OS X on a PC have been realized. Even the latest releases of OS X can now run on PC hardware, Psystar said, but compatibility can be an issue. OpenMac seeks to solve that issue. Psystar calls it OpenMac to "reflect the opening of what has previously been a hardware monopoly."
Apple could not immediately be reached for comment, and the Psystar site went down Monday in the wake of overwhelming traffic loads. But cached pages reveal the particulars of the OpenMac, which is built from standard PC parts, according to the company. Mac OS X compatibility is reportedly achieved through an EFI emulator.
The OpenMac offers a 2.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of DDR2 667 memory and integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics. It also boasts a 20x DVD+/-R drive, four USB ports and a 250GB, 7200-RPM drive.
The closest machine Apple offers is the Mac mini, but the specs are not the same. The mini sports a 1.83-GHz or 2.0-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with an integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics processor. It offers 1GB of DDR2 667, though it can support 2GB.
The mini sells for $599. Of course, Apple's machine comes with iLife, Microsoft Office 2004...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Adobe Plans CinemaDNG Format for Digital Movies
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59270
In case you thought you had media file formats down pat, Adobe Systems plans a new one called CinemaDNG.
Jim Guerard, Adobe's vice president of dynamic media, told news media at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference Monday in Las Vegas that CinemaDNG will extend "open, interchangeable formats for digital still cameras into the realm of digital cinematography." The DNG, or Digital Negative Specification, format is used by digital photographers to archive images shot in the Raw format.
He added that with the new format, filmmakers will be able to use digital cinema cameras "with confidence," and camera manufacturers will be able to provide "specialized functionality while ensuring instant file-format compatibility with existing work flows."
Adobe said many filmmakers are trying to use digital cinema instead of film, but creating digital cinema files involves a variety of formats, hardware and applications.
The San Jose, Calif., company said it will lead an initiative "to define an industry-wide open file format for digital cinema files to streamline work flows and help ensure easy archiving and exchange." A work flow for using CinemaDNG is also being developed, and a specification will be published.
The company's DNG format will be the foundation for the new file format, and it announced plans to work with a variety of camera manufacturers and others to define the format. The manufacturers include Panavision, Silicon Imaging, Dalsa, Weisscam, and ARRI, as well as software vendors such as Iridas and The Foundry, and codec provider Cineform.
The advantages for filmmakers, according to Adobe, will include avoiding roadblocks created by multiple devices, vendors and file formats. Adobe said using digital cameras now means dealing with concerns about format longevity, since camera-specific formats can become orphans if a manufacturer ceases operations or changes its product lines.
Instead, Adobe said, digital cinema needs a format that...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
STMicroelectronics and NXP Meld Key Wireless Businesses
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59258
Europe-based chipmakers STMicroelectronics and NXP Semiconductors have agreed to combine key wireless operations that were collectively responsible for generating $3 billion in revenue during 2007.
In exchange for $1.55 billion, STMicroelectronics will hold an 80 percent stake in the new joint venture, with NXP, an independent company founded by Philips, holding the remaining 20 percent. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
The new chipmaker is expected to become "a very strong top-three player" in the global wireless industry due to the strength of "its excellent relationships" with all the world's major handset manufacturers, STMicroelectronics Chief Executive Carlo Bozotti told investors.
Slated to be incorporated in the Netherlands and headquartered in Switzerland, the yet-to-be-named entity is not expected to have any wafer-fabrication plants. Instead, the joint venture expects to keep capital costs low by relying on its parent companies and independent foundries for wafer fabrication.
The parent companies say they expect the new company to realize more than $250 million in annual cost synergies by 2011. "The joint venture's strong positioning leads us to expect immediate and future top- and bottom-line synergies," Bozotti said.
The new company will also combine key design, sales and marketing, and back-end manufacturing assets from both parents. "It will have the scale in human and financial resources, and intellectual property, to successfully attack and win in all next-generation wireless, multimedia and connectivity technologies," said Bozotti, who is a member of the venture's board of directors.
Bozotti also stressed to investors that STMicroelectronics' deal with NXP is all about "creating scale in a market with too many major players."
Nokia, the world's No. 1 handset maker, also sees merit in the move. "The wireless semiconductor industry requires consolidation," said Nokia Senior Vice President Jean-Francois Baril. "We welcome the emergence of this joint venture creating a...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
AMD CTO Phil Hester Leaves After Restructuring
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59257
AMD Chief Technology Officer Phil Hester resigned Friday, the third high-level departure in less than a year. The company said Hester is "pursuing other opportunities" and "has not disclosed his plans."
When Hester was hired as CTO in 2005, he was charged with "guiding AMD's processor advancements" as well as managing advanced infrastructure strategies and "focusing on the seamless integration of next-generation computing functionality into AMD-powered systems."
Hester was in charge of Fusion, AMD's next-generation processor, which is still 18 months away. AMD said it would not hire a new CTO but spread Hester's duties across the technology officers of its five business units.
The departure comes just days after AMD warned it would not meet its projected revenues and laid off 10 percent of its 16,500-person global workforce. AMD said Hester's resignation was not related to the layoffs. And Roger Kay, principal analyst of Endpoint Technologies, said there are no signals that Hester is leaving a sinking ship.
"They're offering reconfigured jobs to a lot of top managers and he didn't like what was offered," Kay said. "He was a visionary, but they don't need a lot of visionaries right now -- they need to execute." In addition, Hester was a "big salary," Kay said. "AMD views his departure with mixed feelings."
Are we seeing the meltdown of the only meaningful competitor to Intel? Not necessarily, Kay said. "They have a couple of good irons in the fire, but Fusion is still 18 months away," he said. "They have a couple of good ideas, but they're on choppy seas with a formidable adversary."
AMD not only needs to execute on its upcoming products, Kay said, "they need some good luck."
Before joining AMD, Hester founded Newisys, which designed enterprise-class servers based on AMD's Opteron processor. He spent 23 years at...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Google Apps Integrates with Salesforce.com
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59256
Salesforce.com and Google Apps both offer business software as a service, and now the companies are joining forces. Starting today, a new product called Salesforce for Google Apps will provide an integration of the enterprise-oriented application suites.
The collaboration makes Google Apps available for all salesforce.com customers at no added cost. Salesforce is also reselling the premier edition of Google Apps.
Google's Scott McMullan and Maureen Bradford wrote today on the Official Google Enterprise Blog that the new product focuses on customer needs for tighter teamwork, increased efficiency, faster communication, and simpler coordination.
Both companies noted that Salesforce users can now avoid version control or e-mail attachments by using Google Docs inside of Salesforce. This allows, for instance, for a proposal to be created without leaving Salesforce. "No more e-mailing attachments or worrying about different versions floating around," Salesforce said.
Customer communications and correspondence with other team members can be handled within Salesforce as well, using Gmail. On its Web site, Salesforce said productivity would be improved by being able to send messages to contacts from inside Salesforce or to log e-mails in Salesforce with Gmail.
Google Talk can also be used for instant messaging and for archiving communications during sales calls or when reviewing customer relationship management data. Meetings can also be synchronized by using Google Calendars. And a combined Salesforce and Google Start Page allows a user to see all their information and tools in one view.
A Google-made video highlights the advantages that each company's products bring to the collaboration. Salesforce "is a centralized place to manage all your customer information," the video says. "But the problem has been that many of the tools you use in the sales process have been in different places." Time is wasted, the video continued, because the tools are not...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
FTC Urged to Adopt Microsoft's Privacy Standards
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59255
The Federal Trade Commission is getting an earful about Internet privacy. The opinions on the FTC's proposed self-regulatory principles to govern online advertising vary widely, with Microsoft taking bold steps to suggest an approach it deems "comprehensive."
On Friday, Microsoft proposed a five-tiered system to protect consumers' privacy. Its recommendations call for standards in five key circumstances: when site visitors' data is collected for online advertising, when ads are delivered on unrelated sites, when sites engage in behavioral advertising, when personally identifiable information is used, and when sensitive personal data is used.
"We welcome the opportunity to work with the FTC to ensure that online consumers benefit from meaningful privacy protections," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft. "Online advertising should put consumers in the driver's seat, not only with the information they want to see, but also with the tools to protect their privacy."
The foundation of Microsoft's approach is the idea that the greater the potential risk to privacy, the greater the protection. For example, the most stringent tier requires that online advertisers receive affirmative express consent from consumers before they may use sensitive personally identifiable information -- such as personal health data -- for advertising purposes.
The recommendations reflect Microsoft's Privacy Principles for Live Search and Online Ad Targeting, standards the company adopted in 2007 to promote greater transparency and give consumers increased control over privacy.
"Even as consumers value the benefits of online advertising, they may not fully appreciate the role data collection plays in the delivery of online advertising," Smith said. "Microsoft's proposed guidelines will help consumers receive relevant and helpful information while helping ensure their privacy is respected."
While Microsoft is busy pushing its standards, others are speaking out against the FTC's recommendations. Specifically, the Newspaper Association of America...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
On-Demand CRM Poised for 41 Percent Growth
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59249
The on-demand CRM market is expected to grow by a compound annual rate of 41 percent over the next three years, driven primarily by small and midsize businesses (SMBs). But as software-as-a-service CRM vendors fill the SMB niche, Microsoft is poised to be a powerful player at the expense of Salesforce.com.
That's according to a new report from Tier1 Research, which analyzes the financial and industry implications of IT developments. Equity research analyst Wesley Kennedy, who wrote the On-Demand CRM Marketplace report, told us that the bulk of the growth of on-demand CRM options will come from Europe and Asia.
"Historically, in the United States, the growth rate is actually coming down because a lot of early adopters have already chosen CRM applications, especially in the on-demand space, so in the United States, you're starting to see a decline in growth. The real growth is being driven by Europe and Asia," he said. In the United States, Kennedy said he expects a compound annual growth rate of about 34 percent.
Kennedy said it's unlikely that traditional CRM vendors will be able to penetrate the Asian market very quickly. Rather, he expects there to be "a lot of organic growth domestically" for these applications. At the same time, a lot of large enterprises in Asia have not yet adopted a CRM application, he said. So the question for them is whether to go with an on-demand or on-premise solution.
"Against the backdrop of a slowing economy and the cost-efficiencies engendered by an on-demand platform, we feel they're going to be more inclined to go with an on-demand application, because in two years, that's where everybody's going to be anyway, for the most part, so they might as well make that decision now," Kennedy said.
The on-premise market for CRM...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Apple's OS Edge Is a Threat to Microsoft
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59248
The 20-year death grip that Microsoft has held on the core of computing is finally weakening -- pried loose with just two fingers. With one finger you press "Control" and with the other you press "right arrow." Instantly you switch from a Macintosh operating system [OS] to a Microsoft Windows OS. Then, with another two-finger press, you switch back again. So as you edit family pictures, you might use Mac's iPhoto. And when you want to access your corporate e-mail, you can switch back instantly to Microsoft Exchange.
This easy toggling on an Apple computer, enabled by a feature called Spaces, was but an interesting side note to last fall's upgrade of the Mac OS. But coupled with other recent developments, the stars are aligning in a very intriguing pattern. Apple's recent release of a tool kit for programmers to write applications for the iPhone will be followed by the June launch of iPhone 2.0, a software upgrade geared toward business users.
Taken together, these seemingly unrelated moves are taking the outline of a full-fledged strategy. Windows users, in the very near future, will be free to switch to Apple computers and mobile devices, drawn by a widening array of Mac software, without suffering the pain of giving up critical Windows-based applications right away. The easy virtualization of two radically different operating systems on a single desktop paves a classic migration path. Business users will be tempted. Apple is positioning itself to challenge Microsoft for overall computing dominance -- even in the corporate realm.
Such an idea rarely finds expression in public. Apple today is a "consumer-products company." Each new Apple product unveiled -- from iPod to iPhone -- comes with the excitement and glamor of Steve Jobs' "reality distortion field." Yet if you look at the larger picture, broader...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
TiVo's HD DVR Steals the Show
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59247
TiVo, the pioneer of digital video recorders [DVRs], has struggled for years with a thorny problem: Many potential customers would have been willing to spring for its pricey set-top box or its $12.95 monthly subscription -- but not both. Indeed, the majority of the company's customers came from a partnership, now winding down, with DirecTV that bundled TiVo's service into the satellite broadcaster's monthly bill.
When TiVo introduced its $299 TiVo HD stand-alone box last year, the huge price drop, compared with the $599 TiVo Series 3, aimed to remove some of the sting from the equation. The jury's still out on whether the strategy is luring first-timers to TiVo. But after reviewing TiVo HD for the past few months, I'll wager that anyone who does buy the box will be more than happy with the purchase, especially with the company adding more and more features to the service. One unfortunate caveat: TiVo HD only works with regular cable TV services, not satellite providers.
To make the price friendlier, TiVo has dropped the THX sound certification included in the Series 3, the neat OLED screen that tells you which shows are being recorded, and the backlit remote control.
Like the Series 3, TiVo HD records high-definition video in the 720p or 1080i formats, as well as DVD-quality standard-definition programs. The device is equipped with multiple tuners that let you record two shows at once from a cable signal, while simultaneously playing a show already recorded to the drive.
If you're a video junkie like me, you might be concerned about the TiVo HD's recording capacity. It stores 20 hours in high definition or 180 hours of standard definition, compared with 32 and 300, respectively, for the Series 3. Happily, though it'll add $200 to your cost, there's an eSATA data port on...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
The Internet Runs on Ad Billions
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59246
From the basement of his house in San Francisco, Chris Lindland runs a successful specialty retail business that sells horizontal corduroy pants to customers across the country. Tim Carter turned years of hands-on experience as a building contractor in Ohio into a new career as Webmaster of "askthebuilder.com," a venture that in its first year netted him more than four times the income he earned in his best year as a builder.
And Dr. J. Glen House, a Colorado physician and quadriplegic, just launched Disaboom.com, a Web community for America's 54 million people with disabilities [it's their initial focus as they build a "community" and share resources] that has logged more than 1.5 million unique visitors since October. These businesses could not have survived 15 years ago. They're thriving today because of interactive advertising.
Consumers today enjoy an extraordinary amount of cost-free content and services on the Internet. Search engines, e-mail, social networking sites, video and photo storage, product-comparison tools, news, entertainment, maps, job banks, and resume services and e-commerce marketplaces are available at the click of a mouse -- and free of charge. But none of these services are actually free. Advertising is funding them. And without this advertising subsidy, consumers would be forced to pay for many of these services, assuming they were available at all.
Advertising greases the wheels of the Web economy. Internet advertising revenues topped $21 billion in 2007, about one-third the amount marketers spend on national broadcast and cable television, according to the Interactive Advertising Board [IAB] and the Robert Coen Insider's Report. By 2011, that amount is projected to more than triple, to $62 billion, surpassing newspapers as the largest advertising medium, according to Veronis Suhler Stevenson's 21st Communications Industry Forecast, which came out in August, 2007. While Wall Street remains riveted to the multibillion-dollar acquisition...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Television Studios Explore Web Programming
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59242
Shane Felux is an independent filmmaker whose Star Wars Revelations was seen by over 4 million people in its first three months. His next project, Pitching George Lucas, reached even more.
But unless you've downloaded his online movies -- or are part of his fan legion at the comic book convention, Comic-Con -- it is likely you've never heard of him.
Felux is hoping that could change with Trenches, his 10-episode, short-form, sci-fi thriller coming to ABC.com and YouTube. It is among 20 online programs in development at Disney-ABC Television's new digital content studio, Stage 9.
"I'd been saying, 'I'm the little guy just making movies hoping that the industry raises its head to what the little guy can do and say, All right, we'll give the little guy a shot.' So my shot happened," says the 36-year-old writer-director, who produces films from the basement of his northern Virginia home.
Television studios like ABC Television, CBS, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Television are looking to partner with artists to produce online videos popular with young viewers and men who are abandoning traditional prime-time offerings.
Among the 18-34 set, the proportion who watch online videos on a weekly basis increased 42 percent, up from 28 percent last year, Leichtman Research Group reported in a study released in February. Men 18-34 account for 40 percent of daily online video viewers, but make up only 17 percent of online subscribers, according to the study.
"The consciousness of video on the Net has elevated pretty dramatically in the last year or so, and the next phase of that is really providing a higher quality video experience for that audience demand," says Sean Carey, senior vice president of Sony Pictures Television which launched six comedy originals last month on its online comedy network CSpot via Crackle, YouTube, AOL Video and Hulu.
A...
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Yahoo-Microsoft Battle Bolsters Google
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59239
Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to take over Yahoo Inc. has become so tortured it may help Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc. grow stronger, undermining Microsoft's main reason for pursuing the deal in the first place.
"We find this to be a very advantageous situation for Google," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown said Thursday. "The longer this gets dragged out, the better for Google."
Yahoo signaled it is bracing for a protracted battle late Wednesday when an announcement and a media leak provided a glimpse at its labyrinthine search for alternatives to Microsoft's bid of more than $40 billion.
The options include an experimental advertising alliance with Google that could lead to a broader partnership and, according to published reports, a combination with the online operations of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL. Google also owns a 5 percent stake in AOL.
As part of the AOL deal, Time Warner would get a roughly 20 percent stake in the merged entity in return for a substantial sum of cash that would help Yahoo buy back some of its stock at a price well above Microsoft's offer, which was initially valued at $31 per share.
"This is the first time that we have seen real feasible alternatives that could derail the Microsoft deal," said analyst Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
Other analysts doubt Yahoo will succeed in thwarting Microsoft but believe it could force the world's largest software maker to raise its offer as high as $35 per share, or about $50 billion.
For its part, Microsoft has indicated that it may lower its offer if Yahoo doesn't accept the current bid by April 26.
But Microsoft made that threat before the details about Yahoo's alternatives with Google and AOL emerged.
Although Microsoft has plenty of money to up the ante on its own, the Redmond, Wash.-based company may...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Verizon Sues Time Warner Cable Over 'Fiber' Ad
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59254
If you need more proof that phone and cable companies are locked in a bitter struggle to control telecommunications, Verizon Wireless and Time Warner Cable are a good example. Verizon filed suit in federal court this week alleging that a TWC ad falsely compares its cable offering to Verizon's FiOS network.
The TWC ad features a door-to-door salesman pitching "Fiber!" When he waves his hands, he creates magical swooshes, suggesting that Verizon is casting a spell over customers by the mere incantation of "fiber." In the ad, a homeowner responds that TWC has "been using fiber optics for over a decade. Welcome to the program!"
According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon claims the ad falsely implies FiOS requires a satellite dish for TV service; that it can't bundle Internet, video and phone service; and that TWC's use of fiber optics predates Verizon's.
Verizon is asking the court for an injunction to stop the ads, to award damages and to order that TWC run corrective advertising.
TWC spokesperson Alex Dudly responded, "We feel the suit is without merit, and we look forward to defending against it in the appropriate venue."
When the ad first ran in February, Verizon executive John Czwartack wrote on the company's policy blog that a colleague had this reaction: "Let's see ... according to their Web site I'd get a 'blazing fast' 1.5-Mbps connection and "digital phone local only" voice in addition to cable service. ... Unfortunately I'm not interested, because with my FiOS bundle I have a [faster] FiOS Internet service, local plus unlimited long-distance calling, plus three phone features -- all enabled by fiber straight to my door."
The FiOS network is indeed substantially faster than current cable offerings, network consultant George Ou said in a telephone interview. FiOS delivers 622 Mbps downstream and 155 Mbps...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Yahoo's Board Examines Acquisition Alternatives
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59253
Yahoo's board of directors met Friday to consider Microsoft's takeover offer. Yahoo has repeatedly rejected Redmond's bid, calling it too low. But most analysts believe Microsoft is the most likely candidate to become Yahoo's parent.
The urgent meeting comes on the heels of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's ultimatum letter to Yahoo's board on April 5. Ballmer wanted Yahoo to authorize a team to negotiate and come to an agreement on a merger. He then gave the board a three-week deadline to reach an agreement or Microsoft will take the matter to Yahoo's shareholders.
In a lengthy joint letter, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang reiterated the company's initial position that the merger is not in the best interests of Yahoo or its stockholders. The duo noted the company has laid out a three-year strategic plan and continued to launch products since Microsoft's unsolicited offer in February.
The board is reportedly considering its options. Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL are also reportedly talking again. If reports in The Wall Street Journal hold true, it's possible that Time Warner would fold AOL into Yahoo and make a cash investment for a 20 percent stake in the merged company. Yahoo would then repurchase billions of its shares at a price in the mid-$30s.
"Microsoft remains the most motivated and best capitalized alternative for Yahoo,'' Stanford Group Co. analyst Clay Moran said in a note Thursday. "A Yahoo-AOL merger does not provide Yahoo shareholders value equivalent to the existing Microsoft bid.''
Pund-IT Analyst Charles King isn't quite sure whether Yahoo is exploring lifelines to remain independent or whether the company is merely trying to up the ante. The public back-and-forth and reported negotiations with would-be suitors could soon come to a head.
"From Yahoo's point of view, its responsibility is to...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Google Gearing Up for the Enterprise
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59252
Fast on the heels of Monday's launch of Google App Engine -- an initiative to open up Google's computing infrastructure to third-party developers -- Google has opened a new online store: the Google Solutions Marketplace, a portal for applications that make use of Google's APIs (application programming interfaces) or Google Gadgets.
"The Marketplace's initial focus is connecting customers of our communications and collaboration products, like Google Apps and Enterprise search, with third parties that sell complementary products and services," wrote Scott McMullan, Google Apps partner lead, on an official blog. "But that's just a start. We expect to grow to fit the needs of an expanding set of Google customers and developers."
