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Intel Rolls Out Quad-Core Xeon 5500 Processor
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65638
Intel has taken the wraps off a new quad-core Xeon 5500 processor that the chipmaker is calling its most important server product launch since the Pentium Pro came to market in 1995.
"Simply put, the Xeon 5500 is a technological marvel -- the most spectacular processor that Intel has ever produced and that the industry has ever seen," said Intel Senior Vice President Pat Gelsinger.
More than 100 applications were released Monday that have been optimized for the new Xeon chip, which is based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture. "This is the most that Intel has ever had for a server launch," Gelsinger said.
The Xeon 5500 integrates QuickPath technology under which each processor core has its own integrated memory controller and high-speed interconnect for linking processors and other components, which speeds up applications. The new processor also integrates Intel's Turbo Boost technology, which enables all active processor cores to intelligently clock themselves up in increments as long as the CPU is operating below its maximum power, current and temperature specs.
"We can turbo up all the cores if there is thermal headroom; then, when a lighter workload is detected, shut off cores and turn up the remaining cores, with this done dynamically and detected in real time," Gelsinger said.
The new chip for servers and workstations also receives a big multitasking boost from hyperthreading technology capable of supporting up to 16 threads. Also on tap: a multi-level shared cache that reduces latency to frequently used data, together with Intel's 5520 chipset and related technologies.
"The full cadre of the technology I have been talking about have given power efficiency gains -- not just at the processor level but also at the platform level," Gelsinger said.
Gelsinger also said Intel has set 30 new server performance benchmark records using the Xeon...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
TomTom To Pay Microsoft To End Patent Fight
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65635
Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, on Monday said it settled a patent dispute over car navigation technology with TomTom NV for an undisclosed amount.
In February, Microsoft filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Washington and with the International Trade Commission against TomTom NV and its U.S. subsidiary, TomTom Inc., claiming their car navigation systems infringed on patented technology that let vehicle computer systems run more than one application at a time, provide more natural driving directions and access the Internet, among other functions.
TomTom filed a countersuit earlier this month against Microsoft in U.S. District Court in Virginia, saying the software maker's Streets and Trips products for PCs infringe on four TomTom patents.
Under the terms of the five-year settlement, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said TomTom will pay the software maker for use of eight patents. Microsoft will get coverage for the four TomTom patents without paying anything to the Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company.
The agreement covers past and future U.S. sales of both companies' products.
The deal also requires TomTom to remove some functions from its products within two years, including functionality related to naming, organizing and storing file data.
The companies said this allows TomTom to comply with its obligations as a member of the open source software community. Open source licenses vary, but generally require companies that build products with open source software to make all the resulting code available to the community. Microsoft's proprietary business model bars companies from releasing its patented code free of charge.
Shares of Microsoft fell 64 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $17.49 in afternoon trading amid a broader market sell-off.
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Chinese Hackers Penetrate Foreign Computer Systems
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65634
In a 10-month investigation into Chinese cyber espionage against Tibetan institutions, researchers found that hackers tapped into foreign embassies, ministries of foreign affairs, and international organizations.
Security investigators from the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), a public-private venture between a Canadian think tank and an academic group at the University of Toronto, found a network of 1,295 infected hosts in 103 countries. The investigators were asked by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Government in Exile, and others to investigate computer systems.
Researchers revealed a malware-based cyber espionage network called GhostNet. The discovery showed insecure, Web-based interfaces to four control servers that let operators send information to and receive information from compromised computers, according to a 53-page report. Audio and video hardware were also controlled, according to the report.
Although the network is small, the concentration of high-value systems is significant.
Nearly 30 percent of the computers being controlled belonged to ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Taiwan, Tibet and several other countries; the Asian Development Bank; and unclassified computers at NATO headquarters.
Principal investigators Ron Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski said their research serves as a world wake-up call on how easily someone can create a spynet and shows how policymakers and the information-security community need to come to terms with the problem.
Security researchers were able to confirm that computers were being controlled in real time from commercial Internet access accounts on the island of Hainan, in the People's Republic of China.
They were, however, not able to confirm whether the hackers intentionally penetrated the hosts or if the sensitive information to which they had access was exploited for commercial or intelligence value.
IP addresses assigned to the People's Republic of China have linked with connections to infected computers, but the IWM said that isn't enough to point fingers at China because...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
AT&T Offers Six Devices from Nokia, Samsung and LG
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65631
As the world awaits the next Apple iPhone this summer, AT&T is forging ahead with a new lineup for the spring. On Monday AT&T announced six new models with text messaging, e-mail and Web surfing in mind.
The new lineup includes the Nokia E71x, the Samsung Propel Pro, Samsung Impression, Samsung Magnet, and LG Xenon and Neon. The additions expand the number of full-keyboard mobile phones in AT&T's lineup to seven.
"Smartphones and quick-messaging phones are no longer for early adopters and text-happy teens," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "The ability to text often, or check your e-mail from a phone is easy, and more customers demand these features. These phones are a great addition to our best-in-class lineup and we can't wait to get them in our customers' hands in the coming weeks."
A&T is hosting a trio of Samsung phones. The Samsung Magnet is a slim orange and black bar-shaped device aimed at teens who need a low-cost, quick-messaging phone. The Magnet features a WAP browser and camera. Pricing hasn't been announced, but it will be available in April.
The Samsung Propel Pro offers consumers a full QWERTY silver and chrome compact slider smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.1. The phone targets both business users and consumers with a Windows operating system that allows users to run full enterprise applications on the same platform they use to text and send photos. This full-featured smartphone will be available in April for $149.99 after a rebate.
The Samsung Impression's unique feature is its screen. It offers the nation's first commercially available AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen, known for their bright, clear displays. The Impression also offers a keyboard. This is a quick-messaging phone with a touchscreen, a 3.0-megapixel camcorder-capable camera, 3.2-inch screen, and a full...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Skype Coming To Apple and BlackBerry Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65630
Skype is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, and to various models of Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices. The Luxembourg-based company will make that announcement Tuesday as it looks to further expand its user base of 400 million worldwide into the most popular mobile devices.
The announcement, according to an article in Sunday's New York Times, will immediately make available a free software download for the Apple devices. The software for various BlackBerry models will become available in May. The announcement is expected to be made at a press conference just before the opening of the CTIA wireless conference in Las Vegas.
The announcement by Skype, a division of eBay, is attracting attention because of the possibility that it might signal yet another step toward free or nearly free voice service on mobile devices. Originally launched as a free computer-to-computer voice and then video communication, Skype on mobile devices will allow users to make voice calls and send instant messages to other Skype users over Wi-Fi connections.
Skype users can also call the landline or mobile phones of non-Skype users for a small fee that is less expensive than normal cellular rates.
In the incarnation being released this week, Skype won't work on the high-speed data networks from the wireless carriers, like AT&T's for the iPhone. However, users will reportedly be able to text chat with other Skype users via AT&T's EDGE and 3G networks.
According to news reports, Skype for the iPhone has the look and feel of that device's interface, and users will be able to mute callers, put them on hold, or have the call on speakerphone. Features such as conference calls or taking a second call will not be available in this first release.
Skype has already announced versions for devices running the open-source Android operating system...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Don't Panic on Conficker and April 1, Security Firms Say
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65613
Despite security analysts insisting that April 1 is only a red herring, the Conficker malware hype keeps growing as April Fools' Day approaches. Indeed, the doom and gloom is persisting even as security researchers offer a voice of reason.
The worm first appeared in late November, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows to spread unhindered on local area networks. Its goal is to install rogue software on infected computers. Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerability, but users that haven't installed it are open for infection as the worm spreads through portable USB flash drives.
As the speculation grows around Conficker, also known as the Downadup worm, Symantec and its Conficker Working Group partners continue researching the possibilities of the April 1 fallout from a worm that wreaked havoc on millions of computers earlier this year. So far, Symantec has determined three facts that it is sharing.
First, Symantec has determined that on April 1, W32.Downadup.C, the most recent variant of the malware also known as Conficker, will begin to use a new algorithm to determine what domains to contact. No other actions have been identified to take place on April 1.
Second, Symantec said it's possible that systems infected with W32.Downadup.C will be updated with a newer version of the malware on April 1 by contacting domains on the new domain list. However, the security company noted, these systems could be updated on any date before or after April 1, as well by using the peer-to-peer updating method found in W32.Downadup.C.
Third, Symantec said, the public should not be alarmed. However, as always, computer users should exercise caution and implement security best practices into their daily computing routines.
The worm certainly is an issue of concern, but the probability of a major Downadup-related cyber event on April 1 is not...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
IBM Runs Into Stormy Weather with Cloud Computing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65609
Big Blue has lost some friends in the clouds. This weekend, IBM was in the eye of a storm dealing with companies such as Google, Amazon.com, and Microsoft. The Internet search giant, the online retailer and the software behemoth all withdrew support for IBM's effort to launch a cloud-computing initiative.
Members of the Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum (CCIF) also pulled their support.