The online marketplace, though a relatively minor development in itself, is a further sign of Google's increasing interest in the enterprise. In February, Google re-branded JotSpot -- an enterprise-focused wiki company it acquired last year -- as Google Sites. And Monday, Salesforce.com -- which redefined business software with its on-demand model -- is set to announce that it will begin reselling Google Apps to its customers, according to a report by the TechCrunch blog.
Google Apps will be "tightly integrated" into Salesforce.com's service, TechCrunch said. Such a deal would further a working relationship the companies already have, in which Salesforce.com customers can manage their AdWords accounts. The deal makes sense, according to TechCrunch writer Erick Schonfeld. "Salesforce wants to get as close to Google as it can. And Google wants to sell its apps to enterprise customers (Salesforce has 41,000 of them)."
Google Gadgets, the company's approach to widgets -- mini-applications that can run inside a Web page -- is key to its enterprise aspirations. "Gadgets [have] a very approachable coding model, and you can do surprisingly useful things very quickly," said Jonathan Rochelle, a senior product manager for Google Docs....
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Broken Microsoft Windows Will Decline, Analysts Say
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59251
Microsoft is in trouble and its flagship Windows operating system is broken, Gartner analysts said at the Emerging Trends conference this week. Analysts Neil MacDonald and Michael Silver offered many reasons why Microsoft may see rougher days ahead.
The analysts said Microsoft's operating-system development times are too long, especially for the level of innovation the company delivers. They also said Windows releases fail to offer a consistent experience between platforms and create compatibility issues. Other vendors, they said, are innovating circles around Microsoft.
These problems translate to the enterprise in unpredictable releases, high management costs, Windows systems that break other applications and prolong testing and adoption time, and overall limited value. That has to be music to the Linux camp's ears.
Gartner offered some statistics to back up this gloomy view. Growth in PC hardware is limited, with Gartner expecting two to eight percent between 2005 and 2011. Emerging markets are a better story with expected growth of 16 to 24 percent for PC hardware, but price sensitivity dampens the optimism. Linux tends to win in developing nations.
"All these things are in opposition to what we've seen with people expanding PC use year after year," MacDonald said.
A transition toward server-agnostic applications could have a major impact on enterprise computing and on Microsoft's pain. Gartner said 70 to 80 percent of corporate applications require Windows today. But the firm expects a dramatic shift by 2011, when a new wave of OS-agnostic applications will hit the market -- specifically, Internet-based apps.
"Sometime in the middle of the next decade, Windows will be playing a much less important role on the desktop," MacDonald said.
Everything is dying. It's not a matter of if, but when -- and Windows is no exception, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT....
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Microsoft's Clearflow Steers Through Traffic Jams
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59250
You're driving to an important meeting and hit a traffic jam on the main road. You turn off to a side street, hoping to bypass the congestion, but it's just as bad. Microsoft hopes its new Clearflow technology will help you avoid such nightmares.
On Thursday, the Redmond, Wash.-based company launched the free software at maps.live.com. The technology allows drivers to get alternate route information, not only on main roads but also on side streets, which can make the difference between arriving on time or not.
Navigation software often acts as if it never met the real world. But Clearflow takes into account variables in the real world -- things like sporting events, weather conditions, day of the week, and time of day. Currently, Clearflow is familiar with 72 cities in the U.S. According to Microsoft, the information provided by Clearflow is more accurately tuned to current conditions in those cities, for both main and side roads, than similar software.
To arrive at Clearflow, the software giant said its researchers spent more than five years working with some of the company's artificial-intelligence scientists. The result is that Clearflow's proposed routes are reportedly not always the most obvious ones. In some cases, the software suggests the trip might be faster to stay where you are -- such as stuck on a crowded highway -- because side streets are even more congested as other drivers try that alternative.
According to The New York Times, the project to make navigation software began in 2003 when a Microsoft artificial-intelligence researcher named Eric Horvitz was trying to find a Seattle restaurant. He hit traffic and instructed his in-car navigation device to get him to his destination via side streets.
But the results were worse than his original route. "It was awful," he told the Times. "Everything seemed...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Stolen Military Equipment Found on eBay
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59241
Stolen and sensitive U.S. military equipment, including fighter jet parts wanted by Iran and nuclear biological protective gear, has been available to the highest bidder on popular Internet sales sites, according to congressional investigators.
Using undercover identities, investigators purchased a dozen defense-related items on the auction site eBay and the online network Craigslist from January 2007 through last month and received the items "no questions asked."
The Defense Department regards much of the stolen equipment to be on the U.S. Munitions List, meaning there are restrictions on their overseas sales, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday.
The equipment could land in international brokers' hands or be transferred overseas, said the GAO, Congress' investigative arm.
"Many of the sensitive items we purchased could have been used directly against our troops and allies, or reverse engineered to develop counter measures or equivalent technologies," investigators said in their report.
Among the items purchased include two components from F-14 fighter jets, bought from separate buyers on eBay. The warplanes, now retired by the military, could easily be purchased and transferred to the Iranian military, which is seeking its components, the report said. Investigators couldn't determine where the sellers had obtained the F-14 parts.
They also purchased from a Craigslist seller a used Nuclear Biological Chemical protective suit, other protective accessories as well as an unused chemical-biological canister, which contained the mask filter used to guard against warfare agents. The property was likely stolen from the Defense Department, the report said.
Investigators also purchased military stolen goods that were sold for personal profit. The Defense Department regards sale of certain items issued to military personnel, such as body armor, theft of government property, the report said.
"Although not all of the stolen property items available on eBay and Craigslist were sensitive, each item was purchased with taxpayer money and represents a waste of...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Content on MySpace Could Make the Leap to TV
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59231
Old TV series don't die, they just move to the Web. But a new deal between MySpace.com and a British-based production firm makes clear that the Web is where they can be born as well.
On Thursday, the popular social-networking site announced at the MIPTV conference in Cannes, France, a partnership with ShineReveille International, a content distributor and member of the Shine Group. As part of the arrangement, MySpaceTV will distribute original content to international television, DVD and merchandise.
Content from MySpaceTV will be sold exclusively by ShineReveille. MySpace keeps all U.S. distribution rights, as well as all international Web and mobile distribution rights. The deal does not include the production of content for MySpace.
Travis Katz, MySpace's managing director of international, said his company "provides the creative community with a launchpad to virally test and distribute content to the world's largest focus group," adding that MySpaceTV "has quickly become Hollywood's digital playground." Shine Group President Alex Mahon told The New York Times that his company is "very excited to see how the shows on online platforms can transfer to television."
Video created for online has typically been very short -- in the range of five minutes or less -- to accommodate the attention spans of Web surfers. The main thrust of the deal appears to be testing concepts in the online world, and then transferring them to full-scale TV production, rather than simply showing compilations of three-minute clips on TV. The equivalent in traditional TV would be expanding a sketch or a supporting character into its own series.
Currently, two MySpaceTV shows in the U.S. are running online, Roommates and Special Delivery. The social-networking site has said there are about a dozen others in development. The Spanish MySpace also has Porta, about a hip-hop star, and MySpace in the...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Never Heard of Botnets? Join the Club
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59227
If you know what a "botnet" is, you're in the minority: Seven out of 10 computer users have never heard of these bot armies that can hijack unsecured computers. So while the quote from The Art of War, "Know your enemy," is frequently used to exhort security professionals to understand the mind-set of the malicious attacker, a more appropriate sentiment for Web surfers is, "Know the threats."
A botnet is an army of computers compromised by a malicious program, such as a worm or Trojan, which has installed itself on a computer. Once the malware is running, it can be controlled remotely by the botnet operator for a variety of nefarious purposes, from stealing passwords to launching attacks on other computers.
A study from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a collaboration of security experts with the goal of educating users about how to protect themselves against online threats, showed that 71 percent of 2,249 online consumers surveyed had never heard of the word "botnet."
"These statistics are extremely disconcerting and shocking," NCSA Executive Director Ron Teixeira told us. "The reason why is because we in the security community talk about how botnets are probably the number-one threat we face on the Internet today, and are the cyberweapon of choice for criminals. Computer users should know that their computers could be part of the cybercrime problem instead of the solution."
Botnets are responsible for some of the Internet's daily annoyances as well as dangers. Joe Stewart of information-security company SecureWorks exposed the top spam botnets. According to the company, "The top botnets are capable of sending more than 100 billion spams per day." Stewart's analysis of the Srizbi spam botnet estimates that it is comprised of 315,000 infected computers.
Size doesn't always matter when it comes to...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Amazon MP3 Easy to Use, Easy on Wallet
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59224
It had to happen. Apple's iTunes Store recently edged past Wal-Mart to become the top music retailer in the United States, according to the NPD Group's MusicWatch survey.
Well, big deal. I'd rather tune in to the download deals at Amazon MP3 (amazonmp3.com), which simply rocks when it comes to selling music online.
So what if Amazon MP3 doesn't offer more than 6 million songs like the iTunes, let alone sport that airy Apple aesthetic.
What Amazon MP3 lacks in style it more than makes up for in substance -- namely more than 4.5 million DRM-free tunes encoded at 256 kbps (kilobits per second).
DRM-free means you don't fuss with digital rights management, so you can play Amazon music downloads on your iPod or any other MP3 device or program, as well as burn them to a CD. The iTunes Store also has DRM-free tracks (only more than 2 million), but Amazon MP3 prices make its tunes sound so much sweeter. (More on that in a second.)
Amazon MP3 offers plenty of entertainment for your ears with more than 180,000 artists, from notables such as Gnarls Barkley and George Strait to lesser-known acts like Sondre Lerche and Judee Sill.
You'll also find Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails -- audio coolness not available at the iTunes Store.
Using Amazon MP3 is a cinch, especially thanks to its 1-Click ordering.
You'll need to download the free Amazon MP3 Downloader to buy MP3 albums. (You don't need it for individual song purchases.) The downloader conveniently adds your music downloads to iTunes or Windows Media Player.
As for prices, most Amazon MP3 tracks weigh in between 89 cents and 99 cents, with MP3 albums typically $5.99 to $9.99. I've found bargains at the site, such as Vampire Weekend's self-titled album for $7.99 and Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple for $8.99, compared to...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
RushmoreDrive.com: A Web Address for African-Americans
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59223
A search engine launching today aims to deliver a better experience for black audiences. But Black Web Enterprises president Johnny Taylor is quick to point out that RushmoreDrive.com -- named after the street on which its Charlotte offices are located -- goes beyond search. Each query also returns news, images, video and blogs.
Blacks want "everything we already get from Google plus highly relevant news," Taylor says. "RushmoreDrive will deliver a more relevant search with people who identify with being black."
RushmoreDrive.com is not the first black search engine or portal (others include blackwebportal.com, blackfind.com and blackseek.com). But thanks to Black Web's parent company, IAC (InterActive Corp.), run by former Fox and Paramount chairman Barry Diller, it is certainly the best-financed, says Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman. (Taylor would not say how much money IAC has devoted to the project.)
Wisely, RushmoreDrive.com does not confront search giant Google head on, Goodman says. "You have to attack them on the flanks, and that's what makes sense here," Goodman says. "There are a lot of things that are unique about the black marketplace, and it is that kind of differentiation that RushmoreDrive brings."
Diller embraced the idea of expanding online services for affinity groups, says Taylor, and a black-focused site was considered the first move. "Then we had to decide whether it was going to be a portal or an entertainment site or what," Taylor says. Black Web's analysis found that an estimated 24 million black Americans are already online, and black household adoption of high-speed service is rising 13% to 14% a year.
Focus group participants were most interested in search tools, news and job networking, which led to the addition of features that rival job sites Monster.com and LinkedIn.com, plus ways to network based on church, Greek and social affiliations. The site's editorial staff...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Which Economies Are on Top in Tech-Readiness?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59222
The Middle East isn't known as a hotbed of technological achievement. But in the seventh annual Global Information Technology Report released on Apr. 9 by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum [WEF] and French management school INSEAD, the region demonstrated the most improvement in its tech-readiness and expertise of any in the world.
Soumitra Dutta, a professor of business and technology at INSEAD and co-editor of the report, says oil-producing countries have woken up to the fact that diversifying their economies will prove "absolutely critical" in the coming years. "They have to rely on people and on knowledge-based industries," he says. Other countries in the region, especially Egypt and Jordan, also now understand that technological prowess will prove vital to their global competitiveness.
That's the underlying message of the Global Information Technology Report [http://www.weforum.org/gitr], which assesses 127 economies on scores of factors ranging from the cost of mobile phone calls and available Internet bandwidth to the quality of higher education. Not just a catalog of technical specifications, the report weighs these measures to determine which economies are best positioned to compete in the information-intensive 21st century economy.
The conclusion, as in previous studies, finds Nordic countries grabbing five of the top 10 slots, with Denmark and Sweden placing No.1 and No.2 for the second year running. Credit widespread Internet usage, supportive government policies, and good education. The U.S. came in at No.4, up three positions from last year. Although the U.S. gets top marks in innovation and education, it's pulled down by "red tape and rigidities" that stifle its business environment, according to the report.
By coincidence, on the same day the WEF report came out, a rival ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit [EIU] assessing the "e-readiness" of countries around the world also was released. The EIU study [www.eiu.com/sponsor/ibm/e-readinessrankings2008] used a similar method...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Omron Shows Smile-Measuring Technology
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59218
The breadth of a smile can be measured by new technology from Japanese electronics and health care company Omron Corp.
The software technology, shown to reporters Thursday, scans a video image to detect faces. It can find up to 100 faces in an image, according to Yasushi Kawamoto of Omron.
"Okao Catch," which means "face catch," then analyzes the curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics to decide how much a person is smiling using data collected from a million people and their smiles, he said.
In a demonstration, a camcorder took videos of journalists covering the announcement. Percentage numbers indicating how much each person was smiling popped up in bold blue letters next to their faces on a monitor, flashing higher or lower as their expressions changed.
The numbers ranged as high as 89 percent for a person who was grinning, while a somber face registered 0 percent.
Sony Corp. already has a similar Smile Shutter function for its digital cameras which automatically clicks the shutter when people in the image break into a smile.
But Kawamoto said Omron hopes to used its technology in the medical field, to assess the emotional state of patients, or pack it in mobile phones.
Okao Catch can also be useful for people who want to perfect their smiles, or for robot communication to make it easier for machines to decipher human reactions, according to Omron.
Okao Catch was part of a larger exhibition of new technology opening this week in Tokyo.
Also on display was a robot dog for home assembly from HPI Japan, a maker of radio-controlled cars. The robot is to go on sale worldwide for about $800 later this year.
Far more primitive than Sony's pricey discontinued robot dog, Aibo, it managed to walk, hop, get back up on its feet and even stand on its...
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Antivirus Software Isn't the Only Online Security Tool
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59195
Mike Saign smelled something fishy about the e-mail he received -- purportedly from an eBay auctioneer -- accepting his lowball offer for a high-end golf club.
The sender claimed his PayPal account was down and asked Saign to wire payment to him via Western Union. Instead, Saign, 25, downloaded Iconix e-mail ID, a free tool that pegged the e-mail as a fake.
Saved from being scammed, Saign, a real estate adviser, disabled Iconix and hasn't used it since. "I feel like the security software in a normal computer keeps you away from most bad things," he says.
That's not necessarily so. Fraudulent e-mail and tainted Web sites are more prevalent than ever. Spam, much of it pitching fake drugs and financial scams, accounts for 80 percent of all e-mail, says Symantec. The number of new strains of malicious programs increased fivefold in 2007 over 2006, and about 20,000 new malicious programs are unleashed on the Web each day, says AV-Test Labs.
Yet most consumers are in a fog about the array of tech security tools they can -- and probably should -- use to protect themselves, tech security analysts say. Craig Spiezle, Microsoft's director of security and privacy, says his own wife couldn't tell anyone which security tools they really ought to be using. "The big challenge we're dealing with is the volume and velocity of new threats," says Spiezle.
Tech security companies add to the confusion by focusing on solving very specific problems. "We're in a pandemic situation with consumer infections," says Chris Rouland, chief technology officer for IBM Internet Security Systems. "And no one has figured out a business model to cure that."
The result: Home PC users are left to decipher for themselves what set of security products they ought to be using and how much protection they are actually getting.
"There are many...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Linux Ecosystem Spending To Exceed $49 Billion
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59228
IDC researchers predict that spending on the Linux ecosystem will rise from $21 billion in 2007 to more than $49 billion in 2011, driven by rising enterprise deployments of Linux server operating systems.
Linux server deployments are expanding from infrastructure-oriented applications to more commercially oriented database and enterprise resource-planning workloads "that historically have been the domain of Microsoft Windows and Unix," noted IDC analysts in a white paper commissioned by the nonprofit Linux Foundation.
"The early adoption of Linux was dominated by infrastructure-oriented workloads, often taking over those workloads from an aging Unix server or Windows NT 4.0 server that was being replaced," according to the report's authors, Al Gillen, Elaina Stergiades and Brett Waldman. These days, however, Linux is increasingly being "viewed as a solution for wider and more critical business deployments."
According to IDC, total software revenue on the Linux platform amounts to $10 billion today, or 4 percent of an overall total of $242 billion. "That share is expected to grow to more than 9 percent by 2011, or $31 billion in Linux-related software revenue in a total market that will grow to $330 billion," the analysts said.
IDC projects spending on software related to Linux server platforms between 2006 and 2011 will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 35.7 percent -- even as the overall spending on Linux software, hardware and services increases at a projected 24.1 percent clip.
"The growth of Linux as a platform for business-oriented workloads appears to be coming largely from migration of existing Unix deployments in combination with organic growth of Linux deployments in these same workload areas," the study's authors observed.
Government, financial services, and general services users are "highly likely" to move to Linux as a replacement for existing Unix servers, IDC researchers said. "Other industries have a lower...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
FCC Approves Emergency Mobile-Device Text Alerts
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59226
Text messaging on mobile devices has grown from banter between teenagers to a new emergency notification system for cell phones, as approved Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC said the new rules "support the ability of the nation's wireless carriers to transmit timely and accurate alerts, warnings and critical information to the cell phones and other mobile devices of consumers during disasters or other emergencies." The policy meets the requirements of the federal Warning, Alert and Response Network Act, whose acronym is, appropriately, WARN.
When fully operational, the Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, will be able to deliver alerts to participating wireless services. Those carriers will forward text-based alerts to their subscribers, and the FCC said that, as technology evolves for greater bandwidth, CMAS may some day include audio and video emergency messages as well.
To accommodate wireless subscribers with disabilities, the rules require that participating carriers transmit messages with "vibration cadence" and audio attention signals.
There are three types of messages that will be delivered. The top level is Presidential Alerts, related to national emergencies. The second level is Imminent Threat Alerts, with information on emergencies that could pose imminent risks. The third is an extension of the Child Abduction Emergency or AMBER alerts, an existing system that transmits alerts about children missing or endangered because of an abduction or runaway situation.
Subscribers with roaming agreements will need to have a mobile device configured to receive alerts in the network to which they've moved.
Peter Jarich, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said that, "unless the costs of implementing this are prohibitive," he expects a number of carriers to participate if its availability is widely publicized. Otherwise, he noted, "it could look bad if [they] didn't."
Although the...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Adobe TV To Feature Products in New Media Player
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59225
Adobe Systems on Wednesday released its free AIR-based Media Player 1.0 along with a new Adobe TV network. Adobe said the customizable, cross-platform player provides "exciting new ways for viewers to discover and interact with their favorite content" in addition to offering brand-building and revenue opportunities for publishers.
AIR 1.0 runtime, released in February, allows developers to use "proven web technologies to build rich Internet applications" for the desktop and across operating systems, according to Adobe.
The player, originally announced a year ago at the National Association of Broadcasters show and now coming out of beta release, is being touted by Adobe for several key features. John Loiacono, Adobe senior vice president, called the player a "merge of TV Guide and a DVR" for video content on the Web.
It can provide high-quality playback of streamed, downloaded or locally stored video in Adobe's Flash Video or in H.264 formats. As a desktop application, the player allows video to be downloaded outside the browser and viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i display resolutions with high-quality audio.
Users can also subscribe to video content or TV shows, and receive new episodes automatically. A searchable catalog can be used to find new content from participating media companies.
Some of those media companies providing initial television and video programming include CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondeNet and Scripps Networks. Content available includes CSI: New York, Big Brother, Star Trek, Melrose Place, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone, Yo! MTV Raps, and various shows from HGTV, Food Network, PBS and others.
For the publishers, the player offers several ways to make money. For offline viewing, Adobe provides what it calls "viewer-centric dynamic advertising for targeted marketing campaigns" as well as options to brand the look and feel of the player. It also...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Yahoo and Microsoft Circle in Game of Musical Chairs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59211
Microsoft's ultimatum has renewed Yahoo's search for an alternative to being acquired by the software giant. Yahoo said it will begin a limited test of Google's AdSense for Search service, which will deliver relevant Google ads alongside Yahoo's search results. The company said the test is expected to last up to two weeks and will be limited to no more than 3 percent of Yahoo search queries.
"As previously announced, Yahoo's board of directors is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, including exploration of potential commercial business arrangements," the company said. It noted that "the testing does not necessarily mean that Yahoo will join the AdSense for Search program or that any further commercial relationship with Google will result."
Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL are also reportedly talking again. If reports in The Wall Street Journal hold true, it's possible that Time Warner would fold AOL into Yahoo and make a cash investment for a 20 percent stake in the merged company. Yahoo would then repurchase billions of its shares at a price in the mid-$30s.
The Journal and The New York Times have both reported that Microsoft is talking with News Corp. about a joint bid for Yahoo. News Corp. had previously said it would not compete with Microsoft for Yahoo, but a joint bid could be a different story.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent what amounts to an ultimatum to Yahoo's board of directors on Saturday. Ballmer wanted Yahoo to authorize a team to negotiate and come to an agreement on a merger. Ballmer then gave the board a three-week deadline to reach an agreement or Microsoft will take the matter to Yahoo's shareholders.
In a lengthy joint letter, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang reiterated the company's initial position that the merger is not in the...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Alliance Formed To Promote Green Storage
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59210
It's not so tough being green anymore, even for power-hogs like data centers. The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) has allied with The Green Grid, an association of IT professionals looking to make data centers more efficient, to develop and promote ways to improve energy efficiencies.
Half of the equipment in a data center is related to IT -- for example, servers and storage devices -- while the other half is comprised of chillers and HVAC equipment needed to keep the IT equipment running at the right temperature. That all adds up to a lot of energy consumed, according to Wayne Adams, treasurer and chair emeritus with SNIA.
Those power needs will only get bigger, he told us. "You've seen forecasts of continued growth of data and longer retention periods for data and keeping it always online," he said. So while The Green Grid focuses on studying energy-efficiency metrics, the SNIA will use its industry clout (it has 400 member companies and 7,000 individual members) and its expertise in networked storage to press for change.
"Storage plays an important role in power and energy efficiency within data centers and business computing ecosystems," said Vincent Franceschini, chair of the SNIA. "With that, the SNIA's Green Storage Initiative is dedicated to applying the technical and educational expertise of the storage industry to the broader view of the data center to collaborate, develop and find more energy-efficient solutions for the IT industry."
The two groups will work together on educational efforts to bring their "green storage" message to industry insiders. At the Storage Networking World conference, SNIA is offering two tutorials on green storage and green IT. Adams said that The Green Grid can take these tutorials and factor them into the research and white papers it provides.
Much of the impetus behind...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
RealNetworks Launches Scrabble for Facebook
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59204
RealNetworks is quietly introducing a version of Scrabble on Facebook, despite pledging to save Scrabulous, the wildly popular, unauthorized online version of the board game.
In recent weeks, Gamehouse, a division of RealNetworks, introduced "Scrabble by Mattel" on the social networking site Facebook. The game is technically available only to players outside the United States and Canada, though it relies on users to be honest about their location to make that distinction.
The rights to Scrabble are owned by competing companies, a situation that seems to be hobbling the game's introduction to Facebook and other social networking sites, and complicating talks with the creators of Scrabulous.
Hasbro owns the rights to Scrabble in North America, and Mattel in the rest of the world. RealNetworks of Seattle has signed deals with both companies for electronic rights, but Electronic Arts of Redwood City, California, also has a deal with Hasbro.
As of Sunday, the official Scrabble game had attracted fewer than 2,000 daily Facebook users, in contrast to more than 600,000 on Scrabulous.
The popularity of Scrabulous attracted the attention of Hasbro and Mattel earlier this year, and they threatened legal action to shut it down.
The actions of the game companies spurred tens of thousands of Scrabulous players to sign petitions and join online clubs supporting the unauthorized game, and many have pledged to stop buying Mattel and Hasbro products if the companies shut Scrabulous down.
RealNetworks said in early March that it was working with the creators of Scrabulous to save the game. The introduction of a competing game on Facebook seems to indicate an about-face in strategy.
RealNetworks would not make an executive available for an interview for this article, but the public relations manager, Ryan Luckin, said in an e-mail message that the company had been "working with Mattel for a few months now on a...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
EMC Secures Acquisition of Iomega Corp.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59202
Data storage provider EMC Corp. said Tuesday it would acquire Iomega Corp. for $213 million (EU135.7 million), expanding EMC's offerings targeting small businesses and consumers.
The price is a 20 percent increase over EMC's initial bid of $178 million (EU113.4 million), or $3.25 per share. Iomega, a San Diego-based storage company best known for the Zip drive, had rejected that offer earlier this year, calling it inferior to a proposed all-stock transaction that Iomega had reached in December with a stockholder.
Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based EMC came back with a $3.75-per-share offer totaling $206 million (EU131.3 million). Further talks led to Tuesday's all-cash agreement at $3.85 per share, which is 5.8 percent higher than Iomega's Tuesday closing price of $3.64.
With Iomega's acceptance of EMC's bid, Iomega said it paid a termination fee of $7.5 million (EU4.78 million) to the shareholders in the canceled deal.
Under that proposal, Iomega would have acquired China's ExcelStor Group from Great Wall Technology Co. Ltd., which is an Iomega shareholder and parent company of ExcelStor. Great Wall Technology would have held a majority stake in Iomega, and ExcelStor would have operated as a wholly owned Iomega subsidiary.
EMC's storage services are largely geared toward corporate clients, and acquiring Iomega is expected to expand EMC's business with small businesses and consumers.
"In addition to industry-leading products and a household consumer brand, Iomega brings to EMC a deep knowledge of and established business practices for servicing consumers and small businesses," said Joe Tucci, EMC's chairman, president and chief executive.
Iomega, a 28-year-old company with about 300 employees, is best known for the more than 50 million Zip storage drives and 300 million Zip disks it has sold since 1995.
But with more advanced storage technologies replacing Zip disks, Zip products now make up a small share of Iomega's current storage business, which is focused on such...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Motorola Names Ex-AT&T Boss As Chairman
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59197
Former AT&T chief executive David Dorman will become Motorola Inc.'s chairman next month as the struggling cell phone maker tries to fix its slumping fortunes and split itself into two companies.
Wednesday's announcement comes two days after Motorola ended a proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn, agreeing to seat two of his nominees on its board of directors.
Dorman, 54, will assume the non-executive position on May 5, after chairman and former chief executive Ed Zander retires at the company's annual meeting. He'll be in charge of the board but have no role in the day-to-day business of the company.
"Dave is ideally suited to serve as Motorola's chairman and I am confident that our shareholders will continue to benefit from his industry knowledge and deep understanding of the company," CEO Greg Brown said in a statement.
Dorman has spent nearly three decades in telecommunications, working at Sprint, Pacific Bell, SBC and Concert, a global venture between AT&T and British Telecommunications. He became AT&T's president in December 2000 and served as the company's chairman and chief executive officer from 2002 until November 2005.
He joined the board of Schaumburg-based Motorola in 2006.
"Motorola has tremendous assets and talented people, and I am confident in the actions Greg Brown, our management team and board are taking," Dorman said in a statement.
Dorman is currently a managing director and senior adviser at Warburg Pincus and Co. and serves on the boards of CVS Corp., Yum Brands Inc. and the Georgia Tech Foundation.
Motorola has floundered since the second half of 2006 because of flawed pricing and marketing strategies, and the inability to follow up its blockbuster Razr phone with another hit. Brown, who succeeded Zander in January, announced two weeks ago that the company would split its core handset unit from its other operations to form two separate publicly...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Symantec: Hackers Target Search Engines, Social Networks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59196
Consumers who use search engines, online social networks, browsers and the like face a gantlet of viruses and malicious software code, according to a cybersecurity report from Symantec, issued Tuesday as security experts gather here for the sprawling RSA Conference on tech security.
The repercussions go beyond the loss of personal data, security experts say. As more consumers are victimized, it could undercut their confidence in legitimate Web sites, says Billy Hoffman, manager of Hewlett-Packard Security Labs.
Previously, hackers were more likely to use e-mail with attachments to steer victims to virus-tainted Web sites. Now, they are implanting their links on legitimate Web sites.
In all, Symantec detected 711,912 threats last year, compared with 125,243 in 2006.
The malicious attacks -- including recent exploits of users of Google, Facebook, search engine Mozilla and others -- are designed to steal user credentials or launch bigger attacks through the victim's social network of contacts, says Alfred Huger, vice president of engineering at Symantec.
"Rather than set a bear trap -- a porn or get-rich-quick site loaded with malicious code -- to entice users, hackers are actively hunting by injecting their bad stuff on trustworthy sites," Hoffman says.
Among the most frequent targets:
*Search engines. Cybercriminals are using a chink in Google's Web site to redirect unsuspecting PC users to sites containing malicious software. When someone does a Google search, they are redirected to what appears to be a legitimate Web site. The site, in fact, is tainted with malware.
Google says it is fixing the problem.
*Browsers. Mozilla, considered a safer alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, is not immune. In the last six months of 2007, there were 88 vulnerabilities reported in Mozilla browsers, compared with 34 in the first half, says Symantec's report.
*Social networks. Hackers are intensifying their efforts to compromise social-networking sites using unsecure Web 2.0 technologies to load...
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Trying to Catch Up, Amazon Shifts Focus to Digital World
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59176
Over the past 14 years, Amazon.com has mastered the art of getting physical copies of books, music and movies to customers through the mail. Now it is trying to add to its repertoire in a hurry.
The market for entertainment and information is inexorably going digital. One day, most music, movies and perhaps even words will be sent as bits over the Internet instead of in bulky boxes. More than half of the company's $15 billion in sales last year came from CDs, DVDs and books, shipped from Amazon's 30 cavernous distribution centers around the world.
Last week, in what could be an omen of this shift, Apple proclaimed that its iTunes store had surpassed Wal-Mart Stores to become the No. 1 source of music sales in the United States. Amazon, which still sells mostly CDs, was the No. 3 seller last year but has since lost market share and is now tied with Target for fourth place. Best Buy is No. 3.
"Digital is where the growth in music is, and other industries are likely to follow," said Bill Rosenblatt, chief executive of GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies, a consulting company in New York. "Amazon needs to position itself to capture that."
If there were a Committee for the Preservation of Amazon.com, it would include Steven Kessel, Bill Carr and Ian Freed. Kessel oversees digital efforts for the company. Carr is in charge of the Amazon MP3 digital music store and its Amazon Unbox video download service. Freed oversees the company's e-book-reading device, the Kindle.
In an interview, they emphasized the importance of the company's new online offerings.
"We wake up every day thinking about digital," said Kessel, senior vice president for worldwide digital media, who reports to Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder. "Jeff once said he couldn't imagine anything more important than reinventing the book. I...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Homeland Security Chief Urges Cybersecurity Project
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59209
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said his agency is ready to launch a Manhattan Project for cybersecurity. Speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Chertoff said cyberwarfare and cyberterrorism are huge threats.
"Imagine what would happen if a sophisticated attack on our financial systems caused them to be paralyzed. It would be a shaking of the foundation of trust on which commercial intercourse depends," Chertoff said.
He called on Silicon Valley and other technology hubs to send their "best and brightest" to Washington.
"The time has come to take a quantum leap forward, what I would call a game-changer, in how we deal with attacks on the federal government and in working with the private sector," he said.
The initiative started in January when President Bush signed a directive to improve network security throughout the government. The directive permits the National Security Agency to monitor all federal computers. As reported in The Washington Post, the administration is expected to ask for billions of dollars for the initiative in the 2009 budget but, of course, that budget is likely to be rewritten by the new president elected in November.
Because cyberattacks by nature are distributed, "we need to have a network response to a network attack," Chertoff said.
A key aspect of the initiative is the creation of a new assistant secretary for cybersecurity.
"I will look carefully at who he selects" as assistant secretary, said David Stephenson, a homeland security consultant, in a telephone interview. "On the one hand you want somebody very well-versed in the technology," Stephenson said, "but that kind of person is often so left-brain and analytical they can't address the nature of the networked threat and networked response" that Chertoff referred to.
"The risk is tremendous if you can't grasp...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Adobe, Flickr Offer New Choices for Video
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59208
Adobe's Flash technology is under the hood of video announcements Wednesday from Adobe and Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing service.
Flickr, a groundbreaking Web 2.0 site when it launched but relatively quiet since it was acquired by Yahoo in 2005, launched Flickr Video, which allows "pro" users to upload 90-second video clips. Pro accounts start at $25 a year and offer unlimited uploads, although no individual video can exceed 150 megabytes.
While the 90-second limit seems surprisingly tight, especially compared to YouTube's 10-minute limit, Flickr spokesperson Heather Champ said the limit was designed for Flickr's community of avid photographers.
"While this might seem like an arbitrary limit, we thought long and hard about how video would complement the flickrverse," Champ wrote on a corporate blog. "Flickr is all about sharing photos that you yourself have taken. Video will be no different, and so what quickly bubbled up was the idea of 'long photos,' of capturing slices of life to share."
Beta tester Paul Stamatiou blogged that the 90-second limit was the subject of much debate among Flickr and its beta testers. Flickr originally wanted to impose a 60-second limit, while users wanted three minutes. The 90-second limit was a compromise that both sides appear content with.
It also appears that Flickr -- or Yahoo -- wanted a tight limit to discourage illegal uploading of copyrighted material -- a problem that has plagued Google's YouTube. Flickr wanted to "ensure that only user-created, non-copyrighted content gets uploaded," Stamatiou wrote.
The move shows an "admirable restraint" on Yahoo's part, said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Research, in a telephone interview. "It would have been very tempting to try to exploit Flickr's user base to compete with YouTube, but Flickr is really a gem for them and it's to their credit" Yahoo didn't go down that road, he...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
IBM Unveils New Water-Cooled Supercomputer
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59207
IBM has introduced a new supercomputer that is water-cooled and energy-efficient. The Power 575 is equipped with the latest POWER6 microprocessor and, to remove heat, has water-chilled copper plates in a grid overlay, with one plate over each microprocessor.
The water cooling means there can be 80 percent fewer air-conditioning units, resulting in 40 percent less energy consumption in the data center. That's because water can be up to 4,000 times more effective in cooling computers than air, according to IBM scientists.
And there are lots of processing cores to cool. Each rack houses 448 processor cores, providing five times as much performance as the predecessor microprocessor, the POWER5, while being three times more energy efficient. The 575, which supports both IBM's UNIX operating system, AIX, and Linux, will be available in May.
The computer system is nicknamed "Hydro-Cluster," and it can support hundreds of nodes. There are 14 nodes in a rack, and 32 POWER6 cores in each node, with each core running at 4.7 GHz. Each node can provide 600 gigaFLOPS, and the rack offers 3.5 terabytes of memory.
Dave Jursik, vice president for supercomputing sales at IBM, said the Power 575 microprocessor is designed for the "most computationally intensive problems in energy, engineering, aerospace and weather modeling."
The company cited one of its customers, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, as saying that the new supercomputer will enable its researchers to solve computing tasks "five to 20 times faster than their current system," which was the fastest supercomputer in Germany in 2002.
Similarly, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England, said the Power 575 will allow it to create "more detailed models, resulting in more accurate forecasts and improved early warnings of severe weather events."
The...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
IBM Launches Mashup Suite for Businesses
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59206
If you think mashup tools are only for laying movie stars' homes on top of Hollywood maps, think again. On Tuesday, IBM announced what it described as "the industry's first complete mashup portfolio for business."
Mashups, which IBM defines as "situational applications," are generally considered to be tools that enable data or functions to be "mashed together" with other data or an application, with a common view of disparate information sets. A typical consumer use is laying the location of every pizza parlor in town on top of a Google Map.
In the IBM suite, the company said the tools will help business workers "do their jobs more effectively" and fulfill the needs of "the emerging real-time enterprise." Two main tools are the centerpieces of the portfolio: the IBM Mashup Center and WebSphere sMash.
The Mashup Center, whose beta is planned for next week, is designed for the nontechnical user to drag and drop mashup components from sources on the desktop, the enterprise or the Internet, to create and share customized Web applications.
IBM said one company testing the Mashup Center is improving its sales force's effectiveness by allowing nontechnical users to combine ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) data with various business applications.
This mashup allows accounts at this unnamed company to be shown by region, sales history, customer service incidents, and projected sales pipeline by product line. Sales reps can upload their travel plans and account-forecast spreadsheets, resulting in feeds to recommend the most effective customer-engagement strategy, coupled with external information about competitor activity or business environment conditions.
The Mashup Center can accommodate regular information feeds in RSS, ATOM, or XML formats, and provides a single view of various information sets.
The center also includes ready-made widgets and a development environment that can access enterprise systems...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Cisco Unveils New Switch From Nuova Systems Purchase
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59205
Cisco Systems is acquiring Nuova Systems -- a Silicon Valley startup in which Cisco already held a majority interest. Cisco CEO John Chambers said Nuova's engineering team and Ethernet switching technology, combined with Cisco's internal engineering group, will help enterprises dramatically transform data-center operations.
"In the case of Nuova Systems, the advantage of a spin-in is that you can jointly develop well-integrated products by closely sharing your technology, expertise and product road maps," Chambers said. "The acquired technologies of a spin-in become part of Cisco's technology architecture in a much shorter time than with traditional acquisition methods."
Nuova's 10-gigabit Ethernet switching technology -- which employs key Cisco technologies, such as the company's new Nexus operating system -- represents the first fruit from Cisco's acquisition. Dubbed the Nexus 5000 Series, the new device family is slated for release next month under a pricing structure that will start at $36,000.
The Nexus 5000 Series is designed to consolidate local-area network, Fiber Channel, iSCSI-based storage-area network, and server cluster traffic onto a unified Ethernet-based "data-center fabric." The line-rate, low-latency, 10-gigabit Ethernet switch family is expected to help IT managers tackle the growing input/output demands of multi-core processors and virtualized environments.
A unified fabric for the hardware, software and technology infrastructure in data centers will allow IT to improve how the servers communicate and share computing resources, Cisco noted. Additionally, the technology should help simplify cabling infrastructure, reduce the number of adapters, and mean lower power consumption and a reduced carbon footprint, the company said.
IT utility-services provider Savvis believes the benefits of a unified fabric are significant. They include "the ability to provide our customers with a higher quality of service as well as total cost-of-ownership reduction within our data-center operations," said Savvis CTO Bryan Doerr.
Cisco sees...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Nokia Promises 'Tube' to Compete with Apple's iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59190
Nokia is working on what some observers are calling an iPhone killer. Code-named "Tube," Nokia discussed the device at the Evans Data Developer Relations Conference this week. The new touchscreen handset could debut by the end of the year.
According to Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis, Nokia has been hinting at this device for months. He watched a video about a Nokia touchscreen phone at a December conference.
"Nokia is quick to tell you it is already well versed in using touchscreens and creating touchscreen devices," Greengart said. "In fact, its Internet tablet even has a full Internet browser with Flash support."
The Tube will have Java built in as a standard, which would give it at least one competitive advantage over Apple's current iPhone, according to Tom Libretto, vice president of Forum Nokia. Libretto also told the conference that the Tube will be able to upload photos to the Web, which would mean built-in Wi-Fi or HSDPA connectivity. The tube may also include support for the DVB-H mobile-TV standard for Europe and mobile video.
Nokia has a strong brand presence in Europe, particularly in high-end multimedia. Greengart suggested Nokia is trying to freeze the market with a promise of an iPhone-like device soon. While that promise may not make much of an impact in the U.S., he said, it carries tremendous credibility in the European market.
Nokia did not disclose exactly when the Tube might be ready for distribution. However, Greengart said Nokia has consistently promised to deliver a touchscreen mobile phone before the end of 2008. Meanwhile, Apple is readying the next version of its iPhone, a 3G device that could allow Apple to gain more market share in the U.S. and Europe.
Apple has its strengths, as does Nokia. For example, the iPhone has...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Patch Tuesday Addresses Client-Side Vulnerabilities
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59189
Another month, another Patch Tuesday. For April, Microsoft has issued eight security bulletins that address 10 vulnerabilities, five of them rated critical.
All the bulletins address client-side vulnerabilities, continuing a trend reported this week in Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report. The report found that in the second half of 2007, more than half of patched operating-system vulnerabilities were browser and client-side vulnerabilities.
While all of Tuesday's security bulletins are serious, the vulnerabilities in the VBScript and JScript engines stand out because they ship on Windows by default and are tied to the operating system, according to Ben Greenbaum, senior research manager at Symantec Security Response.
"An attacker need only compromise and modify any Web page, which, when viewed by a user in a browser that uses these engines, will result in the execution of attacker-supplied code on the user's computer," Greenbaum said. "This attack requires no additional user action or intervention to exploit."
Microsoft actually reintroduced the VBScript and JScript fix that was pulled in February. Sheldon Malm, director of security research and development for nCircle, a network-security firm that works with companies like Visa, US Cellular and Archer Daniels Midland, has been watching this one closely.
"We've been very concerned about this one. It's another case where Web sites hosting third-party content can be used in multi-staged attacks," Malm said. "This is a particularly troubling trend for users because trusted sites can be used in an attack without compromising the site itself. One common example of this in action would be serving malicious ads on an otherwise trusted Web site."
Of the critical patches, Qualys suggests IT departments give three immediate attention: MS08-021, MS08-022 and MS08-023. These three, relating to the Graphical Device Interface (GDI), ActiveX controls, and the Visual Basic (VBScript) and JavaScript (JScript) engines, contain...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Thousands of Posts Flood Starbucks Site
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59188
Hundreds of coffee-obsessed consumers chimed in moments after Starbucks Corp. launched a Web site asking customers to pitch changes the company should make to revive its struggling U.S. business.
And they've kept those thoughts coming, by the thousands: Create a punch-card system with a free drink after so many purchases. Give people a free cup of birthday joe or discounts for using their own mugs. Let customers forgo long lines by ordering their usual with the swipe of a card when they walk in the door.
Skeptics have panned MyStarbucksIdea.com, unveiled at the company's heavily attended annual meeting in mid-March, as an online suggestion box that's already grown stale. But the heavy traffic it's drawn and the message Starbucks is sending -- that it's listening, and listening carefully -- have impressed corporate marketing experts.
"Most brands do not put out a welcome mat for feedback," said Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president of strategic services for the market research firm Nielsen Online. "Generally feedback is viewed as a cost of doing business rather than an opportunity. Starbucks is saying this is an opportunity."