The core issue behind the loss of support was IBM's manifesto. Some companies weren't happy about being invited late in the process, while others believe there are some political efforts under way.
The CCIF's organizer, Reuven Cohen, said because the group represents members from various industries, it could not endorse just one document.
"I don't think anyone had any issues with the document, that was hard to argue with and I'm an advocate for an open ecosystem for cloud computing," Cohen said. "The issue is a lot of people in the community -- small and big companies and individuals -- believe cloud is an approachable technology."
The CCIF could not endorse the manifesto because some of its members didn't agree that it was an open and fair process. "They feared that it was overly political and may have agendas," Cohen said.
"While Google isn't party to the manifesto, we are a strong advocate of cloud computing, given the substantial benefits for consumers and businesses," said Google's Jon Murchinson. "We value industry dialog that results in more and better delivery of software and services via the Internet, and appreciate IBM's leadership and commitment in this area. We continue to be open to interoperability with all vendors and any data."
"Microsoft is behaving the way it behaves and IBM is behaving the way it always behaves," said Kelly Sims, a spokesperson for IBM. "It is not...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Web Browsers' Battle a Victory for Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65605
If you're looking for a good old-fashioned product war, you're in luck: The browser wars are back on. Last week, Microsoft released the long-awaited update to its Internet Explorer browser. Apple, Mozilla and Google, meanwhile, have lately issued prerelease versions of their coming applications.
I recently loaded up all four browsers and put them through my rigorous daily Web grind. The good news is that they're all pretty wonderful; if you're suffering through a buggy old browser, download one of these now.
But which one? Here, in order from least-great to best, is my assessment:
After years of lagging behind other innovators, Microsoft has finally released a browser that's a pleasure to use. Previous versions of I.E. were slow, prone to crashing and pockmarked with security holes, and they lacked many useful features found in other leading browsers.
As you grappled with it, you couldn't help feeling that Microsoft was counting on your ignorance -- hoping you wouldn't discover that life could be more pleasant, once you moved beyond the built-in Windows browser.
But the new version should prompt everyone who has abandoned I.E. over the years to give it another look. It's speedy, it seems inured to crashes and not only does it match its rivals' features -- in some cases, I.E. beats them.
Its tab bar -- the menu at the top of the screen that catalogs your open Web pages -- excels at organizing a clutter of open tabs. Say you open one tab to Google and one tab to Amazon, and then you load several new tabs from links on each of those sites. I.E. is smart enough to know which tabs you launched from Google and which you launched from Amazon, and it will display the different groups in separate colors in the tab bar.
This allowed me to...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Experimental Games Highlighted at Game Conference
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65604
Not every video game creator was musing about how to sell more hardware or craft more realistic virtual weaponry at the Game Developers Conference, the annual convention of game designers, programmers and executives. Several impresarios were more interested in pushing the limits of the interactive medium with their ideas.
The industry's most innovative creations were showcased Thursday at the eighth annual Experimental Gameplay Sessions. Developers demonstrated several prototypes, such as Ian Dallas' "The Unfinished Swan." In the black-and-white game, players track down a swan within a blank white environment by splattering black paint to reveal pathways, walls, lakes and more.
"This is, I think, the most consistent collection of designs that are doing what I describe as pushing the boundaries of game design in the most interesting and consistently thoughtful ways," said Jonathan Blow, the panel's organizer and the independent designer behind the time-bending puzzle platformer "Braid" (which is available for Xbox Live Arcade and PC).
Several of the featured games dabbled with dimension. Flashbang Studios' puzzler "Shadow Physics" casts players as a shadow who can interact with 3-D objects in different rooms. Bernhard Schulenburg's eccentric 2-D side scroller "Where's My Heart?" is composed of overlapping boxes reminiscent of comic book panels. Marc ten Bosch's "Miegakure" takes place in 4-D.
Hazardous Software unveiled "Achron," a strategy game 10 years in the making that has a time-travel twist. "Achron" allows players to build up their own armies then flip-flop around the timeline, as well as send their troops back to the future to prevent their enemies from further progressing.
"The gameplay tends to be a race to the past," said developer Christopher Hazard.
Other games on display included Derek Yu's "Spelunky," a side scroller inspired by the 1980 game "Rouge" where the levels are randomly generated each time the game is played, and Daniel Benmergui's "Today I...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Google Exploring Middle East Markets
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65593
The Middle East and North Africa, where Internet usage is relatively low compared to Europe and the U.S., could see a large growth in Internet penetration rates in 2010, said members of a Google delegation touring the region Thursday.
The four-member delegation is on a fact-finding mission in the Arab world to gauge business opportunities. They have already visited the West Bank and are currently in Lebanon in a tour that will also take them to Jordan, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
"The Middle East and North Africa hold a very high possibility to be the largest growth region in 2010" when it comes to Internet penetration, said Mohammad Gawdat, Google's managing director for emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa, during an interview in Beirut.
Despite being a relatively heavily populated and oil-rich region, Internet penetration in the Middle East is still small compared to European countries or the United States where penetration rates are as high as 90 percent.
In the past, telecommunication infrastructure was not very developed in the Arab world, and until recently dial-up service was the only way to access the Internet. Recently, Arab countries have begun offering DSL and ADSL services at cheaper prices making the Internet more widely accessible.
Ahmad S. Hamzawi, Google's engineering manager in the Middle East and North Africa, said Internet usage grew more than 1,000 percent in the Middle East between 2000 and 2007. But he said it varied widely by country. For example, only about 12 percent of Egypt's population has Internet access while Internet penetration in the UAE is about 55 percent.
Gawdat would not give figures on how much money the Mountain View, Calif.-based company plans to invest in the region. Google currently has offices in Egypt, United Arab Emirate and Saudi Arabia, he said.
Gawdat said one of the main problems...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Obama Fields Ranges of Questions at Internet Event
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65592
In an echo of his campaign, President Barack Obama tackled questions on education, jobs, autos -- even whether legalizing marijuana could jolt the economy -- at a first-of-its-kind Internet-era town hall at the White House on Thursday.
Obama said the precedent-setting online town hall meeting was an "an important step" toward creating a broader avenue for information about his administration. The event allowed him to speak directly to Americans through the Web, bypassing the filter of the news media.
And with more than 100,000 questions submitted to the White House Web site for the forum, it gave the administration a significant number of e-mail addresses for future outreach and the next campaign.
Obama joked at one point about the most popular question from his online audience -- whether he favored legalizing marijuana and could that turn around the economy.
"I don't know what this says about the online audience," he said with a smile, adding that he opposed legalizing the illicit drug.
After a brief opening statement, Obama held a microphone and walked the floor in the ornate East Room, gesturing as he answered questions in an event reminiscent of town-hall meetings he conducted in person across the nation during his campaign.
Questioned about growing unemployment, Obama said creating jobs was difficult during these hard economic times, and recommended that the work of the future should be in more high-paying, high-skill areas like clean energy technology.
Many of the lost jobs in recent years, Obama said, involved work that was done by people earning low wages and with limited work skills. He said it will take some time -- perhaps through the rest of the year -- before vigorous hiring resumes, and that might not happen until businesses see evidence the economy is rebounding.
The president was more personal than newsworthy, relating stories about how ovarian cancer claimed...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Web Habits for Sale: Two Firms Take New Tack
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65585
Imagine that a company set up a mall store where, instead of selling trinkets, it sold information about customers' behavior. For a few cents, it could tell a saleswoman at one shop that the person who was about to walk in had already stopped at a competitor and was looking for red shoes.
That is the idea behind two new Internet companies, BlueKai and eXelate Media. They do not sell products or ad space but information about Web site visitors.
Data houses have existed in the offline world for years. When you receive a catalog in the mail, seemingly at random, it is usually because the vendor has bought data about you -- income level, interests, age, gender -- from a direct-mail marketing company.
In the online world, where data is highly specific and immediately available, directing ads based on data can be even more detailed and lucrative.
"People are realizing that it's the data that drives the value," said Omar Tawakol, the chief executive of BlueKai.
BlueKai and eXelate work in similar ways by tracking each visitor to a Web page and storing that information on the visitor's computer through a browser cookie. When someone does a search, for example, on Kayak.com for first-class flights to Paris in September, that information can be captured, and Kayak.com can sell that information using eXelate or BlueKai.
A buyer would want that information so it could cut down on wasted ads. Sure, Hilton Hotels could blanket sites with its ads, but it would rather show an ad to someone who has recently searched for flights to Paris.
"When you see a cookie on that user, you can show them travel to Paris, even though they may be on MySpace," said Mark Zagorski, the chief revenue officer of eXelate.
Savvy consumers can refuse the cookie or erase it, but some...
Tue, 31 Mar 09
Boomers Make Social Networks a Place of Their Own
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65583
Kirk from Los Angeles would appear to be just another typical MySpace denizen. His page reveals that he's a Sagittarius, loves movies and wants to meet Angelina Jolie. Get in line, kid.
Or maybe not.
"I suppose I could just call her dad (actor Jon Voight) and set that up," says Kirk Douglas, who faithfully updates his page once a week. "As long as my wife says it's OK."
At 92, the screen icon is at the older end of the growing phenomenon that is social networking. But his decision to share opinions and Angelina-inspired desires with virtual strangers is echoed by the millions of Boomer-on-up Americans who have taken a teen staple and made it yet another weapon in their always-on communications arsenal.
Whether it's congressmen Twittering during presidential speeches, parents connecting with high school flames on Facebook or empty-nesters planning group outings on grown-up sites such as Eons.com, Baby Boomers are speeding up the Web's ongoing metamorphosis from limitless void to global watering hole.
Social networking is fast becoming a staple for a growing number of adults as Web use surges. One-third of adult Internet users have a profile on a social networking site, up from 8 percent in 2005, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And though adults share some teen habits -- checking in with friends, planning get-togethers -- they differ from the younger set in their desire to use the medium to meet new friends from across the country.
Their reasons for connecting with others online vary, but the passion for it is unwavering.
For Douglas, social networking affords him a literal voice -- a stroke in 1996 left him with halting speech -- as well as "instantaneous contact with people of all ages and opinions, which keeps me young."
Retired software consultant Reed Nash, 52, of Lunenburg, Mass., says...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
FCC Says Problems Remain for DTV Switchover
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65608
Interim Federal Communications Chairman Michael Copps warned the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet that the scheduled transition from analog to all-digital television on June 12 "will not be seamless."
The switchover was originally scheduled for Feb. 17, but was delayed nearly four months in response to widespread concerns that significant numbers of consumers were not ready for the change and would lose their television signal. Numerous congressmen noted that the coupon program set up to help consumers buy converter boxes ran out of money long before every eligible household received a converter.
The switch to digital television signals won't affect consumers who receive television signals through cable or satellite. Nonetheless, an estimated four percent of the country could be without television unless a converter box is added between now and mid-June.
In his testimony, Copps conceded that the FCC under the leadership of Republican Kevin Martin reacted too slowly before the original deadline.
"I think the FCC and others did begin to act with more urgency starting in the middle of 2008, largely in response to congressional oversight," Copps conceded. "But by then it was obviously too little, too late. The late start led to a rushed effort with little room for strategic thinking or for anticipating and fixing problems that arose."
Together, Congress and the Obama administration have put substantial new financial resources into the problem. The last round of stimulus funding injected another $650 million into the coupon program, which cleared up an existing backlog of requests and provided funding for up to 12 million additional coupons.
In addition, the FCC is planning to devote $90 million of its own budget to making the planned switchover as smooth as possible. It's currently reaching out to a variety of advocacy groups, ranging from...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
Rumors for Apple's WWDC Include iPhone and a Netbook
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65606
For eager Apple fans, it's an excruciating seventy-three days until the much-anticipated Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) opens at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco. The wait won't be much easier for tech journalists, who face 10 weeks of stubborn silence from the Apple press office and a rumbling herd of rumors to track down.
The main categories of rumors are well defined, in descending order of likelihood: Mac OS X Snow Leopard, a new iPhone, CEO Steve Jobs, and the as-yet-mythical Apple touchscreen netbook. Many of the rumors constitute a wish list for fans and journalists alike, but at least a few are grounded in practical realities: Apple's consistently higher prices, relatively small market share, and somewhat uncertain corporate future, given Jobs' forced sabbatical for health reasons.
Undoubtedly, there are many things that Apple would like to announce at the upcoming WWDC, but the much more interesting question from the tech industry point of view, is what Apple needs to announce. Put another way, when developers and journalists fly home on Saturday, June 13, what is the most important thing they will have heard?
Greg Sterling, an industry analyst and founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, listed two possible answers to that question.
First, he said, "Apple needs to announce upgraded iPhone hardware that adds new speed and perhaps video and/or other capabilities, beyond the 3.0 software upgrade that was already unveiled."
The iPhone has proven enormously successful, even more than Apple predicted. Consumers have purchased 17 million iPhones in a little more than a year. However, Apple's smartphone accounts for just eight percent of the smartphone market, with Nokia (43 percent) and RIM (17 percent) both ahead by comfortable margins. And Apple will face growing pressure from Android-based phones in the months to come.
Additional iPhone features, some of which...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
YouTube Upgrade Includes Sharing Videos with Twitter
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65602
The ability to share Twitter feeds is among the latest batch of changes unveiled this week at YouTube, which Alexa, a Web traffic analyzer, ranks as the world's third most popular Web property after Yahoo and Google.
Given that so many people are on Twitter these days, YouTube said it has added Twitter to the share options so users can easily send a video into their Twitter streams. Other YouTube video-sharing options include Facebook, MySpace, Digg and Hi5.
When users click to share with Twitter, a pop-up window opens that routes users to their twitter accounts and formulates a Tweet telling recipients to "check out this video," with the title and URL added to the message.
"This was a big internal request, but we know many of you asked for it, too," YouTube's development team said. "We don't currently shorten the video URL automatically, but hope to get to it down the road."
YouTube owner Google announced last December that it had integrated Twitter with its Google Friend Connect -- an online service that gives users the ability to connect with friends on different Web sites. "This means that when you join a friend-connected site, you can choose to use your Twitter profile, discover people you follow on Twitter who are also members of the site, and quickly tweet that you have found a cool Web site," said product manager Mussie Shore.
Google's latest moves to include Twitter capabilities is just one part of the search giant's wider strategy of making it easier for users to share content as well as make comments about video clips, articles and blogs in a way that is readily accessible to their friends. Earlier this month, Google unveiled a slew of new features, such as the ability to choose friends and share items with a...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
Google Slashes About 200 Jobs in Sales and Marketing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65598
Google has announced another round of layoffs, this time for about 200 people in sales and marketing. The move comes two months after the search giant said it would scale back hiring of recruiters.
"Just under 200 were affected with about half those working in North America," said Matt Furman, a Google spokesperson. "Everyone affected was told yesterday. Each person will be given a chance to find another job at Google and if they can't or they choose to leave, they will be given severance."
The company also offered the affected employees outplacement support.
In January, Google said it would scale back its engineering efforts by reassigning positions. The company closed offices in Texas, Norway and Sweden and moved engineers to other offices.
The announcement of the cuts sent a chill on Wall Street and throughout the industry, signaling that even Google was feeling the brunt of the weakening economy and the worst may be yet to come.
Google in January also said it would scale back recruitment efforts. The company said it would continue hiring, but at a reduced rate.
Google began by scaling back all its contracts with external contractors and vendors that were providing recruiting services. Then the company decided it needed deeper cuts and reduced the overall size of its recruiting business by 100 positions.
Google said the job cuts are a result of the company's fast growth in a short period of time. Since 2001, Google has acquired 53 companies. While most of its growth was between 2005 and 2007, with 36 acquisitions, the company continued to acquire businesses in 2008, despite the ailing economy. Companies acquired in 2008 were Omnisio, an online video company, and Tatter and Company, a blogging-software company.
"When companies grow that quickly, it's almost impossible to get everything right -- and we certainly...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
Streaming Games Could Be Bane or Boon for ISPs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65569
Parents might get a new reason to yell at their kids for playing video games too much: In the future, it could rack up their Internet bills.
A service unveiled this week aims to stream video games over the Internet, setting gamers on a collision course with cable and phone companies that are seeking to curb growing demands on their networks by charging for heavy usage.
OnLive Inc., a startup from Palo Alto, California, revealed its service Tuesday night at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Users would get a small, simple device to connect to their TVs, or they could run the application on a PC. Their screens would receive the game video from OnLive's servers, which would do the data-crunching needed to render a richly detailed environment. No game console or high-end gaming PC would be needed.
It's uncertain how well OnLive would work in homes -- there has been no widespread customer trial. It is clear, though, that it would consume large amounts of bandwidth, far higher than that required for current online games, where most of the content is stored on the computer or console.
The company puts the data usage at just under a gigabyte per hour of high-definition gaming. The only Internet application with comparable consumption is high-definition video, like movies bought through iTunes, watched on Netflix Inc.'s streaming service, or downloaded from file-sharing networks.
Internet service providers are already girding for rising use of Internet video by placing monthly limits on the amount of traffic their subscribers can use. The approach varies. Some are setting limits so high than only a small fraction of users ever reach them. For instance, Comcast Corp., the second-largest U.S. ISP, limits usage to 250 gigabytes per month, and cuts off repeat violators. OnLive says its users would need to play around...
Sat, 28 Mar 09
IBM Cuts Jobs as It Seeks Stimulus Money
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65562
Reports of deep job cuts at International Business Machines come at a potentially delicate time for the company -- just as it is hoping to secure money from the federal stimulus package. The company will lay off as many as 5,000 U.S. workers in its Global Business Services unit, transferring some of the work they performed to India, according to media reports.