Before it went live, Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks' chief information officer, said he was hoping a few hundred ideas would trickle in the first few days.
About 300 suggestions were posted in the first hour after the shareholders meeting, which drew a crowd of 6,000 and was closely watched by Wall Street analysts hungry for details on the company's turnaround plans.
By the end of the week, more than 100,000 votes had been cast, Bruzzo said. He would not disclose how many people have posted in all.
Starbucks is promoting MyStarbucksIdea on its main corporate home page and with counter cards in stores that say "Have an idea for us?" on one side and the Web address on the back. But the company has long relied...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Report Finds IRS Computer Security Flaws
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59180
One more tax-season dread: A week before the filing deadline, Treasury watchdogs said Monday that poor controls over IRS computers could allow a disgruntled employee, agency contractor or outside hacker to steal taxpayers' confidential information.
Indeed, a hacker might even "gain full control of the IRS network," said a report Monday from the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Investigators did not cite any specific cases of wrongdoing within the IRS, which processes some 137 million tax returns. But they suggested a lack of review means someone could get sensitive information and no one would ever know.
The report comes amid increasing scrutiny of the IRS and the problems posed both by security concerns within the system and identity theft threats from outside:
- The independent IRS Oversight Board, in a report issued last month, outlined some $32 million in spending it said was needed to enhance the tax agency's security. "Disrupting IRS returns processing and stealing sensitive information could wreak havoc on the economy and financial markets," it said.
- Separately, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman will testify before Congress on Thursday about scams in which people are fooled into revealing their Social Security numbers and other confidential information by e-mails and phone calls purported to be coming from the IRS. The tax agency said last month that taxpayers this year had already forwarded to the agency 33,000 'phishing' scam e-mails reflecting more than 1,500 different schemes.
Inside the IRS, Monday's inspector general report dealt specifically with the thousands of routers and data switches that connect networks and direct computer traffic among the tax agency's offices. It suggested that "an unscrupulous person could divert data traffic through a third-party system on its way to the intended destination."
A review found that the IRS had authorized 374 accounts for employees and contractors that could be...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Online Crooks Face Tough Competition
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59178
Fierce competition among identity thieves has driven the prices for stolen data down to bargain-basement levels, which has forced crooks to adopt mainstream business tactics to lure customers, according to a new report on Internet security threats.
Credit card numbers were selling for as little as 40 cents each and access to a bank account was going for $10 in the second half of 2007, according to the latest twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec Corp. released Tuesday.
Symantec detected 711,912 new threats last year, 468 percent more than in 2006, when it found 125,243 -- and almost two-thirds of all 1,122,311 Symantec has cataloged since 2002.
The data is usually sold through instant-message groups or Web forums that exist for only a few days or even hours, according to Symantec, and the hacking community exacts harsh consequences when members try to pass along fraudulent information.
"If the seller says there's $10,000 in a bank account, and there isn't $10,000 in there, their ability to sell will drop through the floor," said Alfred Huger, vice president of Symantec Security Response. "It's a sort of honor among thieves, and it's very strictly enforced."
Researchers said they found more evidence during the last six months of the year that Internet fraudsters are adopting mainstream tactics, including hiring teams of hackers to create new viruses and offering volume discounts on stolen data to encourage larger orders.
In some cases, stolen credit card numbers were sold in batches of 500 for a total of $200. That's 40 cents each, less than half the price observed during the first half of 2007, when they were down to $1 apiece in batches of 100, according to the report.
Full identities -- including a functioning credit card number, Social Security number or equivalent and a person's name, address and date of birth --...
Thu, 10 Apr 08
It's Not Paranoia: Internet Users Really Are Being Spied On
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59177
In 1993, the dawn of the Internet age, the liberating anonymity of the online world was captured in a well-known New Yorker cartoon. One dog, sitting at a computer, tells another: "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Fifteen years later, that anonymity is gone.
It's not paranoia: they really are spying on you.
Technology companies have long used "cookies," little bits of tracking software slipped onto your computer, and other means, to record the Web sites you visit, the ads you click on, even the words you enter in search engines -- information that some hold onto forever.
They're not telling you they're doing it, and they're not asking permission. Internet service providers, or ISPs, are now getting into the act.
Because they control your connection, they can keep track of everything you do online, and there have been reports that ISPs may have started to sell the information they collect.
The driving force behind this prying is commerce. The big growth area in online advertising right now is "behavioral targeting." Web sites can charge a premium if they are able to tell the maker of an expensive sports car that its ads will appear on Web pages clicked on by upper-income, middle-aged men.
The information, however, gets a lot more specific than age and gender -- and more sensitive. Tech companies can keep track of when a particular Internet user looks up Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, visits adult Web sites, buys cancer drugs online or participates in anti-government discussion groups.
Serving up ads based on behavioral targeting can itself be an invasion of privacy, especially when the information used is personal.
("Hmm. . . . I wonder why I always get those drug-rehab ads when I surf the Internet on Jane's laptop?")
The bigger issue is the digital dossiers that tech companies can compile....
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Microsoft-Yahoo: The Privacy Issue
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59171
As Yahoo perseveres in resisting Microsoft's unwelcome takeover advances, the debate over whether, and by how much, the software giant will need to increase its $31-per-share bid is reaching fever pitch. But few Wall Street analysts doubt the software company will ultimately prevail.
Assuming those prognostications prove correct, the discussion will swiftly turn to what a blended Microsoft-Yahoo would look like, and what Microsoft will need to do to justify a likely $40 billion-plus sale price.
After some initial cost cutting, the enlarged company will presumably try to gussy up Microsoft's product offerings to flog to Yahoo's user base. This could be a problematic upsell, as the average Yahoo user is not used to paying for anything.
The real post-acquisition gain will hinge on how well the new company can forge relationships with customers, based on the information people share online and how they use the "Microhoo" lineup of products and services. This will require some new thinking from Microsoft, a company that makes most of its money from dealing with license holders -- not consumers who use its products for free.
The company will have to continue managing personal software licensing but also establish longtime intimacy with customers. Combining the two strategies will require Microsoft to become what's known as an identity management company. These companies create, maintain, disseminate, and even dispose of our online personas. Think of them as the unseen, unappreciated, and often unpaid service staff of the digital world, responsible for authenticating digital credentials, managing the mail, maintaining the switchboard for VoIP [Voice-over-Internet Protocol] calls, and acting as the universal directory for online search.
Here's the rub: As the blended companies merge databases and assume this role, they will gain an unprecedented amount of insight into consumers' online behavior and buying habits. What we do will be correlated to what...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
HP Offers Mini-Note PC To Compete in Low-Cost Arena
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59186
Hewlett Packard has entered the mini-notebook market with the Mini-Note PC, which ships next week. While mini-notebooks have been a popular category, HP's entry marks an "acknowledgment that it's a real market," said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, in a telephone interview.
The mini-notebook market has been dominated by the ASUS Eee PC, one of the top sellers on Amazon.com. The basic model lists for just more than $500, although it is discounted to $372 on Amazon, and features a four-gigabyte hard drive, an 800-MHz Intel Celeron processor and 512MB of RAM.
HP's Mini-Note 2133 is aimed at the education market and weighs under 2.5 pounds, the company said.
"Education shouldn't end at the bell," said Jeri Callaway, vice president and general manager for HP's personal-systems group. "HP believes providing each student with an affordable, creative multimedia tool like the HP Mini will better prepare them to live, learn and work in an information-rich society."
The machine's features include a lightweight anodized aluminum shell, a clear protective coating over the keyboard, a scratch-resistant screen, hard-drive protection, an 8.9-inch display, Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connectivity, and an optional webcam.
HP clearly believes there is money to be made in mini-notebooks, King said. The Asus Eee has been "incredibly successful," he noted. And Microsoft's announcement that it will extend Windows XP for use on the small machines breathes new life into the category. The PCs don't have enough hard-drive capacity or memory to handle Windows Vista.
Aiming at the education market makes sense, King said, since it appeals to students who just want to toss a lightweight machine in a bag. But the category may also have appeal to a certain class of business worker, who doesn't want or need to carry a full-blown machine. "There's a class of road warrior...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
AMD Reports Sales Slump, Plans 1,650 Layoffs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59185
Advanced Micro Devices announced Monday that it will lay off 10 percent of its workforce by the end of September. The company made the announcement in a pre-earnings release that warned first-quarter revenue will drop 15 percent from a year ago.
AMD is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings on April 17. CEO Hector Ruiz is likely to face a rough time that day as he explains the weak results to investors and analysts.
In its statement, AMD admitted, "The decrease is due to lower than expected sales across all business segments." The cuts amount to 1,650 jobs, 10 percent of AMD's 16,500 global workforce.
AMD said sales for the first quarter were $1.5 billion, a 15 percent drop from the year-ago period. Analysts had been expecting sales of $1.61 billion, so the pre-earnings release was a bad surprise for Wall Street and sent AMD shares down 2.85 percent Tuesday morning to just over $6 a share.
Tuesday was also a bad day for AMD archrival Intel, whose shares were down 2.3 percent to $21.25 Tuesday morning. Two years ago it was Intel who was cutting jobs and restructuring. In 2006, Intel cut 10 percent of its workforce to save $3 billion a year.
So are AMD's layoffs a sign of a turnaround -- or a desperate move? AMD has suffered delays releasing its Opteron chip and has been eclipsed by Intel in moving to 45-nanometer technology. And AMD has had difficulty digesting its $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics chipmaker ATI, which AMD said has lost some 30 percent of its value since it was purchased.
AMD had been making some gains with sales for PCs and laptops, Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, said in a telephone interview. "Unfortunately, their products in PCs and laptops are aimed more at consumers,"...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Apple Finally Releases Final Cut Server
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59184
After some delay, Apple announced Tuesday that it is shipping its Final Cut Server. The product provides what the company called "a powerful software solution for media asset management and work-flow automation."
Final Cut Server is a scalable server application; it automatically catalogs collections of assets and provides the ability to search across a variety of hard disks and network volumes. The server allows a user to view, annotate and approve content from anywhere via a local computer.
Rob Schoeben, vice president of applications product marketing at Apple, noted that Final Cut Studio is the "choice of editors around the world," and Final Cut Server makes collaboration easier for those who work with Studio. Final Cut Server was originally introduced last spring at the National Association of Broadcasters show.
A user can search from a PC or a Mac. Searches can be conducted with simple keywords or combinations of IPTC, XMP or XML metadata. There are also a range of access controls that can be defined to determine user permissions for a specific asset or an individual project.
Apple said the basic building block of Final Cut Server is a "watch and respond" sequence, in which the system watches for an event, such as a new file in a watched folder, and then responds with one or more actions.
The server software can generate thumbnail images and automatically catalog media, as well as create poster frames and low-resolution clip "proxies" for quick browsing. Content on folders that the user identifies can be scanned by Final Cut Server to identify asset types, obtain metadata, and generate a catalog without assets being moved or copied. Assets in any Final Cut projects that are discovered are referenced and included.
In addition to non-asset file formats such as Final Cut Studio project files,...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
EC Proposes Rules for In-Flight Use of Mobile Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59183
The European Commission has introduced technical and licensing regulations to let airline passengers use their mobile handsets and smartphones during flights. "Pan-European telecom services, such as in-flight mobile telephony, needed a regulatory 'one-stop shop' to operate throughout Europe, and this is why the commission has acted," said European Union Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding.
The approved in-flight technology prevents mobile handsets from connecting directly to networks on the ground. Instead, passengers must link to an onboard cellular network that uses an Inmarsat satellite to relay signals back to Earth.
According to OnAir -- a joint venture of aircraft-maker Airbus and the aeronautical telecom organization SITA -- rerouting cellular signals via satellite ensures that transmission power levels will remain low and prevent mobile phones from interfering with onboard navigation and communications systems.
Recent participants in OnAir's ongoing trials in cooperation with Air France have been able to use standard GSM mobile phones and other compatible devices to access the full range of mobile communications services just as they do on the ground.
"During the first three months of the trial, passenger feedback has been positive regarding the features, quality of transmission and user-friendliness of the service," said Air France Vice President Patrick Roux.
Each OnAir trial run, which does not become active until the aircraft reaches an altitude of three kilometers (1.86 miles), allows up to six simultaneous calls as well as unlimited SMS and e-mail, Air France said.
Still, the commercial success of new in-flight mobile services will depend on a number of other factors that are still up in the air. For example, passengers using the new service can expect to be billed extra charges under their existing GSM international roaming agreements.
"We expect operators to be transparent and innovative in their price offerings," explained Reding, who thinks the services will ultimately...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Google Releases App Engine To Host Applications
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59166
Developers, start your App Engine -- Google's, that is. Google announced Monday a preview release of its App Engine, a hosting tool so developers can build scalable Web applications on the search giant's infrastructure.
Google said its App Engine will make it easier for developers to build and scale applications rather than focus on system administration and maintenance.
The preview release is limited to the first 10,000 developers to sign up, each of them restricted to 500MB of storage and what Google described as "enough CPU and network bandwidth to sustain around five million page views per month for a typical app." At some point, Google will charge for additional storage and bandwidth.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company noted that its App Engine offers a number of advantages. For instance, developers will be able to write code once and deploy and dynamically provision computing resources as needed. "Developers write the code," Google said, "and Google App Engine takes care of the rest."
This arrangement also allows the Google infrastructure to absorb spikes in traffic. The company noted that surging popularity for an application in a developer's own environment can mean reworking entire systems several times a year. App Engine provides automatic replication and load balancing, accommodating one user or one million via Google's "Bigtable" and other infrastructure components.
Developers can also easily integrate with other Google services, so that built-in components like authentication and e-mail can be utilized.
Brad Shimmin, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, pointed out that Google's App Engine is much like the application hosting that Amazon provides.
"Amazon has been extremely successful with providing online infrastructure for independent software vendors," he said. He noted that the Amazon model offers services for free up to a certain level, after which there are charges.
Al Hilwa, a...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Keeping Search Data is Beneficial, Google Says
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59165
In response to a European Union report that suggests search engines should limit data retention to six months, Google on Monday defended its policy of storing data on search-engine usage for up to 18 months.
European Commission's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party called for increased protections for users, including user notification, and issued a warning to Internet search engines: Failing to protect consumer's personal information could be unlawful.
"It is the opinion of the Working Party that search engines in their role as collectors of user data have so far insufficiently explained the nature and purpose of their operations to the users of their services," the report says. "The Working Party does not see a basis for a retention period beyond six months."
Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, was quick to respond on the corporate blog. A Google search, he wrote, is far more likely to provide consumers with the information they are looking for than it did a few years ago -- and that has not happened by accident.
It is the result, he said, of Google engineers painstakingly analyzing the patterns in server logs to improve the relevance of searches. At the same time, he continued, Google has developed privacy policies to give users choices over the information they share with the company.
"We believe that data-retention requirements have to take into account the need to provide quality products and services for users, like accurate search results, as well as system security and integrity concerns. We have recently discussed some of the many ways that using this data helps improve users' experience, from making our products safe, to preventing fraud, to building language models to improve search results," Fleischer said, noting that how data is used to improve the consumer experience is sometimes missed in discussions about online...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
New Xbox 360 Controller May Poach Nintendo's Wii
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59164
What would it be like if you could combine the best of an Xbox 360 and the best of the Nintendo Wii? Gamers may soon find out if the latest rumors are true.
Citing anonymous sources, MTV News reported Microsoft will soon launch a Wii controller clone for the Xbox 360. It's part of a reported strategy to cash in on Nintendo's market differentiation.
"[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point," MTV's source said. "The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline how easy it would be for third parties to port their Wii games to the 360."
According to MTV, the controller isn't much different in functionality or design from Nintendo's Wii remote, but comes with four face buttons, an analog stick and a microphone. There are also plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera, the source said.
In addition to designing the interface for the controller, Rare, the Microsoft-owned studio that developed Perfect Dark Zero, has also fleshed out Microsoft's take on Nintendo's Mii avatars, the source said.
Microsoft's Miis are designed to be associated with any game that incorporates the controller and create a standard look for the games. The avatars aren't tied to a controller when in use, as Xbox Live profiles currently are, MTV reported. Microsoft is reportedly hoping to release the controller before the end of the year, despite development delays.
Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman said a Wii-like controller seems like a good idea for Microsoft. To Nintendo's credit, he said, the Japanese firm identified a market need and exploited it. The Wii controller is indeed Nintendo's differentiator, making it easier for a novice or a nongamer to play games, Goodman said.
"If Microsoft develops a controller like this, it will test a...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
SanDisk Adds RSA Token To USB Drive
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59163
Remote workers who need to carry confidential documents and securely access corporate resources often depend on two small pieces of hardware: a USB flash drive that can be encrypted, and an RSA SecurID token that allows two-factor authentication. Now both devices are available in a single token.
SanDisk, which makes USB flash drives, announced that its new secure Cruzer Enterprise flash drives will have the RSA SecurID token built in. Both elements will take advantage of SanDisk's CMC (Central Management & Control) server software that allows IT managers to provision and manage flash drives, according to Dror Todress, senior marketing manager for the enterprise division at SanDisk.
"We're converging our secure storage and two-factor authentication," Todress told us. "The main feature [of the Cruzer Enterprise drives] is central management, which basically controls the entire life cycle of the drives." That means everything from deploying the drives to recovering lost passwords, backing up data, and even remotely terminating the data on the drive if it's lost or stolen, he said.
CMC helps enterprises manage regulatory-compliance issues, Todress said, in part because it can delete data from a lost drive, and also because it can keep a full audit trail of filenames put on or taken off the flash drives. CMC can also prevent drives from being used with unauthorized PCs as well as restore or re-create lost drives.
SanDisk's Cruzer Enterprise drives offer another element of security: data can be encrypted with 246-bit AES encryption, protected by a user password. Users are forced during the setup process to create a complex password. Todress said that makes the drives resistant to brute-force attacks.
SecurID is a technology from RSA, the security division of EMC. SecurID tokens have a six-digit number that changes every 30 or 60 seconds. It has...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Internet Service Providers Hog Rights in Fine Print
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59156
What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet service provider's contract.
Those documents you agree to -- usually without reading -- ostensibly allow your ISP to watch how you use the Internet, read your e-mail or keep you from visiting sites it deems inappropriate. Some reserve the right to block traffic and, for any reason, cut off a service that many users now find essential.
The Associated Press reviewed the "Acceptable Use Policies" and "Terms of Service" of the nation's 10 largest ISPs -- in all, 117 pages of contracts that leave few rights for subscribers.
"The network is asserting almost complete control of the users' ability to use their network as a gateway to the Internet," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group. "They become gatekeepers rather than gateways."
But the provisions are rarely enforced, except against obvious miscreants like spammers. Consumer outrage would have been the likely result if AT&T Inc. took advantage of its stated right to block any activity that causes the company "to be viewed unfavorably by others."
Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, said this clause was a "piece of boilerplate that is passed around the corporate lawyers like a Christmas fruitcake.
"The idea that they would ever invoke it and point to it is nuts, especially since their terms of service already say they can cut you off for any reason and give you a refund for the balance of the month," Zittrain said.
AT&T removed the "unfavorably by others" wording in February after The Associated Press asked about the reason behind it. Subscribers, however, wouldn't know that it was gone unless they checked the contract word for word: The document...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Outsourcing Comes Full Circle
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59147
It's hardly news when India's Tata Consultancy Services [TCS] opens a new outsourcing facility, unless it happens to be in Ohio.
TCS, one of the world's top hired guns for corporate IT and back-office services, opened its first U.S. software development center in a suburb of Cincinnati on Mar. 16. And it's hardly alone. Rivals including Accenture and India's Wipro are pursuing similar ventures in unexpected places around the U.S., from Oregon to Arizona to Georgia.
Make no mistake. There's still plenty of money to be saved by shipping work to far-away places with cheaper labor. Yet the economics of outsourcing are changing: With wages rising sharply in India and the dollar's value sliding against the Indian rupee, "there's been a 30 percent change in cost over the last year," says Andy Singleton, chief executive of Assembla, a company that organizes distributed software development teams. Three years ago, it didn't make sense for Assembla to hire anyone in the U.S. because labor costs were so low in India. But now, "as costs change, we end up with a lot more Americans," Singleton says.
While India is still a great deal for many companies that want to cut costs on high-tech workers, some experts predict the labor savings there could evaporate in 5 to 10 years. That has spurred some interest in lower-cost labor markets in the U.S. "We've seen quite a few small, rural sourcing projects," says Doug Brown, partner of Brown-Wilson Group, an outsourcing consultancy.
If nothing else, these new IT facilities in unexpected places provide an intriguing alternative to Silicon Valley and other pricey high-tech hotbeds. A July, 2007, report from the Information Technology Association of America [ITAA] estimated that midsize metropolitan areas and rural communities could provide a 30 percent cost savings over top-tier IT hubs in...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Carphone Warehouse: Coming to the U.S.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59146
Unless you live in Britain, you may never have heard of the retailing phenomenon known as Carphone Warehouse. From its modest launch less than 20 years ago the seller of mobile handsets and services has grown into an industry giant, with 2,300 stores across Europe offering the widest range of products -- and often the best prices.
Now, the London company is poised to leap across the Atlantic, thanks to a joint venture with electronics chain Best Buy. Starting this year, Carphone Warehouse will roll out nearly 1,000 outlets in the U.S., some of them boutiques inside existing Best Buy stores and others standalone storefronts. Best Buy also owns a 3 percent stake in Carphone Warehouse.