IBM spokesman Mike Fay declined to confirm or to comment on any job-cut plans, which were reported on Mar. 25 by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. The cuts will affect mainly information technology and consulting work in such areas as customer relations management and supply chain management, says Lee Conrad, national coordinator of Alliance@IBM, a group that is seeking union representation at IBM and is allied with the Communications Workers of America Local 1701.
Any job transfers IBM may make to India would occur at a sensitive time, as the recession deepens and as the U.S. unemployment rate climbs. Moreover, the company would be cutting high-skill positions domestically as it and others jockey for new business from the $787 billion stimulus package Congress enacted in February -- primarily to help create U.S. jobs.
The news -- even without IBM saying anything -- provoked criticism from worker groups. "It's all about greed," Conrad said Wednesday. "They're moving work offshore to pay lower wages and lower taxes. IBM shouldn't have their hands on stimulus money if they're offshoring work." Alliance@IBM has been trying to organize IBM employees since 1999. It has 350 dues-paying members at IBM and 5,500 supporters, workers who have registered on the group's Web site but do not pay the $10 monthly dues.
Big Blue's efforts to trim costs by sending work overseas are not new. For several years the company has been working to improve its efficiency...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Microsoft's New Ad Says Apple's Mac Costs Too Much
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65597
With the Jerry Seinfeld era behind it, Microsoft is moving ahead with a new Windows advertising strategy that aims at Apple's Achilles' heel: Higher prices. The commercial appears to be the first in a series called Laptop Hunters, and it puts Microsoft on the offense instead of the defense.
Microsoft's just-released Windows commercial taps into the price-conscious, recession-driven consumer mind-set by following a woman on a mission to find a laptop that's fast and has a comfortable keyboard and a 17-inch screen -- for $1,000 or less.
In the ad, the voice-over says Microsoft told Lauren, a redhead with glasses, that if she could find a computer that met her demands, she could keep it. In other words, Microsoft would buy it for her. With that, she becomes a laptop hunter.
In the commercial from advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Lauren goes into an Apple store, quickly walks back out and reports, "For $1,000 they only have one computer available, and that's a 13-inch screen. I would have to double my budget, which isn't feasible. I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person." That statement is a direct hit against Microsoft's longtime rival that implies you don't get much computer for your money when you buy a Mac.
Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer set the stage for the new ad's debut when he said, "Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction. The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be."
Lauren was excited when she entered a retail store...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Nvidia Countersues Intel in Technology Battle
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After being sued by chipmaker Intel, graphics-card maker Nvidia has countersued. In a filing Thursday in the Delaware Court of Chancery, Nvidia sued Intel for breach of contract and sought to terminate Intel's license to Nvidia's patent portfolio.
Nvidia's action comes after the companies sought a settlement outside of court for "well over a year," according to Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy.
Last month Intel sued Nvidia, charging that a four-year-old chipset license agreement did not include Intel's future-generation central processing units with integrated memory controls, including its Nehalem processor. Intel also said Nvidia was falsely claiming its products were licensed.
According to Nvidia, the companies agreed in 2004 that Nvidia would bring its products to Intel CPU-based systems and Intel accepted a license to Nvidia's portfolio of 3-D, GPU and other patents.
"Nvidia did not initiate this legal dispute," said Jen-Hsuen Huange, president and CEO of Nvidia. "But we must defend ourselves and the rights we negotiated for when we provided Intel access to our valuable patents. Intel's actions are intended to block us from making use of the very license right that they agreed to provide."
"We filed a suit seeking a declaratory judgment in February and this is their response, and it's not surprising," Mulloy said. "It completely supports the point we made from the onset."
"We just simply could not move forward and could not move back, and rather than waiting until products are out and patent-infringement claims, we said let's let the courts decide what their rights are since they disagree with us and we disagree with them," he said.
Not having a license agreement with Intel for its Nehalem processor may be a significant loss for Nvidia since Intel is the world's number-one maker of PC microprocessors and has more than an 80 percent market share, according...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Conficker Unlikely To Trigger Doomsday on April 1
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65579
April Fool's Day is just around the corner. Will malware make a fool of millions of computer users, or is the release date of the next version of the menacing Conficker worm just a red herring? And if so, what is really in store for computer security this spring?
"It's quite possible that Conficker will not do anything significant on April 1," said Graham Cluley, a senior security consultant at Sophos. "The truth is that Conficker is not set to activate a specific payload on that date. Rather, on April 1 Conficker will begin to attempt to contact the 50,000-a-day potential call-home Web servers from which it may receive updates."
Indeed, Cluley said it's just as likely that Conficker will do something on March 28, or April 2, or April 14 as it will on April 1. He called the emphasis by some media outlets on April 1 "really unfortunate."
From reading the news coverage, one might think a Y2K-esque doomsday is coming shortly as the computer-security world awaits the Conficker release. The Sun newspaper in London said, "Millions of computers around the world could go into meltdown on April 1 because of a deadly virus. The Windows worm called Conficker could give a hacker unrestricted access to every infected machine on the planet."
Meanwhile, Canada's The Globe and Mail reported, "Deep within the World Wide Web, there is an undercurrent of potential chaos building -- a malicious piece of code that has already prompted the French military to ground some fighter planes."
Like Sophos, security firm F-Secure is also making it clear that it's unlikely anything major will happen on April 1. F-Secure noted there is always widespread media hype when a worm has a date trigger.
"There is not going to be a 'global virus attack,'" F-Secure said. "The machines that...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Web Speculation Rises as Apple Sets WWDC Date
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65578
The invitations have been sent out (and posted to the Web), so it's official: The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be from June 8 to June 12 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco.
Speculation about possible announcements is already running rampant on the Web, with predictions concentrated on three themes: The release of a new version of Mac OS X, dubbed Snow Leopard; an announcement of features and a release date for a new version of the iPhone; and the future role of CEO Steve Jobs.
Longtime Apple watcher Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, said that regardless of what Apple might have up its sleeve, the primary focus of the conference will be on software development.
"It's a developers' conference," Gartenberg said, "so it's going to likely be about things of primary interest to that audience. That means we'll likely hear some more about the 3.0 iPhone release, and it would also be a good place for Apple to talk more about Snow Leopard and what it means for developers."
That's consistent with Apple's own promotion for the conference. According to the splash page on the new WWDC site, the conference will "provide developers and IT professionals with in-depth technical information and hands-on learning about the powerful technologies in iPhone OS and Mac OS X from the Apple engineers who created them."
Apple expects at least a thousand Mac OS developers to attend the conference and participate in "detailed technical sessions to teach you how to take full advantage of new foundation technologies to ensure your application is ready and completely optimized for Mac OS X Snow Leopard."
As enthusiastic as developers no doubt are about getting the inside scoop on OS features, attendees and the media will be eagerly watching to see if Apple...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Nintendo Wii Update Supports High-Capacity SD Cards
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65575
In Wednesday's highly anticipated keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata offered a list of positive developments for the company's fans.
The big news was the continued popularity of the Wii platform. In the three years since the Wii was introduced, Nintendo has sold more than 50 million of the innovative consoles.
"Almost no one expected them to reach the current level of mainstream acceptance," Iwata said. "It's even beyond what we possibly hoped for."
He said the Nintendo DS portable has done even better, selling more than 100 million units in 51 months, making it the most popular portable gaming device in history. One of the more interesting questions right now is how long the Nintendo DS will continue to hold that title, given the enormous popularity of Apple's iPhone.
From a practical perspective, the most important announcement was that Nintendo has vastly improved the Wii's storage capacity. At the same time Iwata was speaking, Nintendo announced the release of a Wii System Update with support for high-capacity SD cards (up to 32 gigabytes) in the console's SD slot. Purchasers can now download games directly to SD cards, rather than the Wii's surprisingly small two-gigabyte internal drive.
SD cards will make the Wii experience even more enjoyable for consumers. Nintendo estimates Wii users will be able to store as many as 240 games on a single 32GB SD card. Since games can be launched directly from the SD card, they will also load faster, which will improve the user experience.
In addition to the improved storage, Iwata announced several new titles for the Wii and the DS. The well-known franchise Zelda will appear for the DS later this year in a game entitled The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
Beginning in May,...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Patent Lawsuits, App Store Refund Fuss Bug Apple
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65574
Apple is all over the news this week, for better or worse. Two lawsuits have been filed against the company, a hubbub is brewing over the App Store refund policy, and a new application rolled out in the midst of it all.
First the lawsuits. Affinity Labs has filed suit against Apple for allegedly infringing on the 772 patent entitled Audio System and Method by "selling digital audio through the iTunes software application on a personal computer and through the iTunes mobile software application on the iPhone and iPod touch line of products."
Affinity also alleges Apple has infringed on its patents that cover the System and Method for Communicating Selected Information to an Electronic Device and Content Delivery System and Method. Affinity is seeking financial recompense and a court order to stop Apple from violating its intellectual property.
In a double whammy, Accolade Systems is also suing Apple. Accolade alleges that Apple is violating its patent indirectly by using CMOS image sensors in the iPhone's camera. Specifically, Accolade says Aptina Imaging and Micro are violating its CMOS sensor patent. Apple uses those technologies in its iPhone.
Apple wasn't immediately available to comment on the lawsuits.
"The fact that there are lawsuits against Apple is no surprise. If you want to sue someone, you go after someone with deep pockets, and it appears that Apple is the target of a lawsuit almost on a regular basis," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "At the end of the day the courts will decide which, if any, of these suits have any merit."
The next controversy centers on the App Store. Reportedly, the developer agreement could drive developers into bankruptcy if Apple decides to enforce it. News reports indicate a clause in the developer agreement concerning refunds. It seems...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Twitter Plans To Offer a Pay Service for Businesses
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Following expectations that it would eventually offer services for businesses, Twitter has confirmed that it's taking steps in that direction. The San Francisco-based company, which offers users real-time streams of 140 characters to which others can subscribe, is preparing to offer commercial accounts.
Twitter cofounder Biz Stone told news media that the new services could help businesses get "even more value out of Twitter and, if so, the companies may be willing to pay for them."
Stone said a product manager has been hired to create the add-ons that such a business-targeted service would offer, although the exact nature of the add-ons hasn't been announced. He indicated the service might be released later this year.
Twitter has grown by leaps and bounds since its founding three years ago, with 1,400 percent growth in unique visitors between Nielsen Online's measurement in February this year and February 2008. But the more than seven million users, and Twitter's high visibility among politicians and celebrities, hasn't helped the company turn a profit.
Other businesses have begun to enter Twitter's space, including advertisers such as Germany-based Magpie & Friends, which shares revenue with users who allow ads in their message streams.
Early this week, marketing company Federated Media announced it was working with Microsoft on the release of an ExecTweets site that tracks messages from executives. Twitter will reportedly participate in the resulting revenue.
Other ventures are also beginning to emerge, such as TwitterJobSearch, a service that scours the messages from Twitter for relevant job information.
Brad Shimmin, an analyst with Current Analysis, said the good news in Twitter's plans is that it intends to follow Facebook's example, rather than Yammer's. Yammer is a business-to-business microblogging service that asks "what are you working on?" rather than Twitter's "what are you doing?"
Facebook has begun to venture into...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
New Dell Products Bring Efficiency To Data Center
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65571
Dell threw down the enterprise gauntlet Wednesday with 14 new products to help customers cut costs and simplify management. It's a data-center move that Dell promises will help businesses become more efficient throughout the IT life cycle by maximizing people, time and money.
The product announcement includes the 11th Generation PowerEdge servers and Precision workstations based on the next generation of Intel's Xeon processors. The new PowerEdge portfolio features virtualization, system management, and usability. The servers include the new Dell Lifecycle Controller that delivers integrated manageability through a single access point.
"Today's economic realities are placing a premium on value and efficiency from technology. We are unlocking customers from proprietary technology and services, and yesterday's IT economics," said Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell Large Enterprise. "Whether through next-generation blades with onboard systems management or modular services, we're putting them on the path to today's Efficient Enterprise."
Gunning for its competition, Dell also rolled out a new M-series blade architecture it said has 27 percent lower acquisition costs and delivers 17 percent lower total cost of ownership over five years per rack compared to Hewlett-Packard's c-Class. Meanwhile, Dell launched the ImageDirect Server to simplify transitions and image management for servers.
The new Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 tower workstations aim to bring efficiencies to the engineering, media, entertainment and biosciences industries.
Dell is also challenging HP's proprietary management framework with the introduction of the Dell Management Console, a software solution powered by Altiris from Symantec. The solution is designed to unite systems management across IT environments into a single console.
Dell also announced new EqualLogic PS6000 storage arrays that it said offer customers increased performance and advanced virtualization capabilities. On the service front, Data Center Consulting seeks to improve data-center performance and reduce costs for customers. And new Systems Management Consulting...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Steve Wozniak Joins Search Startup Advisory Board
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65570
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak -- currently strutting his stuff as a competitor on the ABC show "Dancing With the Stars" -- is joining the advisory board of search startup DeepDyve.
DeepDyve Chief Executive William Park said he got to know Wozniak through mutual acquaintances and wanted him on the board because of the personal computing pioneer's passion for the convergence of technology and education. Park said he also was drawn to Wozniak's efforts to make technology more powerful and yet easier to use.
Park said the advisory board, which meets twice a year, is intended to help shape the company's strategy and the direction of its products.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based DeepDyve operates a search engine that tries to help users access the vast stores of online information not indexed by traditional search engines like Google and Yahoo. This includes medical databases, patent and reference information.
Founded in 2005 as Infovell, the company initially targeted business customers. It changed its name last year and focused on becoming an advertising-driven, consumer-focused search engine.
While Wozniak's background is not in search engines, Park hopes Wozniak will be able to offer advise on balancing consumer needs with the company's technology.
Wozniak is not an investor in DeepDyve. When not shaking things up on the dance floor, he serves as chief scientist for data storage startup Fusion-io.
Asked about Wozniak's nationally televised dance moves, Park said he has been watching him on "Dancing With the Stars," and is "amazed" by his performance. Wozniak and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, earned the show's lowest score ever for their dance routine Monday, but, buoyed by viewers' votes, managed to stay in the competition.
"Let me tell you, he's doing better than I would," Park said.
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Obama Turns to Web To Take Questions from Public
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Call it Round Two of the news conference, with a big Internet twist. President Barack Obama took questions from the White House press corps on Tuesday in a prime-time, East Room session that represented the most formal and time-honored of president-and-reporter interactions. On Thursday, he is taking to that same room for another public grilling -- this time by regular folks armed with questions submitted via the Internet and in person, as part of a political strategy to engage Americans directly.
"It's a way for the president to do what he enjoys doing out on the road, but saves on gas," press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday.
By 9 a.m. Thursday, the White House Web site had already logged more than 100,000 questions.
Obama used the Internet to build a grass-roots movement that delivered the presidency and raised unheard-of money. Now in power, he is employing the same online network and style to speak -- unfiltered -- with Americans.
The president already has taken that tactic on the road, spending two days on the West Coast last week at town hall-style meetings and appearing on Jay Leno's late-night talk show. It offered easier questions and a chance to get his message to the widest possible audience.
"It's not a whole lot different than were we in California doing the meeting," Gibbs said. "It's just we'll have people hooked up from a lot of different places all over the country, but he'll be able to do all that from the East Room."
Already, the White House is connecting the old-school press conference with the new-media event. It will be an easy contrast between skeptical reporters and supporter-selected questions.
Political operatives say the White House's strategy is a way to reach a demographic key to Obama's election.
"In the new world of online media, formal press conferences are just...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Crisis Call: Is Sony Ericsson Heading for Divorce?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65561
Sometimes it's easier to stay in a troubled marriage than to undergo a costly and messy separation. Consider Sony Ericsson, the world's fifth-largest maker of mobile phones. The eight-year-old joint venture between Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony and Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has weathered more than its share of ups and downs. But now, with sales tanking and losses soaring, rumors abound that one -- if not both -- of the companies may be pushing for a breakup.
Both partners insist divorce isn't an option. Even after Sony Ericsson warned on Mar. 20 that first-quarter shipments would be down by nearly half from the previous quarter and that losses could be as high as $530 million, the two parents continued to affirm their commitment to the venture. "Sony and Ericsson are determined to work with Sony Ericsson's management team to turn the situation around and return the company to profitability," the companies said in a joint statement.
That's a huge challenge. To give Sony Ericsson a chance to engineer a turnaround by 2010 will require an infusion of at least $1.4 billion in additional capital, figures brokerage Nomura International. Without it, the company could burn through most of its current $1.6 billion cash pile as soon as August, estimates Richard Windsor, Nomura's global technology specialist in London. "The situation at Sony Ericsson is relatively precarious," Windsor says. "The perception is that it could easily become the next Motorola."
That's a far cry from where Sony Ericsson was as recently as two years ago. After a rocky start to the joint venture, the company's hip brand image and products such as the Cybershot camera phones and Walkman range of handsets proved popular with consumers, helping to propel it to the No. 3 position among cell-phone makers for a brief...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Despite Electronic Push, Hospitals Far from Paperless
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65558
Adoption of electronic health records in hospitals lags behind previous estimates and is expected to be more costly and difficult than predicted, says a study released Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Many medical experts agree eliminating paper records would help save lives and make health care more efficient and less costly. But a survey of nearly 3,000 hospitals found that only 1.5 percent have comprehensive electronic records in all units. An additional 7.6 percent have a basic system in one unit that includes physicians' or nurses' notes.
Earlier reports estimated the portion of hospitals adopting electronic records ranged from 5 percent to 59 percent. The latest survey was done by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Biostatistics Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Brigham and Women's Hospital, the VA Boston Healthcare System, the Institute of Health and the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University. It had a 63 percent response rate and is the first reliable data, the researchers say.