American mobile operators should pay close attention. Carphone Warehouse revolutionized the industry in Britain by being the first seller of phones and mobile services not affiliated with any carrier or handset maker. That allowed consumers to compare prices and service plans from many providers -- and ratcheted up market competition among the players. The novel business model made Carphone, as it's popularly known, a hit with buyers confused by the bewildering variety of mobile service plans and prices.
Since then the company has pioneered one retailing innovation after another. It has launched its own name-brand telecom services -- including fixed-line, mobile, and broadband access -- and rolled out training programs that help consumers get up to speed quickly on new gadgets.
"Carphone has been a big innovator in the telecom market," says Richard Perk, director of retail research at London research firm Mintel. "It does what no other major [tech] retailer can do, offering independent advice and additional services that customers really want."
Perhaps the most crucial realization by Carphone founder and Chief Executive Charles Dunstone was that selling a phone or other gadget was...
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Beam It Up: Tiny Projectors Magnify Cell Phone Cinema
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59136
Recognizing that it is not much fun to watch movies on a tiny cell phone, a number of companies are racing to develop gadgets that project what's playing on the small screen onto walls, table cloths and other handy surfaces.
"Pico projectors" that are small enough to carry around in a shirt pocket are expected on the market later this year. Eventually, the technology will be tiny enough to be built into phones and portable media players, the companies say.
Microvision Inc., a small Redmond, Washington, company, was at the CTIA Wireless industry show this week to demonstrate a prototype of its projector. It's about the size of two full-size iPods, but by the time it goes on sale later this year, it should be about 30 percent smaller, said Russell Hannigan, the company's director of projector product management.
In a darkened room, the prototype beamed out surprisingly bright, crisp and large video from a connected iPod Nano: With the projector held 6 feet (1.83 meters) away from the wall, the image measured 6 feet (1.83 meters) diagonally and was as sharp as a DVD.
On the brightly lit showroom floor, the image was less impressive, but projected on a piece of paper held a foot away, it still made for a nice alternative to the iPod Nano's screen, which is slightly larger than a stamp.
The technology differs substantially from standard projectors: Microvision's unit shines red, green and blue lasers on a rapidly moving, 1-millimeter square mirror, which "paints" the picture line by line, so fast that it blends into one image.
Hannigan said it's highly energy-efficient and allows the company to dispense with the fans and vents that standard projectors have. The goal for the first projector is a 2.5-hour battery life.
Microvision Chief Executive Alexander Tokman expects the projector to sell for $300 (EU193)...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Settlement in Facebook Lawsuit Reported Near
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59161
Facebook is reportedly preparing to settle a lawsuit that could have turned the popular social-networking site on its head. The suit by ConnectU alleges Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, swiped trade secrets, source code, and intellectual property from his fellow Harvard University students, brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and their friend Divya Narenda.
The March 2007 lawsuit claims that Zuckerberg, now Facebook's CEO, was hired to develop a Web site for the Harvard students. That Web site was to be called ConnectU, an online social-networking site similar to Facebook. Zuckerberg promised to keep the plans a secret, but registered the Facebook.com domain name shortly after he began work on the ConnectU project, the court filings indicate.
The Winklevoss brothers and Narenda are asking the court to shut down Facebook, give them control of the property, and award them profits from the popular social-networking site. Facebook has about 30 million members.
The suit claims that Zuckerberg, who was a computer-science major at Harvard for two years before launching Facebook and moving to California in 2004, began working on ConnectU a year earlier. A judge already threw out the first lawsuit the Harvard students filed against Facebook, citing a legal technicality.
The parties involved in the lawsuit were not immediately available for comment, but The New York Times is reporting that Facebook is finalizing a settlement with ConnectU's founders. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The Times' source was cited as a person briefed on the status of the case.
The report has merit. Facebook filed a countersuit against ConnectU last year, accusing the site of unfair business practices. Now ll motions in the case against ConnectU have been terminated.
In order to win the suit, the plaintiffs would need to demonstrate that Facebook is very similar to the pitch they made to Zuckerberg....
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Are Bloggers an At-Risk Population?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59160
While political blogs like the Daily Kos get most of the attention from the media, the New York Times cast a spotlight on the world of technology blogging with a recent article entitled, "In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop."
The article focused on the recent death of Russell Shaw, a prolific tech blogger who wrote for ZDNet, TMCNet, Weblogs Inc., the PodTech Network, Corante, AllBusiness.com and the Huffington Post. Shaw also wrote books on media downloading and wireless networking.
Shaw suffered a heart attack while in San Jose to cover a tech conference. His last e-mail to his ZDNet editor displayed a never-say-die work ethic: "Have come down with something. Resting now, posts to resume later today or tomorrow."
In December 2007, Marc Orchant, who had recently left ZDNet to cofound a now-defunct site called BlogNation, died of a massive coronary while working in his home office. And later that month, Om Malik, who left a reporting gig at Business 2.0 to start his own blog site, GigaOm, survived a heart attack.
To the New York Times, these events signaled something ominous -- a "digital sweatshop" where professional writers -- the kind who, in another age, would have union jobs on newspapers or magazines -- are toiling away, always trying to win one more page view, earn one more scoop, not so much for the importance of what they have to say, but to earn enough money to support their families.
Reporter Matt Richtel quotes Michael Arrington of TechCrunch bemoaning the always-on lifestyle of an A+-list blogger. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds since starting his blog, developed a severe sleeping disorder, and turned his home into a full-time office. "At some point, I'll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Social Site imeem Buys SNOCAP Music Service
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59159
Music-oriented social-networking site imeem announced Monday it is acquiring SNOCAP. SNOCAP is a digital-rights and content-management technology, and imeem is the third largest social network in the U.S. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dalton Caldwell, imeem's founder and CEO, called SNOCAP a great technology platform. He added that the acquisition will "give labels and independent artists new ways to promote and sell their music through imeem, MySpace" and other locations on the Web.
SNOCAP's proprietary content-identification platform and digital registry was created in part to give unsigned and independent artists, as well as labels of various sizes, control over how their music is distributed online. Over the last year, imeem has been using the SNOCAP technology to identify music uploaded by users to determine if the content owner allows full streaming, and to manage payments for the use of the music on a particular site.
Artists and labels whose work is streamed on imeem, for instance, share in the site's music-advertising revenue. There are more than 7 million songs currently in SNOCAP's digital registry, and more than 110,000 unsigned and unaffiliated artists and labels sell their music through the SNOCAP MyStores. SNOCAP MyStores also sell the music of well-known performers, including The Rolling Stones, Coldplay and others.
In its announcement, imeem indicated that SNOCAP will continue to offer products and services to its current accounts. In addition to MySpace, SNOCAP offers services to the Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, TVT Records, Ryko Group, and others.
SNOCAP was started in 2002 by a group that included Shawn Fanning, the founder of Napster, and there had been reports that it was looking for a buyer.
Mike McGuire, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner, said that he wasn't surprised at the sale, since "SNOCAP let...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
New Wireless Technology Will Use 700-MHz Spectrum
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59158
Winning the FCC's spectrum auction for the nationwide C block of 700-MHz spectrum -- the 22-MHz band being abandoned by television broadcasters -- means Verizon Wireless will deploy its fourth-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in 2010, CEO Lowell McAdam said Friday in an investor conference call.
The new spectrum, combined with Verizon's existing network, "provides new flexibility as we execute our high-growth business model," McAdam added.
"We now have sufficient spectrum to continue growing our business and data revenues well into -- and possibly through -- the next decade, and this is the very best spectrum with excellent propagation and in-building characteristics," he said.
The combination of "national, contiguous, same-frequency C-block footprint and our transition to LTE" will spur development of a "new wave of consumer electronics and applications using this next-generation technology" -- and Verizon will be the "preferred provider" for these developers, he said.
"In all, this spectrum positions us well to preserve our current advantage and reputation as the nation's most reliable wireless network and the leader in data services. This is a wise investment in future data-growth opportunities," he said.
Earlier in the week, AT&T -- which is also adopting LTE as its fourth-generation technology -- said it had spent $6.6 billion on B-block licenses. AT&T says its 4G network will also be running in 2010.
Even though Verizon's spectrum is almost twice as deep as AT&T's, 12 MHz is more than adequate to handle LTE. AT&T's 12-MHz spectrum -- plus the 700-MHz spectrum it picked up from Aloha Partners -- mean Verizon and AT&T will be duking it out well into the next decade.
With both companies backing LTE and gaining access to the 700-MHz spectrum, "the focus will be on new types of data services," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Bill Gates Muddles Expectations for Windows 7
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59157
Bill Gates recently set off a media feeding frenzy by noting that Microsoft might introduce its next Windows update as early as next year. "The next version is supposed to be Windows 7," Microsoft's chairman said during the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami. It "will be sometime in the next year or so that we'll have a new version."
However, it seems that Gates was actually referring to the release of a beta version of Windows 7 and not the full-fledged product. "As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback," said a Microsoft spokesperson in an e-mail.
Noting that Microsoft is currently in the planning stages for Windows 7 -- and that development is scoped to three years from Windows Vista -- Microsoft said it would not be sharing any further information at this time. "Instead, we're focused on helping customers today get the most value from their PCs using Windows Vista, and we're encouraged by the response and adoption so far," the software giant's spokesperson said.
Still, Gates' remarks raised eyebrows across the PC industry because they followed Microsoft's announcement of plans to extend the shelf life of Windows XP for a new class of low-cost mobile computing devices.
According to the software giant, Windows XP Home will be available until June 30, 2010, or one year following the release of its next-generation Windows 7 operating system. The news had suggested to some industry observers that Windows 7 could come as early as mid-2009.
"The more Microsoft tries to clarify things, the more they get muddled," noted Gartner Research Vice President Michael Silver in an e-mail. "If Windows 7 comes sooner than very...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
AMP from Yahoo Offers Online Ad Management
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59144
In the past few months Yahoo has been busy releasing new platforms, notably for mobile devices, and Monday it announced an online advertising-management platform for businesses. The company said the new platform, called AMP from Yahoo, will simplify the process of buying and selling ads online.
Yahoo described AMP as providing an integrated, Web-based solution that "allows unprecedented ease of cross-selling across a large ecosystem of buyers and sellers," enabling advertisers to precisely and easily target audiences and publishers to "better monetize their content."
Hilary Schneider, a Yahoo executive vice president, said online advertising has been "cumbersome and manual" even as it has become more sophisticated. He said AMP will enable connections between advertisers, publishers and target audiences in ways that are not currently possible. The new platform will roll out in phases, beginning in the third quarter, through 2009.
The AMP platform allows marketers to buy from a range of ad inventory, including search, display, local, mobile and video ads. A suite of tools allows targeting based on geographic, demographic and interest-based specifications across the Yahoo network and among more than 600 newspapers.
For advertisers, the benefits include the ability to select audiences from multiple sites or networks; to execute mass, niche and one-to-one marketing campaigns measured against specific metrics; new ways to manage business relationships with publishers; and a marketing rate of return.
For agencies, the new platform is intended to simplify targeting and buying across sites and networks; enable the continued use of back-office applications; and better analyses of campaigns.
Ad networks will have what Yahoo described as "unparalleled access" to inventory and tools built specifically for these networks, as well as to innovations using AMP and an open set of application-programming interfaces, or APIs.
And Yahoo said ad-selection and inventory-management capabilities are enhanced so publishers can manage their own private networks,...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Yahoo Rejects Microsoft's Ultimatum a Second Time
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59143
Yahoo on Monday rejected Microsoft's takeover bid a second time as too low. Microsoft's initial offer was valued at $31 a share. However, the declining price of Microsoft shares reduced the offer to just more than $29 a share.
The search company's rejection came on the heels of Microsoft's weekend letter that threatened to lower its buyout offer and take the matter straight to Yahoo shareholders, a hostile move to which Yahoo issued an aggressive response.
The latest twist in the technology drama began Saturday and looks to continue throughout the month as the battle advances to a head on April 26.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent what amounts to an ultimatum letter to Yahoo's board of directors on Saturday. The letter made clear that Microsoft's goal with making "such a generous offer" was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction. Microsoft is not pleased that two months have gone by and the deal has not moved forward.
Ballmer wanted Yahoo to authorize a team to negotiate and come to a definitive agreement on a merger. Ballmer then threw down the gauntlet: a three-week deadline to come to a conclusive agreement -- or else.
"It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo's shareholders and employees," Ballmer wrote. "We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass."
In a lengthy joint letter, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang reiterated the company's initial position: The merger is not in the best interest of Yahoo or its stockholders. The duo noted the company has laid out a three-year strategic plan and continued to launch new products since Microsoft's...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Encryption Solutions Get Boost from Data Breaches
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59142
More than eight out of 10 organizations have suffered at least one breach of data in the last year, and 44 percent have lost data two to five times in the same period, according to new research from the Ponemon Institute.
There's some good news for companies that have a comprehensive encryption strategy, however. These organizations had significantly lower rates of data breaches.
Data breaches open organizations to reputation damage and lawsuits -- witness the recent data loss at grocery-chain Hannaford, where more than 4 million credit- and debit-card numbers were exposed between December 7, 2007, and March 10, 2008, resulting in at least 1,800 stolen, and at least one federal class-action lawsuit.
The study was sponsored by encryption vendor PGP Corporation, and looked at 975 U.S.-based IT and business managers. It revealed that the costs of data breaches continue to rise, up 43 percent from 2005 to an average of almost $200 per record compromised. The Ponemon study estimates an average cost of $6.3 million per breach.
John Dasher, director of product management with PGP, told us that it's not clear whether there are more breaches these days or they're simply more publicized. "But what's absolutely quantifiable is that those organizations with a security and encryption strategy in place suffer fewer breaches. It's irrefutable," he said. Only 6 percent of companies with a full enterprise encryption strategy suffered two to five breaches, compared to 15 percent of companies that have no such strategy.
While the survey looked primarily at large enterprises, Dasher said that the lessons learned apply to all businesses, regardless of size. Three-quarters of respondents said that deploying a platform-based encryption solution was an important part of their security plan; this type of solution allows central management and deployment of multiple applications, Dasher explained.
"I don't care if...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Amazon's Kindle Helps Grow Tiny E-Book Market
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59135
More than four months after Amazon.com released the Kindle, no one is sure whether the latest e-book reader is really hot -- or not. But publishers believe that the Kindle has helped, if not revolutionized, the tiny electronic market.
Amazon.com has received extensive media coverage since unveiling the Kindle on the Monday before Thanksgiving and announcing that the first run had sold out within a few hours. Amazon.com has declined to give sales figures for the Kindle -- at least 2,000, judging from the number of customer reviews -- but has said repeatedly that supply is not keeping up with demand, with the device often out of stock.
Publishing officials are reluctant to discuss sales figures, but say that they have seen double digit increases in e-book sales since the Kindle's release, including renewed interest in downloads on the Sony Reader. Sales for the most popular books are in the hundreds, comparable to the number for the Sony, which came out in 2006.
"The Kindle has increased awareness. Publishers have told me that in some cases the Sony numbers were double or triple to what they had been," says Michael Smith, head of the International Digital Publishing Forum, which tracks e-book sales.
Selling through Amazon.com for $399, Kindle is thinner than most paperbacks and weighs 10.3 ounces. It can hold some 200 books, along with newspapers, magazines and an entire dictionary.
The Kindle has been praised for its selection, more than 100,000 books, blogs and newspapers, and for the speed of delivery, less than a minute. Fans include such authors as Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, Michael Lewis and Neil Gaiman.
In a review last November, AP technology writer Peter Svensson called the Kindle in "some ways an amazing device," citing its full-alphabet keyboard and "rudimentary Web browser that allows you to surf for free." But he...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Losses Rise in Internet-Related Scams
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59134
Money lost in Internet-related crimes hit a new high last year, topping about $240 million, according to a government report showing increases in scams involving pets, check-cashing schemes and online dating.
The number of reported Internet scams dropped slightly from previous years, but the total lost jumped $40 million, according to the report released Thursday by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.
The report, based on data from the Internet Crime Complaint Center, shows men lost more than women on average -- $765 compared to $552 for women.
The report also shows the amounts lost increased with age. Victims in their 20s lost $385 on average while people over 60 reported lost an average $760 per scam.
The most common crime reported was auction fraud, in which consumers did not get the right merchandise they paid for. A consumer might "pay $25 for a DVD that somebody actually recorded in the back of a movie theater," said FBI spokeswoman Cathy Milhoan.
The second most common crime was non-delivery of a purchased good, followed by confidence fraud, in which scammers ask consumers to rely on them, resulting in a financial lost.
About half the losses involved amounts less than $1,000 and one-third involved amounts between $1,000 and $5,000.
The jump in money lost online might be due to new scheming techniques and generally more expensive electronic items being purchased online, said John Hambrick, a spokesman for the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The report cites repeated increases over the years in pet scams, online dating fraud, spam e-mail and "phishing," in which scammers send phony e-mails to retrieve consumers' personal or financial information.
Many cases of crime involve scammers asking for charity relating to crises. Milhoan said scammers tried to profit from the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minnesota last year in which 13 people were killed.
"The scammer...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
AT&T Wanted Unrestricted Spectrum
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59132
AT&T Inc. sought unrestricted portions of wireless spectrum in the recent auction by the Federal Communications Commission because they better complemented the company's existing holdings, executives said Thursday.
AT&T spent $6.64 billion for licenses in the 700-megahertz band auction but avoided licenses in the consumer-friendly "C block" because of the additional regulatory requirements, said Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of the wireless unit.
"The auction worked well ... but it highlighted that people put a premium on spectrum that is not encumbered by heavy regulation," said de la Vega in a conference call with analysts and reporters.
Before the auction, San Antonio-based AT&T purchased Aloha Partners LP for $2.5 billion. Aloha had spectrum in the "C block" without the open-access provisions pushed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
Wireless carriers, which currently tightly control their networks, had opposed the open-access provisions.
Verizon Wireless won almost all the auctioned "C block" spectrum, however.
AT&T's spectrum won at auction combined with existing holdings will give it full coverage in the top 200 U.S. markets, covering more than 87 percent of the U.S. population, de la Vega said.
AT&T is already the nation's largest wireless carrier with 70.1 million subscribers.
The auction winners were announced last month but they were barred from talking about their plans until Thursday, which was the deadline for down payments.
The 700-MHz spectrum is considered especially valuable for its ability to better transmit through walls and to meet the growing demand for faster wireless download speeds.
De la Vega said the spectrum will be used to make existing broadband services faster and cheaper, but it will also open the door to even newer technologies.
Next generation networks and devices could offer real-time services like streaming high-definition video, but such services won't likely be rolled out for several years.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Zillow Opens Online Mortgage Marketplace
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59125
Seattle-based Zillow.com, best known for its instant home value "Zestimates," launched a new service on Apr. 3 aimed at changing the way Americans shop for mortgages.
Borrowers can use Zillow's new "Mortgage Marketplace" to get custom loan quotes from lenders without having to give their names, addresses, phone numbers, or Social Security numbers, or field unwanted telephone calls from brokers competing for their business. Borrowers reveal their identities only after contacting the lender of their choice.
For mortgage companies, the anonymous leads come free of charge; they can make a bid based on information provided by the borrower, such as salary, assets, credit score, and the type of loan. Lenders can browse borrower requests and see competing quotes from other brokers before making a bid.
"This is a huge step forward in terms of putting borrowers in control and giving them access to information," said Spencer Rascoff, Zillow's chief financial officer and vice-president for marketing.
The company is entering a field of established mortgage sites such as LendingTree.com and Experian Group's Lowermybills.com, which charge mortgage companies for borrower information. Zillow, which has an advertising model, says it won't charge for leads.
A few hundred lenders across the country have already signed up to participate in the new service and have paid a one-time $25 fee, which covers the cost of a background check, including employment and broker license verification.
Borrowers will have more than fees and loan rates to consider; the site gives a 1-to-5 rating to each lender based on borrower feedback. Zillow's standardized quote form allows customers to compare rates, fees, and lenders' ratings. Zillow calculates a monthly payment for each quote by estimating taxes and insurance for the house.
Brian Brady, managing director at San Diego's World Wide Credit, a national lender and broker, said he signed up for the Zillow mortgage...
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Marketing Gold Could Be Found in Web Video
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59124
You don't need a pan and a stream in California to join the next gold rush. A video camera, computer and high-speed Internet connection will do.
A vast array of professional and semiprofessional producers are starting to use those tools to create ad-friendly entertainment and news videos expressly for the Web. The goal is to dramatically change people's video-viewing habits -- and cash in on a potentially enormous business opportunity.
"It's like the early days of cable," says former Viacom executive Herb Scannell, now CEO of Internet video investment and support firm Next New Networks. "We're inventing new business models, new talent and new programming models."
Internet users already can find countless fresh choices in the middle ground between reruns of slick network TV programming, such as the shows on Hulu.com, and amateur clips such as the kind popularized by YouTube.
Popular genres for original Web productions include dramatic series (Lonelygirl15 and Prom Queen), topical comedy (BarelyPolitical.com, 236.com and comic Will Ferrell's Funny Or Die), news analysis (TalkingPointsMemo) and specialized interests (for example, ThreadBanger offers the latest about sewing and knitting).
Producers have powerful incentive to test the market: Ad spending for Internet videos will rise 455 percent by 2011 to $4.3 billion, says research firm eMarketer.
"It's growing faster than any other advertising category," says George Kliavkoff, NBC Universal's chief digital officer. "There's just a sea change." That's one reason his company and other major TV network owners are starting to dip their toes into original Web production. Over the past few weeks:
*Disney formed its first Web-only production house, Stage 9, which forged a deal with Toyota to sponsor its first made-for-Web series, the sitcom Squeegees.
Disney's ESPN also said it will dramatically step up its Internet-only sports programming.