To rank as having comprehensive health information technology (HIT), 24 functions were required in a hospital's major clinical units. The functions range from doctors' notes to diagnostic test images to computerized provider entry for medications. Eight functions had to be present in at least one major clinical unit for the basic program. Only 12 percent of the hospitals had physicians' notes.
"If we want to improve health care, I think we're really going to need to see much more widespread deployment of a lot of the key functions that are at low rates,'' says the report's lead author, Ashish Jha of Harvard. "Certainly in those ways it seems that we have a long ways to go."
The numbers from the survey "validated what we've been hearing," says Don May of the American Hospital Association. "We've heard some have...
Fri, 27 Mar 09
Sprint Will Take WiMAX Service To 10 More U.S. Cities
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Sprint plans to launch WiMAX-enabled wireless services in 10 more U.S. markets later this year, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and Seattle. Sprint's 4G wireless service will offer average downlink speeds of two to four Mbps, which the wireless carrier said is three to five times faster than current 3G service from any carrier.
The other five cities slated for Sprint's 2009 4G rollout are Charlotte, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Fort Worth, and Portland, which is already being served by Sprint partner Clearwire. Additionally, Sprint now expects to expand into Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in 2010.
"The availability of Sprint 4G in more places this year and our aggressive expansion of Sprint 4G service demonstrates our commitment to provide 4G capabilities and devices nationwide for our business, consumer and government customers," said Sprint Vice President Todd Rowley, who heads the company's 4G unit. "These capabilities enable significantly enhanced performance and productivity for our customers."
Earlier this month, Clearwire announced its own plans for inaugurating coverage in the same U.S. markets as Sprint. What's more, Clearwire says it is poised to introduce more 4G products for consumers, including a dual-mode 3G/4G modem and a new personal hot spot accessory that will integrate both WiMAX and Wi-Fi capabilities. When paired with Clearwire's 4G service, the hybrid device will make it possible for hundreds of Wi-Fi-enabled products to access Clearwire's 4G service. The device is expected later this month.
Both Clearwire and Sprint will move fast this year to take the wind out of the sails of rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T, which are planning to introduce high-speed 4G services based on a competing wireless standard known as Long-Term Evolution (LTE). Clearwire points out that the PC industry is already well on the way to deploying WiMAX technology...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
ACLU Objects To Threatening Girls with 'Sexting' Charges
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65553
The Pennsylvania ACLU has filed a lawsuit against District Attorney George Skumanick Jr., the prosecutor for Wyoming County, an area in north-central Pennsylvania not far from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.
The rights organization is representing three teenage girls and their parents, who allege that Skumanick is abusing his authority and violating their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by threatening the children with child-pornography charges. The issue is seminude and nude photos of the girls discovered on cell phones during an investigation at their school in the Tunkhannock School District.
School officials heard that photos of young women in various stages of undress were being shared via cell phone (a growing phenomenon among teens known as 'sexting') and seized a large number of phones from students. When the existence of the photographs was confirmed, the school turned the phones and images over to the district attorney's office for further investigation.
Skumanick identified about 20 students involved in the production and distribution of the images and sent them letters offering to avoid criminal charges if they agreed to a six- to nine-month counseling program, a period of probation, and drug testing. All but the three girls named in the lawsuit accepted Skumanick's offer.
The plaintiffs allege that the images in which they appear (two of the girls were in their underwear and one was topless with a towel wrapped around her) don't legally constitute child pornography under either state or federal law, and that the images are protected by the First Amendment.
The parents also argue that compelling the girls to participate in a reeducation program to avoid baseless charges violates the parents' Fourteenth Amendment rights to raise their children as they see fit.
The 'sexting' phenomenon is raising difficult issues for parents, school officials, and law enforcement. Child-pornography statutes were traditionally intended to protect...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
China Draws Fire for Blocking Access To YouTube
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65552
The Great Firewall of China was activated earlier this week, as the eastern nation moved to block all access in the country to the online video-sharing service YouTube.
According to reports first published by the BBC, China shut off access in response to the posting of a video depicting a raid by hundreds of Chinese army soldiers on a Tibetan monastery. The video includes graphic footage of a man being beaten with batons and a group of men (including a monk) being assaulted while lying on the ground.
There is no information regarding when the film was shot or at what location.
Following the posting of the video over the weekend, Google noticed on Monday that less YouTube traffic was flowing to China. As of Tuesday morning, traffic had stopped altogether.
According to Google spokesperson Scott Rubin, China didn't inform the company that it was blocking YouTube, and hasn't offered an explanation. "We don't know the reason for the block," Rubin said, "and [we] are working to restore access to users in China as quickly as possible."
There has been limited direct comment from the Chinese government, apart from a statement at a news conference early in the week in which a spokesperson said, "We encourage the active use of the Internet, but also manage the Internet according to law."
This is the second Tibet-related block of YouTube by China in the past year. In March 2008, a similar shutdown followed the uploading of video clips showing riots in the streets of Tibet.
The move to cut off access for Chinese citizens has been condemned by human-rights groups. In a statement to the BBC, the Center for Democracy and Technology accused China of failing "to live up to international norms."
"China's apparent blocking of YouTube is at odds with the rule of law and the...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
Nintendo CEO Delivers Wii News, Surprises at GDC
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After kicking off on Monday, the Game Developers Conference being held at San Francisco's Moscone Center is well underway, and today the conference brought in one of the industry's most respected executives, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, to deliver a keynote address.
Iwata, who last took the stage at GDC just before releasing the Wii in 2006, took no time to tell the audience of peers and press that Nintendo has shipped more than 50 million units of its popular Wii gaming console worldwide, making it the fastest-selling game console in history.
In the month of February alone, 750,000 of Nintendo's Wii consoles were sold in the United States, according to the NPD Group. In the same month, Microsoft sold 391,000 Xbox 360 units and Sony sold 276,000 PlayStation 3 units.
Nintendo has also sold 588,000 portable DS players, while Sony sold just under 200,000 PlayStation Portable units.
"It is in the power of game developers to invent things that gamers have never seen -- or even imagined -- before," Iwata said.
After briefly talking about the success of Nintendo's Wii, Iwata did not hesitate addressing what has been on third-party developers' minds for some time: whether they can continue to successfully sell their games on the Wii platform.
More third-party games were sold for the Wii last year than for any other platform, Iwata said, according to GameSpot, which blogged live during the event.
"We all work in a time of rapid change," Iwata told the audience. "When this is the case, it is normal for people, even game developers, to feel unsettled."
"Other people believe that only Nintendo software [is successful] on Nintendo systems," Iwata added. "Later, I will explain why this is not the case, but that I understand the concern."
Before announcing a few surprises for consumers, the...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
Canon Digital SLR Camera Shoots HDTV Video Clips
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65550
Canon USA has taken the wraps off its new entry-level digital SLR camera, which integrates a 15.1-megapixel image sensor with high-definition video recording.
The EOS Rebel T1i offers users two different ways to capture high-definition video with a 16:9 aspect ratio: At 30 frames per second for 720p video clips, or 20 fps when recording video at full resolution 1080p (1920x1080 pixels). Additionally, users can elect to shoot standard-definition video with a 4:3 aspect ratio at 30 fps.
"We are witnessing the emergence of a new phase in digital imaging history, as high-resolution still images and HD video can now both be produced in a handheld device for under $1,000," said Canon Vice President Yuichi Ishizuka.
Canon's new camera can capture up to 4GB of MPEG-4 video per clip, which is roughly equivalent to 12 minutes of 1080p HD video, 18 minutes of 720p HD video, or 24 minutes of SD video. All clips are recorded in the .MOV video format and stored on 1GB to 2GB SD or 4GB SDHC memory cards, which are sold separately.
The EOS Rebel T1i comes with a three-inch VGA-quality LCD monitor. When recording video, the camera's rear LCD screen is letter-boxed by a semitransparent border to match the aspect ratio selected for the clip being recorded.
Under the hood, the new camera integrates a 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and the DIGIC 4 imaging processor, which uses 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion to generate digital data with incredibly smooth tones. The new camera also has an HDMI output to make it easy for users to display their images on an HDTV screen.
The EOS Rebel T1i camera offers three Live View autofocus functions that can be applied to still images as well as video. Though the Quick and Live modes employ different AF detection methods,...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
Facebook Will Tweak Site To Placate Angry Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65549
The first time the popular social-networking site Facebook changed its design, its members weren't happy. Neither were they happy the second time Facebook tweaked the site. And they're not happy after a third round of changes.
Now Facebook is paying attention to thousands of new members and several petitions from users to go back to the old design. In the next few weeks, Facebook will begin tweaking its design based on feedback from users who sent in thousands of e-mails, according to Christopher Cox, Facebook's director of product.
"Whenever we build something new or tweak something old, our motivation is the same: To help you share with the people you care about and find out what's happening with them," Cox said in an explanation to users.
Before launching a new feature, the company first puts the product in front of a small audience, then makes it available to its user base, which has grown to 175 million since 2004.
"We know that no amount of testing is as valuable as what you have to say," Cox said. "For this reason, we will always look to you, our users, to tell us what is working and what isn't so we can continually make improvements."
Users didn't hesitate to tell Facebook's designers exactly what they thought of the changes. Tens of thousands of users joined petitions, while others simply posted disappointments on their walls and in messages to friends.
Finding the right balance between giving users what they want and avoiding too much change has been a balancing act for the company. Facebook admits its challenge has been to provide a product that makes people happy across the board. The problem, however, is that people on Facebook use the site for different purposes and navigate through it differently.
The past several weeks, Facebook has...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
Blockbuster Joins TiVo Party Where Netflix Waltzes
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65537
In a move to compete with Netflix, Blockbuster on Wednesday announced a partnership with TiVo to deliver its library of digital-movie titles direct to the television set.
Essentially, Blockbuster is integrating its OnDemand service, which offers content to buy and rent, into TiVo Series2, Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. The partnership aims to make it easier for broadband-connected TiVo subscribers to download Blockbuster's content through a single remote control.
"Ultimately, our vision is to work with TiVo so that their subscribers can access movies not only through our OnDemand service but also from our stores and through our by-mail service as well," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster chairman and CEO. "Regardless of a film's availability -- through VOD or on DVD -- we want to work with TiVo to provide their subscribers unprecedented access to movie content."
As part of the deal, Blockbuster will sell TiVo DVRs in its stores as well as online at blockbuster.com. TiVo and Blockbuster are also embarking on a cross-marketing campaign.
That could be a boon for TiVo, according to Phil Leigh, a senior analyst at Inside Digital Media. "This deal could help TiVo because they don't have a large market in the DVR market even though they pioneered it," he said. "Blockbuster has 7,500 stores."
TiVo sees joining forces with Blockbuster as further distinguishing it as a universal solution for content providers. Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo, said its DVR is a one-stop shop for any content through broadband or linear distribution straight to the TV.
"When consumers walk into one of the thousands of Blockbuster stores, entertainment for the home is on their minds," Rogers said. "It could not be more natural to have them exposed to the world of millions of entertainment possibilities for the home that the TiVo...
Thu, 26 Mar 09
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Released for Data Centers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65531
Calling it the "operating system designed for the next-generation data center," Novell on Tuesday released SUSE Linux Enterprise 11.
Novell CTO Jeff Jaffe said a recent survey found that about 50 percent of IT executives plan to increase the adoption of Linux technologies this year because of the economic downturn. SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, he said, can help IT departments save money while addressing "interoperability, support for mission-critical computing, and the flexibility to deploy Linux in a wide range of environments."
The new platform contains a number of enhancements, including two new extensions -- Mono and High Availability. Novell said Mono is the only product that lets customers run .NET applications on Linux, and the High Availability extension is a clustering product that supports greater uptime while reducing the cost of ownership.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 also offers extended support for the various computing models used in modern data centers -- virtual, appliance and cloud computing.
In the physical world, Enterprise 11 runs on major hardware platforms, including IBM POWER and System z, x86-32 and x86-64 machines, and Itanium. In a virtual deployment, it will also run on the major hypervisors, including VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen.
For cloud computing, Enterprise 11 is being certified for use in Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud, or EC2. And Novell said it is working with IBM to deliver Enterprise 11-based instances of IBM DB2, Informix Dynamic Server, WebSphere sMash, IBM Lotus Web Content Management, and IBM WebSphere Portal for cloud-computing environments.
For appliance workstations, which feature preconfigured packages containing application, middleware and OS software, Novell is providing its JeOS, or Just enough Operating System version.
The company also reiterated its support for deploying Linux PC platforms, including on desktops, notebooks, netbooks and thin clients.
Novell is also promoting new levels of interoperability for...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
New Features Aim To Improve Google Search Results
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65526
Next time you pull up Google.com, you'll find something a little different. On Tuesday, the search giant rolled out two improvements to Google search.
First, Google integrated an expanded list of related searches that its search technology thinks will be useful. Second, Google is offering longer search-result descriptions. The new features aim to help guide users more effectively to the information they are searching for.
"We're deploying a new technology that can better understand associations and concepts related to your search, and one of its first applications lets us offer you even more useful related searches (the terms found at the bottom, and sometimes at the top, of the search-results page)," Ori Allon, technical lead of Google's search quality team, and Ken Wilder, Google's snippets team engineer, wrote in the company blog.
If you search for "principles of physics," Google's algorithms understand that "angular momentum," "special relativity," "big bang," and "quantum mechanics" are related terms that could help you find what you need. Users can see new related searches in 37 languages.
"We are now able to target more queries, more languages, and make our suggestions more relevant to what you actually need to know," Allon and Wilder said. "Additionally, we're now offering refinements for longer queries -- something that's usually a challenging task."
Google is leveraging technology it attained when it acquired the Orion search algorithm in 2006. That technology scans pages to find related pages or documents and presents them as search refinements in links, mostly at the bottom of the page, explained Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. He expects the refinements to gain greater prominence over time, appearing more often at the top of the results.
"This technology seems to be an advance over what's going on currently in terms of understanding content or context so that the algorithm...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Hold the Phone! Game Developers See iPhone Potential
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65525
Tuesday's session of the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco opened with a provocative topic: Why the iPhone Has Changed Everything. For an industry that has long regarded Apple as an afterthought when it comes to serious gaming, it was an eye-opening presentation.
The talk was delivered by Neil Young, founder and CEO of ngmoco, one of the leading developers of games for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Among the company's titles are the popular Word Fu, Rolando, Topple, Dropship, and Dr. Awesome, Microsurgeon M.D.
As an introduction to the power of the iPhone in the gaming industry, Young reviewed the market battle between the handheld Nintendo DS and the Sony PlayStation Portable. He argued that although the PSP may have superior technical specifications, the DS proved more popular because it offered greater functionality.
That positions the iPhone to be a particularly powerful platform, Young suggested, because of the enormous number of features built into the device. Future games will be able to take advantage of the iPhone's social-networking capabilities, its camera, the contact list, the weather app, and so on. In Young's words, game developers will be able to "leverage every surface of the device."
ABI research analyst Zippy Aima agreed with Young. "In the current scenarios," she said, "the iPhone indeed is a revolutionary product. Earlier gaming was limited to portable video-game devices, and then came along the likes of Nintendo and now we have the iPhone, which is a complete package, including gaming."
If ngmoco is any indication, iPhone games are a significant part of the success of Apple's App Store. Young told the audience that ngmoco games have been installed on more than seven million devices.
"The market is superheated. The pace of adoption is going way faster than the DS," he said....
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Lenovo Puts Supercomputing on the Desktop
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65524
Lenovo has unveiled two new workstations for professionals in specialized fields such as computer-aided design, game development, and digital content creation as well as oil and gas exploration.
Lenovo's ThinkStation S20 and D20 can be configured to function as desktop supercomputers. Adding the Nvidia Tesla C1060 GPU platform to the workstations, Lenovo said, offers 240 additional cores of dedicated math-processing power to speed up complex calculations.
"Designers, engineers, developers and scientists require the highest levels in computing performance to help them produce breakthrough innovations," said Tom Tobul, Lenovo's executive director of enterprise, software and peripherals. "The new ThinkStation workstations deliver not only the utmost in performance, but also a user-centric design with an emphasis on quiet operation, even during heavy processing."
Under the hood, the workstations are equipped with cutting-edge technologies, such as the user's choice of the latest Intel Xeon quad-core and dual-core processors, together with Nvidia's new Quadro line of professional graphics cards. Additionally, users have the option of choosing an ATI FirePro graphics card from AMD.
Lenovo's new machines also sport Intel's Turbo Boost technology, which is an innovative component of Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture. The capabilities should make Lenovo's new workstations particularly attractive to video-game developers and other professionals in search of extra performance during peak processing periods.
Turbo Boost enables all active cores to intelligently clock themselves up in steps of 133 MHz over the design clock rate as long as the CPU is operating below its power, current, and temperature specification limits. Conversely, when any of the limits are reached or exceeded, Intel says the processor frequency will automatically decrease by 133 MHz until the processor is again operating within its limits.
However, perhaps the hottest option available is Nvidia's Tesla C1060 GPU, which delivers computational power of up to 936 billion floating-point operations...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Dell CEO Hints at Small Internet Device Like a Smartphone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65522
Michael Dell may have been speaking from halfway around the world, but the voice of the CEO for a $20 billion company carries a long way. The topic was small-screen devices and specifically smartphones, a market with which Dell has flirted with but never quite taken the plunge. But Dell said that may change.
"It is true that we are exploring smaller-screen devices," he said. "We don't have any announcements to share today, but stay tuned, as when we have new news we will share that with you."
The biggest question surrounding the possibility of a Dell smartphone product is whether it's simply too late. "The smartphone market is cluttered and crowded," said Greg Sterling, founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence. Moreover, Sterling added, the market is overwhelmingly dominated by Apple's iPhone, which makes it very difficult for new entries to distinguish themselves.