*NBC created its first network for original online video. Visitors can get an in-depth look at new cars...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Sprint Delays Commercial Launch of WiMAX
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59141
Sprint will delay the commercial launch of WiMAX in key U.S. metropolitan areas by a couple of months. A soft launch of the wireless carrier's Xohm-branded mobile Internet service is already under way in the Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas.
Sprint Nextel spokesperson Jeff Chaltas said the hiatus is primarily to improve the backhaul side of the network. The upgrade will enable Sprint to more efficiently handle the huge amount of data traffic it expects when the wireless broadband service launches, he said.
"You need a lot of backhaul capacity to do what's required for WiMAX," Chaltas explained in a telephone interview. Backhauling refers to transporting traffic from central points to clients.
Sprint's commercial deployment snafu had nothing to do with recent reports about an unsuccessful WiMAX trial in Australia, Chaltas noted. He said the Australians were not only using a different technology than Sprint, but also applied the technology in a different way. "It's like comparing apples to oranges," Chaltas observed.
The pause will give the wireless carrier some extra breathing room to host its Xohm Application Developer Program, tentatively slated for May. According to Sprint, the event will provide WiMAX developers with tools and processes for creating and launching products for Xohm's customer base.
Yet another positive outcome of the delay "is that we anticipate several more mobile WiMAX devices will be available at commercial launch, making for a better experience and a wider range of devices for our XOHM customers," Chaltas said.
For example, Samsung's Xohm-targeted E100 PC Card, which was unveiled at the CTIA Wireless 2008 exposition in Las Vegas, is not expected to be ready for release until fall.
Nokia also came to Las Vegas this month to show off its new N810 Internet Tablet for Sprint's Xohm network. However, the pocket-sized...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
AT&T, Verizon Plan Next-Generation Wireless
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59140
AT&T and Verizon Wireless will be using their new spectrum licenses to move into next-generation wireless technology, according to recent announcements by both companies. AT&T and Verizon bid about $16 billion for the new licenses in a recent auction by the Federal Communications Commission that many observers described as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.
AT&T said Thursday that its successful bids for the B block will give it the capacity "to meet customer needs as the company moves to higher-speed" fourth generation, or 4G, services.
It added that the new 700-MHz spectrum from the auction, along with other licenses it recently acquired, will cover 100 percent of the top 200 markets in the U.S. and 87 percent of the entire U.S. population. The new licenses, the company said, will allow customers to do more with their wireless devices and will lead to wireless connectivity being embedded in more devices.
The newer technologies will include LTE, or Long Term Evolution, and HSPA+, providing peak speeds of 100 Mbps or more. By the end of this year, AT&T said, it is planning on delivering 3G to about 350 leading U.S. markets.
Verizon Wireless said Friday that its new spectrum licenses will also allow it to roll out a new generation of wireless services. According to news reports, the company said its next-generation network will launch as early as 2010, also using LTE. Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg reportedly described the spectrum acquisition as "nothing short of a transformative experience" for the company.
Verizon said its objectives in the auction had included filling in gaps in its current wireless coverage, such as in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Its newly acquired C-block spectrum has open-access conditions, imposed by the FCC after a lobbying effort by an alliance led by Google. These conditions mean that third-party devices and...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Windows XP Home Will Linger for Ultra-Low-Cost PCs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59139
Microsoft has announced that a version of Windows XP Home will continue to be available until either June 30, 2010, or one year following the release of its next-generation Windows 7 operating system. Company executives said the extension of Windows XP's shelf life is essential for serving the needs of an emerging new class of low-cost mobile-computing devices.
"One thing we've heard loud and clear, from both our customers and our partners, is the desire for Windows on this new class of devices," noted Michael Dix, general manager of Windows client product management. "We are enthusiastic about this category because it enables us to bring the benefits of Windows to more customers."
The technical capabilities of the ultra-low-cost PC (ULCPC) may vary from one machine to the next, "but they typically have smaller screen sizes and lower-powered processors than more expensive mobile PCs," Dix said. "While originally intended for students and other first-time PC customers in emerging markets, we're now seeing interest in these affordable devices in developed countries as well."
Given that low-cost machines such as the Asus Eee PC are unable to meet some of the advanced technical specs demanded by Windows Vista, XP's extended availability reflects Microsoft's decision not to cede a potential high-growth market segment to rival Linux systems.
"Windows Vista is just too big to work well on these devices, and I think it really shows how much a problem Windows's constant increasing size presents," said Gartner Vice President Michael Silver. "Asus has been successfully selling the Eee PC with Linux, but I think it's more the interesting platform than the OS driving that."
Citing the feedback Microsoft has received, Dix said potential ULCPC buyers will be looking for machines that operate in a familiar fashion and are easy to use browsing the Web and performing basic...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
64-Bit Photoshop Coming for Windows Only
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59137
Adobe Photoshop product manager John Nack says that a 64-bit version of the Creative Suite is in the works, but it will be for Windows only. Most likely, Mac users won't get to use 64-bit versions of Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator until Creative Suite 5 ships.
"The development is frankly bittersweet for us: On the one hand we're delighted to be breaking new ground with Photoshop, and when processing very large files on a suitably equipped machine, Photoshop x64 realizes some big performance gains," Mr. Nack said. "On the other hand, we work very hard at maintaining parity across platforms, and it's a drag that the Mac x64 revision will take longer to deliver. We will get there, but not in CS4."
Since Creative Suite 4 for the Mac will be 32-bit only, that means Windows users will have a couple of feature Mac users won't. Most notably, Windows users will be able to work with files larger that 4GB since the 64-bit version of CS4 will be able to access larger amounts of memory. It also means that 64-bit Windows users will about a ten percent performance improvement compared to 32-bit Windows and Mac OS X users.
The reason Mac users will remain in the 32-bit world for CS4, according to Mr. Nack, is because Photoshop and the other Creative Suite applications were written in Carbon instead of the Cocoa application framework. Since Apple decided to drop its plans for a 64-bit version of Carbon, that means Adobe's applications must be ported to Cocoa to remain on a 64-bit development path -- which will be no small undertaking.
"This means that we'll need to rewrite large parts of Photoshop and its plug-ins, potentially affecting over a million lines of code, to move it from Carbon to Cocoa," Mr. Nack said.
On the surface, it...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Federal Ban on Contracts with IBM Lifted
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59127
The government has lifted a week-old ban that prevented IBM from getting new federal contracts in an exchange for an agreement from the company to drop its protest of an $84 million Environmental Protection Agency contract it lost last year.
The ban stemmed from an alleged ethical violation in connection with IBM's protest of the EPA contract. Under a reciprocal agreement among federal agencies, when one issues a ban, the others follow it.
International Business Machines Corp. said it is continuing to cooperate with the EPA and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which served grand jury subpoenas seeking documents and testimony relating to the contract.
The two sides on Thursday signed an agreement in which IBM agreed to withdraw its protest from the Government Accountability Office and drop any interest in competing for the contract. The company will also refund the EPA any attorneys fees and costs the agency paid to IBM in regard to the filing of the protest.
"The agreement also requires IBM to conduct a full examination of its federal compliance program and allows EPA to reinstate the suspension in the event of a material breach of the agreement," EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said in an e-mail.
Several IBM employees allegedly obtained protected information from an EPA employee, "which IBM officials knew was improperly acquired, and used the information during its negotiations to improve its chance of winning a contract," according to the agreement. Such an act violated federal procedures.
IBM has placed five individuals on administrative leave pending its own internal investigation and any federal probe, the agreement said.
The EPA's decision likely means the incident being investigated is isolated, and that the agency acted so as not to "adversely affect a whole multinational corporation," said Ray Bjorklund, a senior vice president at market research firm Federal Sources...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
About That iPhone Shortage
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59126
Shawn Zade, who runs a small company called Wireless Imports in New York, is among hundreds of businesspeople who have tried to make a buck from purchasing and reselling Apple's iPhone at a higher price. But his job has gotten so hard lately that he may exit the iPhone resale business altogether.
The departure would be a casualty of what analysts and salespeople say is a widespread shortage of iPhones. "We'd be calling every store, they'd be sold out, sold out, sold out," Zade says. In the past two weeks, some Apple stores in New York got no iPhone shipments for several days in a row, he says. And when shipments do arrive, the phones are snapped up within minutes, he and others say.
The scarcity isn't confined to New York City. On Apr. 3, an Apple store in Miami, Fla., was sold out by early afternoon. Apple outlets in San Francisco and the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh only had the 8-gigabyte units, and sales reps were advising customers to inquire at stores run by Apple partner AT&T for the 16-gigabyte model. In the quarter that ended Mar. 31, the average Apple store was out of stock for half a week or less, according to Sanford C. Bernstein. During the period, Apple lost 20,000 units of potential sales, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates. As long as the current drought persists, Apple could miss out on sales of 20,000 to 40,000 units a week, he speculates.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling says the company is "working to replenish iPhone supplies as quickly as we can." He adds that stores "continue to receive shipments almost every day." The company is mum on the reasons, and analysts have a wide range of theories. One is that iPhone makers may be suffering a component shortage, but cell-phone...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Apple's iTunes Store Becomes No. 1 in Music Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59117
With new online music retailers springing up to challenge its Net dominance, Apple's iTunes Store moved the goalposts again Thursday. It announced its store has overtaken even Wal-Mart as the number-one music retailer in the U.S. -- online or off.
The new designation is based on data during January and February from the NPD Group, a market-research firm. NPD's MusicWatch survey compiles unit purchases in a given week.
According to news reports, Apple now has 19 percent of the market and Wal-Mart, including both its online and brick-and-mortar sales, has 15 percent. Best Buy took third with 13 percent, and Amazon, which has launched a music store to compete with Apple, is fourth at six percent. Target, also with six percent, is fifth, followed by FYE/Coconuts, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Circuit City, and Rhapsody.
Apple's move to the top of both the real and virtual worlds of music retailing is a milestone not only for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, but also for the industry. Physical CD sales have been plummeting as the industry tries to adjust to the new digital reality. In fact, NPD reports that nearly half of all teens in the U.S. didn't buy even one physical CD in 2007, up from 38 percent in 2006.
But it's not just the real-vs-virtual ratio that is radically changing the music industry. There was a 10 percent decline in overall music spending in 2007.
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with industry research firm JupiterResearch, said the new position for the iTunes Store "demonstrates the remarkable shift that has taken place in the music industry." He noted that this shift not only means an increasing role for online distribution, but the "reinvention of the single."
The new claim to fame for Apple's store comes as it faces new competition. Apple said...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Cell Phone Boosters Coming for the Home
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59104
Verizon Wireless is joining Sprint Nextel Corp. in jumping on the latest craze in the wireless world: little boxes called femtocells that boost cell-phone coverage in subscribers' homes.
"Our plans are to deploy femtocells in 2008," Verizon Wireless' Chief Technology Officer, Tony Melone, said Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless industry show in Las Vegas.
Much is unclear about the plan, including how much Verizon Wireless plans to charge. But Melone said the company was gearing up for a full-fledged rollout.
Sprint is the only other carrier that is conducting more than a small trial with the technology, but it is selling femtocells only in Denver, Indianapolis and Nashville, Tenn.
When it launched the program last year, Sprint said it was planning to take the offer nationwide this year, but it hasn't announced any specific plans to do so.
Femtocells address a challenge for the industry as more and more people drop their landlines: poor cellular coverage within the home. Femtocells tackle that by projecting a cellular signal in the home, much like a base station for a cordless phone. They look much like Wi-Fi routers, which have become a common household appliance. The term femtocells contrasts them with cellular towers that provide coverage outdoors -- "femto" is a scientific term for something very small.
But are customers ready to bring another electronic box into the house?
Femtocell vendors at the show say "yes" -- because the devices solve a lot of problems for carriers.
"It's so much to their benefit to get these into people's homes that they're going to subsidize these things," said Paul Callahan, vice president of business development for Airvana Inc. The Chelmsford, Mass., company makes femtocells that are being tested by several carriers around the world.
Not only do femtocells improve coverage indoors, where the carrier has a hard time reaching, they also reduce the...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Debugging the Efforts To Tackle Cybercrime
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59103
The Council of Europe settled on voluntary guidelines Wednesday to strengthen cooperation between the police and Internet service companies, starting a long process to build support for a common global system to combat cybercrime.
The ambition of the group is to build on its binding international treaty on cybercrime that has already been signed by 43 nations, including the United States, Japan and most Western European countries. Their aim is to help investigators obtain data quickly when tracking cybercrime that spreads across many national borders.
The guidelines -- adopted at a special conference in Strasbourg of more than 200 people representing law enforcement agencies, trade groups for Internet service providers and companies ranging from Microsoft to eBay -- are also a practical attempt to smooth uneasy confrontations that service providers complain are common when investigators seek information.
"Anybody can take them, use them if they like," said Alexander Seger, who heads the council's technical cooperation unit, which developed the guidelines over the past six months. "If service providers and law enforcement believe their cooperation is perfect, they may not need them," Seger said. "But if they want to improve their cooperation, this may be useful for them."
Seger noted that countries that signed the international treaty -- which dates back to 2001 and defines forms of cybercrime like child pornography and fraud -- wanted guidance for practical issues.
But trade industry groups sought to limit the pool of information that investigators could fish from, and expressed concern about the cost and liability of providing information to investigations that fail or go awry. Pavan Duggal, a lawyer and consultant on cybercrime legislation in India, recalled an incident where a service provider in India gave information in error to investigators, which resulted in the jailing of the wrong man.
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, represents...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Intel Looks for Slice of Pocket PC World
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59101
Intel is proclaiming that the next big thing in consumer gadgets will be the "Internet in your pocket."
The challenge for the giant chip maker will be to prove that it is not too late to a market that has rapidly become the hottest spot in the consumer electronics business in a post-PC era.
At a developer event Wednesday in Shanghai, the company, based in Santa Clara, California, displayed a range of wireless Internet devices that Intel believes will fill a gap between smartphones and laptops. The company is hoping to capitalize on the success that Apple has had with its iPhone, which is one of the most popular mobile Web smartphones.
Intel is calling the new computers mobile Internet devices, or MIDs, and claims that it will have a significant advantage over makers of chips for cell phones because the Intel version will be highly compatible with the company's laptop and desktop processors for which most Web software is written today.
The first generation of Intel's MID technology will be aimed at data, not voice communications, leaving the company out of the market for smartphones. That has not dampened the enthusiasm of Intel executives who foresee a proliferation of devices ranging from advanced ultracompact laptops to small, tablet-size devices that
will be used for browsing the Web, navigation and Internet chat, rather than voice communications.
"What enables the innovation is the ability to bring over all the existing PC applications," Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of the company's Ultra Mobility Group, said.
The weak link in the Intel strategy is that voice communication remains a significant factor for consumers choosing to buy handheld devices.
Intel backed out of the cell phone market two years ago when it sold its Xscale microprocessor business to the Marvell Technology Group. Intel then set out on an ambitious redesign project...
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Internet Startups Vie for a Moment in the Spotlight
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59100
Executives from a bevy of young European companies took the stage in Amsterdam Thursday, hoping to strike it big in the second Internet boom.
Twenty-five startup companies paid EU2,500 (US$3,900) each for a chance to give a pitch of five minutes or less to some 1,000 venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers and fellow entrepreneurs at "The Next Web." Similar conferences have been held for several years in the United States, but they are relatively new to Europe.
"A lot is happening in Europe, I think you can see that here," said conference organizer Patrick de Laive. He said European entrepreneurs were hungry for access to capital, and for a chance to meet each other in the real world.
"I hope that some of them will break through."
Few of the companies at The Next Web conference appear revolutionary at first glance -- but neither were search engines when Google appeared on the scene.
Many seek to give users more and easier ways to slice and share information online or via mobile phones.
One of the most straightforward models is that of Belgium's Zilok. Think eBay Inc., only for the rental market.
The company, which operates in France, the U.S. and most recently The Netherlands, is "becoming a phenomenon," said founder Gary Cige, not shy to promote his business.
"Experts are saying that ... renting is going to become a major way of consumption in the future."
He said the company had expected power tools to be its bread and butter, but was surprised to find that professional-quality photo cameras and baby strollers had turned out to be big hits on the rental market.
"One guy who happened to have a popcorn machine has rented it out six times and he's paid it off now -- of course it's an unusual story, but we think we'll see more things like that happening,"...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
IBM Project Aims To Put Second Life Inside the Firewall
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59115
IBM and Linden Labs, creator of the Second Life virtual world, announced Thursday that they are developing tools for enterprise-quality virtual worlds. The goal is to solve a key problem for enterprises that want to use the avatar-based environment: the need to cross back and forth across a corporate firewall.
IBM will test an approach that will allow users to traverse both the public Second Life "mainland" and IBM's custom-built world behind a firewall -- without having to log on and off.
The solutions are based on the Second Life Grid, Linden's platform that allows organizations to create private worlds.
"The goal is to allow IBM employees to access public spaces and private spaces within one Second Life client interface while privatizing and securing portions of the Second Life Grid behind IBM's firewall," IBM said.
Colin Parris, IBM vice president for digital convergence, said the company sees a "need for an enterprise-ready solution that offers the same content-creation capabilities but adds new levels of security and scalability." With security-rich additions, custom virtual environments can become a "viable option for enterprises," he added.
"Deploying regions of the Second Life Grid behind IBM's firewall is a major milestone in the evolution of the Internet and will help accelerate the growth and adoption of all virtual worlds," said Ginsu Yoon, Linden Labs' vice president of business affairs.
But is there really a place for the fun and games of virtual worlds in a fast-paced business environment? Definitely, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, in an e-mail. Second Life can be a "simple extension of common collaborative tools in use at many companies," he said.
IBM's Lotus suite, for example, supports collaboration features ranging from Facebook-style employee profiles to instant messaging to online meetings to instant-dial VOIP telephony, King said. "The Second Life technology simply...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
VoIP Security Vulnerabilities Revealed
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59114
More than 100 vulnerabilities exist in voice-over-IP (VoIP) hardware from vendors including Avaya, Cisco and Nortel, according to research from VoIPshield Laboratories. These vulnerabilities could be exploited by attackers to spy on companies by recording calls or even extort money from providers by threatening service outages, the company says. But VoIP product vendors say that the immediate danger is minimal.
Researchers at VoIPshield Laboratories, the research division of VoIPshield Systems, which provides security products for VoIP setups, have notified affected vendors and offered to help determine remediation measures, according to the company. The three VoIP vendors were chosen "because of their popularity in the North America market," according to the company, but other vendors, including VoIP newcomer Microsoft, will likely come under scrutiny as well.
The vulnerabilities are presented on the company's Web site and are "categorized based on the exploit's most likely intent: unauthorized access, code execution, denial of service or information harvesting." Searches by vendor are possible, and severity ratings and vendor responses and actions are also noted.
The research located 27 separate vulnerabilities in Cisco devices, most from its Unified Communications Manager line. A dozen vulnerabilities were identified in Avaya's Communications Manager products, and five in several Nortel devices.
Kevin Flynn, senior marketing manager at Cisco for Secure Unified Communications, told us that the company was aware of the issues mentioned by VoIPshield and has been in contact with its researchers for several weeks. "It is not uncommon for researchers to bring possible vulnerabilities to Cisco's attention. We work with the outside party to identify the precise cause of the vulnerability. We then release a software patch or other mitigation techniques to our customers," he said.
Despite the severity rankings about the vulnerabilities, Flynn said "there is a range of seriousness to the vulnerabilities mentioned...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Dell Outlines Business Changes to Restore Growth
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59113
With declining PC sales, Dell is making some major changes to the business model that made the company an IT force. Dell is hosting 250 equity analysts and institutional investors this week to discuss those changes.
The first day of the meetings and briefings on Wednesday set the stage for Dell to discuss its growth priorities on Thursday. Dell spent the first day providing a framework by which investors could understand the fundamental changes Dell is making to its business model -- from manufacturing to channels to services.
Dell CEO Michael Dell also told the gathering Thursday in Round Rock, Texas, that the company will cut more than the 8,800 jobs it announced last year as part of a plan to shed $3 billion in costs.
"Dell has always been known for its direct model. With it, we created a direct customer relationship model and build-to-order manufacturing capability like the world had never seen," said Robert Williams, director of investor relations for Dell. "Our assets were global and our cycle times were some of the shortest in the industry. But today's PC economics are much different."
Moore's Law led to better performance, rapid growth and lower selling prices, and ultimately to smaller absolute-cost advantages, Williams said, and growth shifted from desktops to notebooks and from large enterprises to consumers and small enterprises. Williams said Dell's customers are more diverse than ever before, and the company needs to serve them in different ways.
Mike Cannon, president of Dell Global Operations, discussed how Dell is optimizing its global manufacturing network to better meet customer needs. By matching product design to customer segments, Dell expects to eliminate embedded product costs. Getting this part right lets Dell think more broadly about its manufacturing model to enhance consumer value, Williams said.
Meanwhile, Paul Bell,...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Attention, iTunes and Amazon: Here Comes MySpace Music
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59112
A new online music store is coming from MySpace, which announced a joint venture with three of the four biggest music companies.
The three companies involved with MySpace Music are Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music group. Major label EMI is not currently involved, and financial terms were not disclosed.
MySpace said the new site will create a "fully integrated, 360-degree global music solution." There will be e-commerce and, as you might expect from the world's largest social network, tools to enhance a user's ability to discover, share, socialize and manage around music. The site will roll out in phases over the next few months.
Digital downloads will be free of digital rights management (DRM) and playable on any device, including Apple's iPods. There will also be ad-supported audio and video streaming, a mobile storefront, mobile ringtones, artist wallpaper, concert tickets, and artist T-shirts.
In ways yet to be detailed, the site will also offer integration with its more than 5 million music-artist profile pages. MySpace's growth has been propelled in part by pages from small music bands. Users will also be able to create playlists and buy and search for music from their own pages.
MySpace Music builds on the site's current music channel, which has nearly 30 million unique monthly visitors. MySpace previously launched Snocap to provide a download service for independent music, but that effort has reportedly been a disappointment.
This new experiment in connecting a major social-networking community with major music companies shows a welcome willingness by the music industry to try multiple models, said Mike McGuire, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner. He predicted there will be more such ventures -- although he lamented that this kind of industry experimentation did not occur several years ago.
The new music site could "in...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Comcast Offers Superfast Internet in Twin Cities
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59111
Comcast has launched a superfast Internet service in the Twin Cities -- with a hefty price tag. Billed as "wideband" by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, the new service offers download bandwidth speeds of 50 megabits per second, compared to current top speeds of 16 Mbps. And, Comcast says, the service can be revved up as high as 160 Mbps.
However, in the current version, the service offers upload speeds of just five Mbps, reflecting the inherent limits of cable Internet service.
A catch is that the monthly subscription fee is $150, compared to average fees of $50 a month for Comcast's regular Internet service. The new offering makes Comcast competitive with Verizon's FiOS network, which offer similar speeds at a similar price, company spokesperson Charlie Douglas said.
At those prices, the service might appeal most to small businesses and high-volume movie downloaders. But such "comparatively meager" upload performance, together with the $150 monthly price tag, may dissuade small businesses from signing up, depending on the type of content the business provides, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, in an e-mail.
Both Comcast's and Verizon's high-speed offerings "reflect the results of growing, intense competition between cable and phone companies for entertainment dollars, and the approaching deadline for switching from analog to digital television-broadcast signals," King said. "It's likely to be a banner year for digital/HDTV sales, and Comcast is hoping to attract as many customers as possible before they're wooed away by Verizon and others."
By the end of the year, Comcast said, it will have deployed the "wideband" network to 20 percent of its customers.
The rollout, just a week after Comcast agreed to stop interfering with users of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) system, suggests that the new technology could render moot the issue of bandwidth management -- at least...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
RIM's Blackberry Sales Soar, Along With Subscribers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59110
Research In Motion gave Wall Street reason to cheer by posting net income of $412.5 million for its fourth business quarter -- a dramatic rise from the $187.4 million it reported a year ago. Even better, net income for the Blackberry-maker's entire fiscal year rose a whopping 105 percent to $1.29 billion, or $2.26 per share.
In its March-ended fourth quarter, RIM shipped a record 4.4 million smartphones at an average selling price of $348. The Canada-based company also realized a net gain of 2.18 million smartphone subscribers in the period, raising its total account base to more than 14 million BlackBerry customers.
"Heightened retail activities helped drive exceptional subscriber growth, with net subscriber account additions growing more than 32 percent over the prior quarter," noted RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie.
Quarterly growth was driven by the strong performance of the company's Blackberry Pearl and Blackberry Curve models at carrier partners throughout December -- particularly in North America. The success of numerous promotions in January and February also mitigated the post-Christmas seasonal slowdown that typically occurs in the consumer marketplace, Balsillie said.
"The heavy promotion of the CDMA Pearl drove high numbers of net new activations throughout the U.S. and Canada," Balsillie added.
He told investors that RIM did not see any evidence of a slowdown in its enterprise business outside of normal seasonal trends. The considerable buzz surrounding Apple's iPhone also seems to be helping RIM because it has so successfully introduced the concept of the smartphone to a wider consumer audience, particularly in North America.
Balsillie told financial analysts that about 38 percent of RIM's BlackBerry subscriber base fell into the non-enterprise category at the end of the business year. Moreover, about 50 percent of the company's net new subscriber account additions in the fourth quarter came...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Yahoo Unveils Open Searches for Mobile Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59097
Yahoo has seen the promised land of mobile searching -- and it's open. At the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas, the search giant this week unveiled a new version of its OneSearch technology, promoting it as an "open technology platform that overcomes the complexity of the fragmented mobile landscape."
On Tuesday, Yahoo released OneSearch 2.0, providing mobile searching that, the company said, provides "instant answers to any query, not just Web links." The technology is expected to be released through carrier partners in the current quarter.
With the newest OneSearch, users can begin a search with either a text entry or voice, although the results are presented in text. Publishers will be able to integrate their content, Yahoo said, increasing the possibility that consumers can find what they're looking for.
The company gave an example of searching on a mobile device for "Italian restaurants." In current search results, addresses and phone numbers would be included. But open results might also include reservation availability from restaurant-booking companies. Clicking on a resulting restaurant could bring up restaurant reviews offered from that kind of provider.
Searching for "London" could provide relevant information from providers of tourist services, instead of just results for that word.
Yahoo said an open platform can help consumers because it can lead them to services they are actually looking for, and can help publishers by giving them control over how their content is presented in the small display space of a mobile device.
OneSearch 2.0 can also provide direct entry into collaborating sites. For instance, searching on a person's name can bring up results on major social-networking sites. Clicking on a result can directly take the user to search results on that site. An application-programming interface allows content partners to integrate their content directly.
Yahoo Executive Vice President...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Google Will Sell DoubleClick Search-Marketing Unit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59096
Google on Wednesday said it plans to cut 25 percent of U.S. employees at its recently acquired DoubleClick unit. The search titan also plans to sell off DoubleClick's search-engine marketing assets.
It's all part of the integration planning for Google and DoubleClick products and business units, according to Tom Phillips, director of DoubleClick integration. Google has been exploring the possibilities since it closed the $3.1 billion acquisition on March 11.
One of the conclusions: Google is better off splitting the DoubleClick Performics business into two separately run business units: affiliate marketing and search marketing.
"It's clear to us that we do not want to be in the search-engine marketing business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google's mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this reason, we plan to sell the Performics search-marketing business to a third party," Phillips explained.
According to Phillips, Google is betting selling off the search-marketing arm will allow the company to maintain objectivity while making room for the search-marketing business to continue to grow and innovate and serve its customers.
While Google has not identified a buyer, Phillips said the company has received preliminary interest from a number of its current partners. Meanwhile, search marketing will continue to run as a separate entity until the division is sold.
"We plan to integrate the affiliate-marketing business into existing Google operations, providing enhanced value and reach for our affiliate advertisers, and additional tools and monetization opportunities for our publishers," Phillips explained. "Together, we believe that we can continue to grow this business and deliver on the high expectations from partners."
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, expected Google to take quick steps to sell off the search-marketing platform. That's because Google received a lot of criticism about the possibility it would...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Safend Protector Locks Endpoints To Stop Data Leaks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59095
When laptops, USB drives and iPods leave the workplace, are they filled with corporate data? If so, were those users authorized to siphon data from the network? And if those devices are lost or stolen, will sensitive data be open to view?
Safend has issued Safend Protector v3.3 to help businesses eliminate these concerns. This version provides a number of additions and enhancements over previous versions, according to Safend, a provider of endpoint security solutions.
New features include file shadowing, which allows administrators to be alerted to breaches by tracking and collecting copies that come in from or go out to storage devices; and enhancements to external encryption, so administrators can mandate encryption to external devices.
Terrence Brewton, a research analyst with Frost & Sullivan, is conducting a market study on data-leakage protection (DLP) products. He told us that there are more than 20 data-leakage prevention solutions on the market that compete with Safend, but said Safend has an advantage over many of these.
"The biggest thing is that they're locking down endpoints. A lot of DLP products monitor data leaving the gateway, such as via e-mail. Safend is addressing every kind of vector where data can leave the enterprise, including thumb drives as well as e-mail," he said.
Safend works by applying rules to different endpoints, Brewton said. "If somebody plugs in their USB device to download information, Safend is going to take a look at that information and that person, and verify whether they can or can't download it to a USB drive," he explained. If they do have permission, the data will be encrypted and the user given a password to decrypt the data.
"That's going to avoid the kind of problem we had with the guy from the Department of Veterans affairs who had his laptop stolen,"...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Dungeons & Dragons Faces a New Future -- Online
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59090
It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you.
That's what's happened to Dungeons & Dragons, the role-playing game that for decades has drawn geeks to roll dice and pretend to be elves, sorcerers and other fantasy heroes. It has never quite become mainstream entertainment, but it has inspired role-playing computer games like World of Warcraft to borrow its principles and turn them into a multibillion-dollar industry.
Now, D&D is borrowing from its imitators. The next edition of the game, due out in June, will for the first time be paired with online features that the publisher hopes will lure lapsed players back to the dungeon.
"That group that broke up in 1987 because you all graduated from high school and went to schools across the country? Well, you can get that old teenage group back together," said Scott Rouse, brand manager for D&D at Wizards of the Coast. The Hasbro Inc. subsidiary publishes the game.
Role-players have always faced the difficulty of getting together regularly, especially since the games are lengthy. But they talk warmly about the camaraderie fostered by the games, since the players cooperate rather than compete. Though guided by thick rulebooks, the games have an element of theater, with players using the voices of their characters. Not surprisingly, they're considered uncool by those who lack an appreciation of fantasy.
The new edition, the fourth since D&D was created in 1974, may do nothing for the game's social stigma, but at least players will have the option to commune online. Each screen will show the same virtual 3-D "tabletop" with monsters and heroes, and the players will be able to talk via Internet voice chat.
Wizards is also building its own social networking site as a Facebook or MySpace for gamers. The players will be able to create...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
FCC Chairman Rejects Skype Plea for Open Networks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59089
The Federal Communications Commission should reject a petition by eBay Inc.'s Skype division to require wireless operators to allow any device on their networks, the agency's chairman said Tuesday.
To applause, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told an audience at the CTIA Wireless trade show that the industry's recent push toward openness makes such a rule unnecessary.
Skype, which provides free voice calls and videoconferencing over Internet connections, asked the commission in February 2007 to apply the 1968 Carterfone decision to wireless networks. The decision opened AT&T's wireline network to phones not made by the monopoly phone company.
Martin cited Verizon Wireless' decision to open its network to any device or application by the end of this year, and the participation by T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel Corp. in Google Inc.'s Open Handset Alliance, which is developing new software for phones.
"In light of the industry's embrace of this more open approach, I think it's premature for the commission to place any other requirements on these networks," Martin said. "Today I'm going to circulate to my fellow commissioners an order dismissing the petition by Skype that would apply Carterfone requirements to existing wireless networks."
EBay said it was disappointed in Martin's statement.
Recent industry changes were positive, but incomplete, the company said Tuesday. The petition was meant to protect consumers' rights "to use any application and any device on a wireless network," eBay said in a statement.
"While we are cautiously optimistic that the carriers will deliver greater openness, unfortunately, if the FCC acts on the chairman's recommendation, it will have given up the tools to protect consumers if they do not," said Christopher Libertelli, a director of government affairs for Skype.
Martin's order would need the support of two other commissioners to take effect, support that's likely to come from the two Republican appointees.
Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps criticized...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Linux Could Become a True Desktop Alternative
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59088
The free Linux operating system handles big tasks like running supercomputers and ATMs. Now Linux has a chance to finally crack Microsoft Corp.'s hold on computing's most visible domain -- mainstream PCs -- because of the rise of innovative, inexpensive machines.
Of course, prognosticators perennially say Linux is on the verge. It gets high marks for security and stability and is widely used behind the scenes in corporate servers, making it a natural candidate to steal desktop thunder from Microsoft's dominant Windows. And yet Linux PCs still represent less than 2 percent of the market.
This time, though, there's actually evidence of momentum.
While the best features in the latest Windows release, Vista, require top-notch configurations that can quickly ramp up a PC's price, one of the hottest segments of the industry involves inexpensive computers.
Laptops under $400 (EU255) are real possibilities now, and some of the most buzz-worthy use Linux, such as Asustek Computer Inc.'s EeePC and the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's $200 "XO" computer for schoolchildren. Linux also is available on slim little "netbooks" being pushed by Intel Corp.
Not only is Linux essentially free to the PC vendor, but the operating system also is better suited than Vista for cheap PCs' spartan hardware designs. (Windows XP is available on scaled-back PCs like Intel's Classmate, but it's unclear what will happen after Microsoft soon stops selling XP to the general public.)
Amazon.com's top-selling PCs include several Asustek Linux machines. Although Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently stopped a test run of selling Linux PCs in some stores, the company says it will continue to offer them online.
Business computing suppliers are finding open-source desktops especially gaining traction in cost-conscious developing markets. For example, a PC distributor in Eastern Europe is packaging software from IBM Corp. and Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. to create Microsoft-free desktops for...
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Nokia Unveils New Tablet for Sprint WiMAX Network
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59085
Sprint Nextel Corp.'s new ultrafast cellular data network is getting some support from Nokia Corp., which said Tuesday it is going to launch a Web-browsing "tablet" for the WiMAX network as it goes live this summer.
The Web tablet, which features a 4.1-inch touch screen and a slide-out keyboard, is likely to join a tiny laptop from ASUSTek Computer as the first gadgets that can use the network, in addition to laptop cards and desktop modems.
Finland-based Nokia previously announced its intention to make a WiMAX tablet, but provided specifics for the first time on Tuesday. The tablet will be a modified version of Nokia's N810 model, with a slight bulge on the back for the WiMAX antenna. Nokia President Mark Louison said the price would be similar to the N810, which sells for $439 on Nokia's Web site.
Contrary to usual practices in the U.S. wireless industry, Nokia will be selling the devices, rather than the carrier. Activation for Sprint's network will happen in much the same way people buy access to commercial Wi-Fi hotspots. If WiMAX becomes available in the area, the tablet will notify the owner that it has picked up a signal.
Connecting to the network will take the user to a Sprint Web page where a credit card number can be entered. Access prices have not been announced for the network, which Sprint will be marketing under the Xohm brand.
Nokia is involved in Xohm in another way: Its joint venture with Siemens AG is one of the suppliers of network hardware.
WiMAX will enable downloads of 2 to 4 megabits per second, peaking at speeds of up to 10 mbps, according to Nokia. By comparison, current third-generation broadband networks peak out at 1.4 mbps, though speeds are increasing.
In January, Asus announced that a model of its small portable computer, the...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Congress Goes Virtual at Second Life Hearing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59094
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is easily one of the most tech-savvy members of Congress. He has been the lead sponsor of Net-neutrality legislation and played a leading role in other efforts to represent the interests of technology in issues that intersect telecommunications, patent law and municipal wireless networks.
But in a congressional hearing Tuesday, Markey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that considers telecommunications issues, took Congress where it's never been before: Second Life.
The hearing was ostensibly about such issues as terrorism, consumer fraud and intellectual-property protection in virtual worlds, but the light-hearted nature of the debate and the lack of any real issues requiring congressional action suggested the hearing was more about Markey dragging his colleagues into the 21st century than legislative business.
The real-world hearing room featured a laptop running Second Life and projecting a virtual hearing room onto a screen. Markey's Second Life avatar banged the gavel to open the hearing. And, according to press reports, while just a smattering of flesh-and-blood people showed up for the hearing, the virtual hearing room boasted about 65 avatars, including a man with an oversized top hat eating popcorn, a woman wearing wings who occasionally flew out of her seat, and a large bumblebee.
"My avatar actually looks like he's been working out," Markey said. His infatuation with the alternative Congress, in which people don't all dress in blue suits and red ties, led ranking Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) to joke that Markey might prefer virtual Congress to the real thing.
"If you begin to enjoy the virtual world too much, you may not want to return to the real world," he said. "While you're at it, you may want to invite some of your Democratic colleagues as well."
On a substantive note, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) dragged...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Intel Unveils Atom Processors for Mobile Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59093
Intel took the wraps off five new Atom processors for pocket-sized Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. The chipmaker is so upbeat on the new technology's prospects that CEO Paul Otellini said the Atom may become as important to Intel as the Pentium was in the mid-90s.
"Its product promise is to bring the Intel architecture at very high performance but ultra low power into new usage models, to bring the Internet into your pocket, to bring low-cost PCs into emerging markets with new price points," Otellini said. "All this is enabled by the Intel Atom. It truly is a revolutionary product."
The Atom's unique micro-architecture has been designed from the ground up to deliver high performance-per-watt efficiency while maintaining full compatibility with the chipmaker's Core 2 Duo instruction set, which includes support for hyper-threading and virtualization technologies.
Once the new chips are deployed in next-generation portable video players, navigation devices, converged tablets and other MID products, consumers will gain unrivaled abilities to communicate, entertain, access information and be productive, Intel executives said.
"Mix in the incredible innovation coming from our fellow device makers and software vendors, and we will change the way consumers will come to know and access the World Wide Web," said Intel Senior Vice President Anand Chandrasekher. "These forthcoming MIDs, and some incredible longer-term plans our customers are sharing with us, will show how small devices can deliver a big Internet experience."
Formerly code-named Silverthorne, the tiny fan-less Atom can clock at speeds of up to 1.86 GHz, which Intel claims makes it the world's fastest processor that uses less than 3 watts of power. By contrast, Intel's mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors for laptops conform to thermal design power (TDP) specifications in the 35W range.
The Atom also fully...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Microsoft's OOXML Becomes an International Standard
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59092
Microsoft scored a win in the standards game Wednesday with the announcement that its Office Open XML (OOXML) file format has been approved as an international standard. The announcement was made by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO is a global network of standards-based bodies from more than 150 countries, and the IEC is the leading international standards organization for electronic technology.
The vote required at least two-thirds of the votes cast by participating national bodies to be positive, and no more than a quarter against. Seventy-five percent of the participating members voted positive and only 14 percent voted negative.
The standard was originally rejected in the fast-track vote that ended last September, following more than 3,000 comments from the field. But the rules allowed a vote at a meeting, with a 30-day period in which the participants could modify their votes. That 30-day period ended Saturday.
However, final adoption is subject to formal appeals from ISO/IEC members over the next two months. If an appeal is made, it will then need more time to be heard and resolved.
The new standard, called ISO/IEC 29500, addresses word-processing documents, presentations and spreadsheets as implemented by various applications and platforms. The stated objectives of the standard include the long-term preservation of documents created in the last 20 years.
The Office Open XML Specification was developed by Microsoft, which first submitted it to the information-technology industry association Ecma International. It was approved by Ecma and published as ECMA standard 376. Ecma then submitted it to ISO/IEC under the fast-track procedure.
Tom Robertson, general manager of interoperability and standards at Microsoft, praised the decision as "a clear win for customers, technology providers and governments," and said hundreds of independent software vendors and platform providers, including Apple, Corel, Sun...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
AT&T Scratches Microsoft's Surface in Retail Stores
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59091
Microsoft and AT&T have announced a collaborative alliance that aims to transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices. AT&T will become the first company to bring Microsoft Surface to life in a retail environment, giving customers the ability to explore their mobile-phone options using touch and device-recognition technology. Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft.
Beginning April 17, customers can experience Microsoft Surface in select AT&T retail locations, including stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Based on the venture's success, and learning from these initial pilot deployments, plans for further expansion across AT&T's 2,200 U.S. retail stores will be determined, according to the companies.
"Microsoft Surface transforms the retail environment from a transaction destination to a customer-engagement destination," said Robbie Bach, president of the Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division. "With innovative and intuitive ways of accessing information and digital content on Microsoft Surface, consumers now have an entirely new, unique and personalized shopping experience."
Microsoft Surface is a 30-inch table-like display that lets individuals or multiple people interact with devices and content in a way that feels familiar -- by touch, gestures and placement of devices on the display. Microsoft describes the experience as making a surface "come to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more."
AT&T plans to use Surface to offer retail-store visitors opportunities to learn about the growing universe of mobile applications and devices. The interactive touch displays, which will work without a traditional mouse or keyboard, will allow customers to review features of a particular mobile device by simply placing it on the display. Surface will recognize the device and provide a graphical overview of its capabilities. Customers will be able to place two devices side by side on the unit and compare their...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Samsung's Instinct on Sprint Challenges Apple's iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59078
With competing devices for Apple's iPhone sprouting like spring flowers, Samsung Mobile and Sprint have announced their entry, the Samsung Instinct. Sprint is hoping the new large-screen mobile device and other moves will overcome a string of setbacks.
Featuring a 3.1-inch display, the Instinct was announced Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas. The companies said the Instinct "combines touch-screen functionality with fast speeds available on the nation's largest mobile broadband network."
The touch screen features what the announcement described as "localized tactile feedback," enabling the QWERTY keypad and other functions to provide a "sensory experience." There is also a Voice to Action button enabling voice activation for call, text, picture messaging, traffic, movie, sports, news and search.
Like the iPhone, the Instinct is designed to be easy to use. There are three dedicated keys -- phone, back and home. The home screen has four menus -- Favorites, Main, Fun and Web. Also like the iPhone, there is Visual Voicemail, so messages can be heard or reorganized by screen tapping.
The Instinct also offers access to exclusive Sprint services, including Sprint Navigation, which provides audio and video turn-by-turn driving directions using Global Positioning System information, plus one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings.
There is also live Search for Sprint, a Microsoft-powered service that offers access to information; Sprint TV for live and on-demand programming; and Sprint Exclusive Entertainment, a sports and entertainment video network for mobile devices. A 2GB microSD card can hold up to 2,000 songs from the Sprint Music Store.
The Instinct is Sprint's first EVDO Rev A device for consumers. The company is promoting that "the vast majority" of its Mobile Broadband Network has been upgraded to EVDO Rev A.
With EVDO Rev A, the carrier said download data rates increase...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Microsoft Unveils Windows Mobile, IE Mobile Updates
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59077
Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled the latest version of the Internet Explorer Mobile browser during the CTIA Wireless 2008 conference. The software giant also announced Windows Mobile 6.1, an update for its Windows Mobile software.
The new Internet Explorer Mobile browser promises desktop-like Web browsing for Windows Mobile phones, while Windows Mobile 6.1 offers new features, such as easier phone navigation and management, and increased security.
"People want a single phone that's flexible enough to meet their needs throughout their day, whether it's connecting to work or your everyday life," said Robbie Bach, president of the Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division. "The innovations we've added to our Windows Mobile software ultimately make it easier to manage your world."
The new version of Internet Explorer Mobile adds the ability to view full-screen Web pages and multimedia with a smartphone. By taking advantage of Internet Explorer 6 technologies and supporting established and upcoming industry standards such as H.264, Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, the company said its updated browser provides a rich mobile Internet experience.
"The new version is more full-featured because it's based on a full Internet Explorer engine with capabilities like Flash support, which would put Microsoft in the forefront of the mobile-browsing experience," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch.
Microsoft said the update will be available to mobile-phone partners in the third quarter, with the first Windows Mobile phones using the new version expected to be available by the end of the year.
Windows Mobile 6.1 features several updates based on customer feedback, including the capability to make the most critical information readily available at a glance, quicker phone setup, and enhanced features adapted for the small screen, Microsoft said.
With Windows Mobile 6.1, Microsoft said users will be able to glance at and respond to notifications such...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Government Probes IBM Over EPA Interaction
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59073
IBM Corp. has been temporarily banned from new federal contracts as prosecutors examine interactions between employees of the company and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The suspension went into effect last Thursday "while the agency reviews concerns raised about potential activities involving an EPA procurement," the agency said Monday in an e-mailed statement. Under a reciprocal agreement among federal agencies, when one issues a ban, the others follow it.
EPA said it will not comment further on the matter.
IBM said it was cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which served grand jury subpoenas seeking documents and testimony relating to the EPA contract.
Armonk, New York-based IBM does business with all corners of the government, though the Defense and Homeland Security departments are much bigger customers than the EPA, according to federal spending databases. Last year IBM's contracts amounted to at least $1.3 billion, roughly 1 percent of its 2007 revenue.
IBM spokesman Fred McNeese said the company is still talking with the EPA about the alleged violation and would not describe the contract that IBM was bidding on that led to the suspension.
The company learned about the ban on Friday, but "prior to that (we had) no indication there was a dispute between the IBM and EPA. We've spent most of the day trying to determine what's going on," McNeese added.
The company said it has 30 days to contest the scope of the suspension, which can continue for up to one year pending the completion of EPA's investigation.
The suspension could be serious, but the reason for the ban is unclear at the moment, said Ray Bjorklund, a senior vice president at market research firm Federal Sources Inc.
"It's potentially a big deal," he said.
Bjorklund said that, until the matter is resolved, all federal agencies are likely not to award new...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Olympic Committee Tells Beijing: Don't Block Internet
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59068
The Internet must be open during the Beijing Olympics. That was the message a top-ranking International Olympic Committee official delivered Tuesday to Beijing organizers during the first of three days of meetings -- the last official sessions between IOC inspectors and the Chinese hosts before the games begin in just over four months.
Beijing routinely blocks Chinese access to some foreign news Web sites and blogs, a practice it has stepped up since rioting broke out over two weeks ago in Tibet.
Kevan Gosper, vice chairman of the IOC coordinating commission, said restricting access to the Internet during the games "would reflect very poorly" on the host nation.
"This morning we discussed and insisted again," Gosper said. "Our concern is that the press (should be) able to operate as it has at previous games."
Gosper said the Chinese had an obligation under the "host city agreement" to provide Internet access to the 30,000 accredited and non-accredited journalists expected to attend.
"There was some criticism that the Internet closed down during events relating to Tibet in previous weeks," Gosper said.
Laws that lifted most restrictions on foreign media went into effect Jan. 1, 2007. The rules are due to expire in October.
"I'm satisfied that the Chinese understand the need for this and they will do it," Gosper added.
When asked about Gosper's comments, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China's "management" of the Internet followed the "general practice of the international community."
She acknowledged that China bans some Internet content, and said other countries did the same. She declined to say if the Internet would be unrestricted for journalists during the Olympics.
Gosper spoke after Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the inspection committee, addressed his Chinese hosts. Without being specific, Verbruggen noted that China's Aug. 8-24 games had become embroiled in controversy.
The unrest in Tibet -- and China's response -- has...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Coming Soon to a Mobile Phone Near You
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59067
Your mobile phone is about to get a lot cooler.
How cool? In the coming months, you'll be able to dictate text messages and surf the Web just by speaking commands -- no tapping or clicking required. If you're trying to figure out where to go to lunch, you'll be able to call up a map marked with local eateries your friends and family recommend. And you'll be able to film movie clips on your cell phone and send them live to somebody else's
gadget.
Rapid hardware advances are making all these new offerings possible. Cell phones are morphing into minicomputers, packed with more processing power and bigger screens, and more of them are coming loaded with features like GPS. Faster connections are also driving the changes. Developers can work with tools like streaming video that wouldn't be practical with creaky connections.
Of course, everything isn't going to change overnight. Not all of these applications will work on all devices, and to use some of them, you may have to get a phone with particular features like GPS or a built-in video camera.
Most of the features are likely to first become available for higher-end devices like smart phones. But most companies say they plan to eventually roll their services out to a broader base of cell-phone users, particularly as even basic phones come equipped with more-advanced features.
Here's a sampling of the new applications scheduled to hit the market soon.
Plenty of mobile applications allow you to dial your phone by voice. But very soon you'll be able to carry out a lot more functions with spoken commands -- making your cell phone truly "hands free."
Nuance Communications Inc. of Burlington, Mass., is developing voice-recognition technology to make it easier to send messages and surf the Web from your phone. For instance, users will be...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
New Zealand Man Convicted in International Cybercrime Ring
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59066
A New Zealand man accused of leading an international cybercrime network was convicted Tuesday of computer hacking after pleading guilty to six charges.
Owen Thor Walker, 18, known by his online name "AKILL," was involved in a network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of dollars from victims' bank accounts.
The case against Walker is part of an international crackdown on hackers who assume control of computers and amass them into centrally controlled clusters known as botnets. The hackers can then use the computers to steal credit card information, manipulate stock trades and even crash industry computers, authorities said when the case first surfaced in late November.
Eight people have been indicted, pleaded guilty or have been convicted since the investigation began last June. Thirteen additional warrants have been served in the U.S. and overseas in the investigation.
The charges against Walker do not directly address his alleged role as kingpin of the network, and police have released only a few details of the operation. They have not filed charges linked to the alleged skimming of millions of dollars.
Walker's lawyer said Tuesday that "complicated reparation issues" would be dealt with on the day Walker is sentenced, but he did not elaborate.
Walker pleaded guilty in the Thames District Court to two charges of accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, two charges of accessing computer systems without authorization, one of damaging or interfering with computer systems and one of possessing software for committing crime.
He faces a maximum penalty of several prison terms of up to five years.
Judge Arthur Tompkins released Walker on police bail until sentencing on May 28. Tompkins said he would consider home detention, community detention, community work and a fine for Walker. He did not mention the possibility of prison time.
Walker was arrested after an 18-month investigation by New Zealand...
Thu, 3 Apr 08
FTP Sites Vulnerable to Data Breaches
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59060
What do the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and video-game giant Sega have in common? The answer is that both exposed sensitive data via their File Transfer Protocol (FTP) sites. While the impact on Sega was only to force the company to release information on a new game earlier than it wanted to, in the former case it could have cost the lives of soldiers in Iraq.
FTP may be a dinosaur these days, but it's being used -- or, perhaps, misused -- regularly by employees who are simply trying to do their jobs, but who lack the adequate tools, according to John Thielens, vice president of technology for Tumbleweed, a vendor of content-security solutions.
"When, for whatever reason, employees can't use e-mail -- the typical problem we have today is multimedia attachments where e-mail's not going to work -- they're looking for another solution," Thielens told us. Finding a solution, however, is often left to the user. Thielens noted that one survey showed 42 percent of companies don't tell employees what to do when that situation occurs. What happens then? "People make things up," he said.
FTP is often the solution employees come up with. It's ubiquitous, built into Web browsers so that users don't always even realize they're working with it. But Thielens noted that FTP is often left unsecured, with anonymous access allowed. That's not only a problem that can result in leaking important information to a competitor (or, as in the case of the Army Corps of Engineers situation, to the press). It means there's no audit trail, which can be particularly serious if the company is subject to disclosure laws.
All that's known, Thielens said, is that somebody accessed the site and took the information -- but there's no way to tell...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
OOXML 'Approved' Amid Voting Controversy
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59076
The International Standards Organization plans to officially announce Wednesday that the Microsoft Open Office XML (OOXML) specification has been accepted as an ISO standard.
According to a document provided to member countries, 61 out of 87 participating countries approved the DIS29500 standard, 10 disapproved and 16 abstained. The results are a marked contrast to a previous vote in September 2007, in which Microsoft's proposal failed to win approval.
The "yes" vote, conducted Saturday, has generated a huge controversy in international standards communities, with many participants claiming the vote was essentially commandeered by Microsoft supporters.
In a press release Tuesday, Microsoft did not acknowledge the controversy, but hailed the approval of the standard. "With 86 percent of voting national bodies supporting ratification, there is overwhelming support for Open XML. This outcome is a clear win for the customers, technology providers and governments that want to choose the format that best meets their needs and have a voice in the evolution of this widely adopted standard," said Tom Robertson, general manager of interoperability and standards.
"The input from technical experts, customers and governments around the world has greatly improved the Open XML specification and will make it even more useful to developers and customers," Robertson said. "Once it is formally approved, we are committed to supporting this specification in our products, and we will continue to work with standards bodies, governments and the industry to promote greater interoperability and innovation."
In Norway, the standards body reversed a no vote to support the standard in a process critics charged was highly irregular. Despite the fact that 80 percent of members favored a no vote, the body, Standard Norge, voted yes after dismissing many of its members during the vote. The final yes vote was made by only three Standard Norge staff members.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Intel, STMicro Form $3B Flash-Memory Powerhouse
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59075
Intel, STMicroelectronics and investment firm Francisco Partners closed a deal Monday to create a new flash-memory chip business. Dubbed Numonyx, the company will focus on delivering innovative memory solutions using combinations of leading NOR, NAND and RAM memory technologies as well as new phase-change memory (PCM).
PCM is a promising technology that provides very fast read and write speeds at lower power than conventional flash memory and allows for bit alterability normally seen in RAM.
Numonyx will serve customers who make a variety of consumer and industrial devices, including cellular phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, ultra-mobile computers and other high-tech equipment.
"The complementary nature of the two parent companies' products, technologies and expertise has given us a competitive edge," said Brian Harrison, CEO of Numonyx. "Immediately, Numonyx is a formidable memory-solutions provider."
Numonyx begins operations in the growing and dynamic nonvolatile-memory business with considerable momentum. The company is the leading provider of NOR flash memory and holds a considerable lineup of NAND technologies for growth and DRAM products that provide unique depth and value.
With annual combined revenue of about $3 billion, Numonyx is the third-largest nonvolatile-memory provider. According to industry firm iSuppli, the nonvolatile-memory market generated nearly $22.5 billion in revenue in 2007 and is expected to surpass $37.7 billion by 2011.
Numonyx is betting its ability to develop and deliver technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities -- the building blocks for nonvolatile-memory products -- will be a competitive advantage. The company said it is currently producing high-volume 65nm NOR memory chips and plans to quickly move to 45nm before the end of the year to lower costs.
With 40 years of combined experience from Intel and STMicroelectronics, Numonyx will have access to substantial worldwide patent portfolios from Intel and STMicroelectronics. The patents and applications cover a variety of technologies,...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Google Tackles Time and Space on April Fools' Day
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59074
Having organized the world's information, Google has decided to tackle time and outer space. That's the new direction the company took Tuesday, with a new Custom Time feature to send e-mails into the past and its Virgle co-venture with Virgin to colonize Mars.
That is, until you notice Tuesday's date -- April Fools' Day.
Just as the Google logo feels obliged to dress itself up on holidays, so the search giant, whose day job is to make sense of information, decides on this silliest of holidays to sound sensible while being silly.
This year's offering includes a gift for those of us who wish they could reverse or change a past communication -- perhaps place an order for Google stock when it was cheaper. Gmail Custom Time, introduced Tuesday on the Gmail home page, allows users to predate a message "and we'll take care of the rest." Of course, the limit is four years ago, when Gmail first started.
The interface is typically easy. You just "set custom time" from the Compose view. "Any e-mail you send to the past appears in the proper chronological order in your recipient's inbox," the announcement says. You even have the option to make it look as if the recipient just forgot about your missive, by allowing the e-mail to be marked as read or unread retroactively.
"Forget your finance reports," Gmail suggests. You can even "forget your anniversary." Google will "make it look like you remembered."
But some people, fans of time travel, will remember the Grandfather Paradox, whose causality trips up temporal reversal. Suppose you went into the past and killed your grandfather. That means you weren't born. So how did you go into the past?
Google has solved that problem, but apparently it's not an open-source solution. The company succinctly says only that "it utilizes...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Microsoft Upgrades Windows Mobile Software for Smartphones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59064
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday showed off an update to its Windows Mobile software for "smart" phones, a category where it is facing substantial competition from Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone.
The new version is aimed at making the software easier to use -- an area where Windows Mobile is seen as having some catching up to do, particularly since the iPhone set a new standard for usability when it debuted last June.
Windows Mobile 6.1 also is designed to be simpler to set up, and has a new top menu modeled on that of the T-Mobile Shadow, which uses a variant of Windows Mobile modified by its manufacturer, HTC Corp. of Taiwan.
Text messages will now be displayed as "threads," or conversations, much like they are on the iPhone, instead of being shown one to a screen.
For the first time, cutting and pasting of text will now be possible on Windows Mobile phones that lack a touch screen, like the Samsung BlackJack series. This feature has long been available on BlackBerry phones.
Phones with the new software will be appearing in a few months, Microsoft said at the CTIA Wireless cell-phone industry trade show in Las Vegas. Some current phones, like the HTC Mogul sold by Sprint Nextel Corp. and the AT&T Tilt, will be upgradeable to the new version.
Later this year, Microsoft will be upgrading the Windows Mobile Web browser, again to bring the experience closer to that of the iPhone. Pages will render more like they do in the desktop version of Internet Explorer, and the user will be able to look at an entire Web page at once, or zoom into it.
While competition is tough in the space, the category as a whole is growing, as more consumers see the advantages of "smart" phones that do much more than...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Sony Launches Full-Length Mobile TV Movies
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59061
Sony Pictures is gearing up for full-length movies on AT&T mobile phones. The movie giant on Monday launched PIX, a domestic network for mobile phones that will let viewers watch selections from the studio's library.
Offering films from Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, ScreenGems and Sony Pictures Classics, the new service will include a catalog of movies across all genres. The films will be accompanied by added-value material. Titles will be available for up to one month, with films added weekly. Some of the first titles to be offered include Bugsy, Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, and Stand By Me. Subscribers of AT&T Mobile TV, launching in May, will be the first with access to PIX.
"PIX will give viewers their own personal movie theater wherever they take their mobile phones," said Eric Berger, vice president of mobile entertainment for Sony Pictures Television. "With an incredible library of quality Hollywood hits, it's a mobile destination channel for convenient, enjoyable entertainment, and the latest offering in SPT's distinctive portfolio of mobile games and video."
Sony is reportedly in talks with other U.S. carriers to offer PIX, but did not give details about which other companies might be picking up the service. The pricing models for the new network have not been announced, though analysts said individual carriers will likely set their own pricing schemes. Some carriers may choose to offer PIX free with an ad-supported model. Others could choose to charge per movie.
A longtime concern with mobile TV has been the size of the screens. According to William Ho, a wireless services analyst at Current Analysis, handset makers are working to develop devices with larger screens that offer clearer images. Even so, he cautioned, mobile TV appeals to a different audience than the typical couch-potato viewer.
"Get the being-on-a-couch thing out of your head....
Wed, 2 Apr 08
First Linux-Based Mobile-Device Platform Released
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59059
A consortium of mobile communications giants has released the first version of a Linux-based mobile platform for next-generation smartphones and handsets. The LiMo platform is a plug-in, hardware-independent architecture constructed around open-source standards. It features a secure runtime environment for application downloads.
The technology has been commercially deployed and proven in handsets already on the market, and it is expected to be in more devices later this year, said LiMo Foundation Executive Director Morgan Gillis.
"With Release 1 of the LiMo platform now completed, LiMo Foundation has established a scalable and sustainable mobile-device platform that will spur rapid innovation and contributions from all LiMo members," Gillis said.
In the battle for smartphone platforms, LiMo will be going head-to-head with Google's Android and Apple's new iPhone software development kit (SDK). However, the LiMo Foundation, which was founded in January 2007, remains optimistic that its open-source underpinnings will help its platform gain traction.
"The mobile industry is embracing Linux and openness as the key enablers of lower device-development costs, increased flexibility and quicker time to market for innovative services of all kinds," said LiMo Foundation Chairman Kiyohito Nagata, who also represents Japan-based network operator NTT DoCoMo. "LiMo Foundation is driving these trends."
Third-party developers will use LiMo's application-programming interface specifications to field next-generation applications across a global base of mobile devices. Moreover, software designers will be able to implement middleware components for the LiMo platform by drawing on their C or C++ programming skills.
SDKs for Native, Webkit and Java operating environments are scheduled in the second half of this year, the fledgling nonprofit organization said. The consortium is already working on Release 2, slated for introduction by year's end.
In slightly more than one year, the LiMo Foundation has consistently rolled out its deliverables on schedule, Gillis noted. And...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Google Word Docs Can Be Used Offline -- Like MS Word
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59058
Like a sea creature taking its first steps onto land, the online-based Google Docs are evolving into desktop territory. On Monday, the search giant announced that its word-processing documents can be edited offline.
Users already know you can access Google Docs from anywhere, wrote Janani Ravi, one of the company's software engineers, on The Official Google Blog. Of course, he said, "you needed an Internet connection to make Google Docs work for you."
But that's the past, he said, as Google is now rolling out offline editing access to word-processing documents.
In a posted video, the company demonstrated the process. A green arrow, which indicates the user has online access, becomes a grey circle with a line through it when offline. To access the docs offline, a user types docs.google.com into a browser or uses a desktop icon. Google Docs has already downloaded the documents "behind the scenes."
When the user goes back online, Google will automatically synchronize the two versions. To get offline access to Google Docs, a user must first install Google Gears, a downloadable browser plug-in.
Google Docs engineer Philip Tucker, writing in The Official Google Docs Blog, said he would like to move all the data and software on his desktop to "the cloud" of the Internet. He said it gives him access from anywhere, and he can search it all in one place.
"Cloud computing is great," he wrote, "but you need the cloud to make it work." Up until now, he noted, synchronizing meant saving a copy of a document and editing it offline in a desktop application such as Word, then uploading it when you were online again. Now, he said, he doesn't have to remember to save his documents locally before going on a trip, or to save his changes as soon...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Call-Center Economy Hits Indiana
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59054
Many of the calls to customer service that were handled overseas a few years ago soon could be answered in Indiana.
The state's economic development leaders have been touting 2007 as a banner year that brought commitments for more than 22,000 new jobs, including positions in manufacturing, logistics and life sciences.
But almost 20 percent of the announced jobs would be in call centers, answering phones, providing customer service and selling products -- jobs that typically pay near or below the state's $35,000 average annual wage. Eight of the 13 largest job deals last year are connected to the call-center industry.
Among the deals: Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services plans to open a 500-employee call center in Anderson; Orlando, Fla.-based Connextions will hire 1,134 Hoosiers to help at a new health-care-related call center in Jeffersonville; AT&T Mobility pledged to hire 600 employees for a new call center in Evansville; and Indianapolis-based Defender Security Co. said it sell ADT security systems and Dish Network subscriptions from call centers across the state.
If you add in the state's final job-creation deal of 2006 -- an 850-employee IBM call center planned for Daleville -- about 5,000 new call center jobs are on the horizon.
The trend disturbs some economists, but economic development leaders insist the jobs are needed and worthwhile. Call-center positions are not on the state's target list, but they often are appropriate for entry-level employees or as a second job, said Nathan Feltman, Indiana's secretary of commerce.
"Certainly, when there are opportunities out there in the call-center sector, and especially ones that are higher-paying, we look for areas around the state where those jobs would be coveted," Feltman said. "We don't want to be in the position of turning away opportunities when many communities in our state would love those opportunities."
Call-center jobs require minimal investment and can provide...
Wed, 2 Apr 08
New Tool Helps Protect, Locate Lost Cell Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=59052
If you left your cell phone in the back of a cab in New York City, you're in good company; by some estimates that unfortunate circumstance occurs 10,000 times a year in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, the number of phones recovered is a fraction of that amount. A new tool from Kaspersky Lab might help you better the odds in your favor.
Like other security vendors, Kaspersky has existing solutions that focus on antivirus and anti-spam for mobile devices. But Jeff Aliber, senior director of Americas Product Marketing at Kaspersky Lab, told us that in reality, the market "doesn't view anti-malware as something that's a major requirement."
Instead, users are putting more personal and corporate information (such as sales forecasts, CRM data and meeting schedules) on their phones, making them valuable -- and hard to replace -- tools. "There is a huge pain around losing phones, having phones stolen, particularly smartphones," Aliber said. "We found that there's this market that's not just underserved, but not serviced at all," unless you're in a large enterprise using a smartphone in conjunction with a Microsoft E