In fact, there are reports emerging that last year, Dell built a prototype smartphone that was rejected by the major cellular carriers for a variety of reasons, including a thin set of features, lackluster design, and cost.
Now new rumors are circulating that Dell might try to leapfrog into the smartphone race by purchasing Palm, a company increasingly short on cash and in need of a major boost from the soon-to-be-released Pre.
"I think the possibility that Dell might buy Palm is an interesting story," Sterling said. "Palm's predicament is that too many expectations are being heaped on the Pre. It's an interesting phone, but it can't carry the whole company, which will undoubtedly disappoint investors."
A more interesting possibility, Sterling suggested, would be for Dell to consider manufacturing a device larger than a smartphone that might have more capabilities.
"In the field of mobile Internet devices," he said, "there are some really interesting possibilities. If you solve the connection problem,...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
YouTube Blocked in China; Official Says Video Fake
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65518
A video that appears to show police fatally beating a Tibetan protester was a fake concocted by supporters of the Dalai Lama, China said Tuesday -- the same day the video-sharing network YouTube said its service had been blocked in China.
The video has been posted on YouTube in recent days.
A spokesman for Google, which owns YouTube, said he couldn't comment on the Chinese government's reason for the block.
"We are looking into it and working to ensure that the service is restored as soon as possible," spokesman Scott Rubin said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
China occasionally blocks YouTube to prevent access to videos that criticize or shine an unflattering light on its policies. Users in Beijing said they were unable to access the site late Tuesday.
The official Xinhua News Agency, citing an unidentified official with China's Tibetan regional government, reported Tuesday that the video came from sources tied to the government-in-exile of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, and was pieced together from different places.
The Xinhua report said the footage purported to show a person named Tendar being beaten to death by police after a riot in Lhasa, the Tibet region's capital, on March 14 last year. Xinhua said the person was not in fact Tendar and the wounds shown were fake.
"The Dalai Lama group is used to fabricating lies to deceive the international community and the aim of this video is to hide the truth of the March 14th riot," Xinhua quoted the official as saying.
The government did not directly address whether YouTube had been blocked. When asked, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters: "Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite."
Users in Beijing said they were unable to access the site late Tuesday.
Security...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Now Monsters Will Be Streaming From Cloud Servers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65511
Video games in the cloud, without consoles. That's the vision of a new online video-game network introduced Tuesday by Rearden Studios at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Rearden's OnLive Game Service will launch later this year, and will allow subscribers to play games on Windows or Mac computers, or on TV sets, from an online catalog of new and classic games.
While users can currently get content that is server-based, these games would be played directly from the servers.
The games are stored on a network of OnLive servers, and, according to Rearden, will act with speed and personalization comparable to games loaded on a local console. According to news reports, the speed of play is dependent on a new kind of interactive video compression that the company has developed, with very low latency and video lag of about a millisecond.
The company said Far Cry from Ubisoft, LEGO Batman from Warner Bros. Interactive, and Mirror's Edge from Electronic Arts are among the 16 games that will be available on the service.
Other game publishers participating include Atari, Codemasters, Eidos, Epic Games, Take-Two Interactive, and THQ. Video-game console makers Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are not among the participants, and industry observers speculate that, if the OnLive model works, the manufacturers may need to rethink their business.
Rearden is part of an incubator based in San Francisco and it's owned by Steve Perlman, the founder of WebTV.
For users who want to play on high-definition TVs, a small microconsole about the size of a deck of cards will be required. The microconsole connects to the user's broadband network, and game controllers and headsets can connect to the microconsole through USB or wirelessly.
Some observers have noted that a microconsole connected to a TV sounds like a video...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Netflix Movie Reviewers Can Link To Facebook Friends
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65510
salesforce.com is integrating Twitter, Netflix is turning to Facebook to add social-networking bells and whistles. Netflix on Tuesday said it has integrated with Facebook Connect, which lets companies add Facebook features to their sites.
For Netflix, Facebook Connect will seamlessly link a Netflix member's account with his or her Facebook account. The result will extend the member's movie ratings from the Netflix community to Facebook. Netflix members decide if they want to use Facebook Connect and can turn it off at any time.
"Movies make for great conversations," said Gibson Biddle, vice president of product management for Netflix. "By integrating with Facebook Connect, Netflix members can now share their movie-watching experiences even more easily than before, allowing for greater exchange of movie recommendations with their friends."
With the Facebook connection, Netflix is building an online community by leveraging Facebook assets. Companies attempted to build communities in the early days of the Web, but Facebook takes several steps out of the process, including the cost, and offers brands a large audience where many customers and potential customers may already be gathering.
Each time a participating Netflix member rates a movie -- the ratings run from one star to five starts -- that rating will be posted on his or her Facebook profile and shared with the member's friends who have also enabled Facebook Connect. Friends can make comments in response to the ratings, an interactive feature Netflix is hoping will enrich the movie-watching experience. The movie ratings posted on Facebook will also link back to the corresponding movie page at Netflix so Facebook users can learn more about the movies friends are rating and discussing.
"Netflix is a clear leader in bringing innovation to renting, viewing and engaging around movies," said Ethan Beard, director of platform marketing at Facebook. "We think the social...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Palm's Secret Weapon for the Pre
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65507
As recently as late 2008, Pandora Networks' Chief Technology Officer Tom Conrad still had big doubts about the prospects for smartphone maker Palm. In November, Conrad was among a coterie of software developers invited to Palm headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., to take an early, up-close look at an operating system for use in the company's phones. "I was totally skeptical when I walked in," says Conrad, who met Palm execs along with representatives of MySpace, Intuit, movie site Fandango, and Epocrates, a maker of mobile software for physicians.
Conrad and fellow programmers accepted Palm's invitation partly out of curiosity about the new mobile OS. And partly they were there to take the pulse of a once-proud Silicon Valley pioneer many had long since written off. Conrad still had a fondness for Palm products and figured the brand still had cachet with consumers. "If by some miracle they had come up with something special, I knew there would be a market for them," he remembers thinking. And Palm delivered. After two days of briefings about its WebOS software, "I left a total believer."
Palm has been winning over a lot of skeptical software developers lately, an unlikely turn of events considering the Pre, the first smartphone that will run WebOS, has yet to hit stores. Attracting programmers to Palm is also notable given excitement over competing mobile operating systems from Apple, Research In Motion, Nokia, and the Google-backed Open Software Alliance. Normally, developers flock to devices with the most market share. But many developers contacted by BusinessWeek say they would rather write for Palm than other platforms such as Microsoft Windows and in some cases, Google's Android. "From my point of view, Palm is No. 2," says Ge Wang, co-founder of Smule, a maker of popular iPhone apps.
Apple's iPhone remains...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Intel CEO Gets $12.4 Million in 2008 Compensation
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65506
The value of Intel Corp. Chief Executive Paul Otellini's compensation package rose slightly to $12.4 million in 2008, a year in which the chip maker's profit was whacked by a global slowdown in personal computer sales.
However, a large part of his 2008 compensation came from options that currently have little value because of a decline in Intel's stock price.
Santa Clara-based Intel said in a regulatory filing Monday that it raised Otellini's base salary, from $770,000 to $1 million in 2008 because his overall cash compensation was "significantly" below what executives from other companies in Intel's peer group took home. The company has frozen corporate officers' base salaries in 2009 because of economic uncertainty and the company's rocky financial performance in 2008.
According to calculations by The Associated Press, the changes to Otellini's compensation in 2008 bumped the value of his pay package up from the $12.3 million he got in 2007.
However, Intel noted in its annual executive compensation filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Otellini's pay package could have been higher if Intel and its stock had performed better in 2008.
Intel, which is the world's biggest maker of microprocessors, the brains of PCs, saw its profit fall 24 percent to $5.3 billion last year as sales slipped 2 percent to $37.6 billion. Consumers and businesses were buying fewer PCs, triggering the industry's worst slump in six years, which decreased demand for the chips that go into those machines.
The rocky performance meant Otellini's cash bonus of $3.8 million, which is tied to Intel's performance, wasn't as big as it could have been under the targets laid out for him by Intel.
The total value of equity awards Otellini received in 2008 was $7.2 million.
However, more than a third of that is made up of stock options that are currently "under water,"...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Tips on Avoiding Tax-Related Identity Theft
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65504
Tax season presents the perfect opportunity for consumers to fall prey to identity thieves seeking to gain access to important financial information, reports IdentityTruth, a company that helps consumers safeguard their privacy and identity, warns that identity thieves could be lurking and ready to steal personal data.
According to a recent report by MSNBC, identity thieves are actively targeting tax returns. As the use of personal computers to prepare important financial documents for tax filing increases, so has the incidence of fraudulent tax returns. In fact, according to the FTC's 2008 Consumer Sentinel Network, the incidence of fraudulent tax returns increased 4 percent from 2007.
"Every day, reports are being released about the growth of identity theft associated with tax information," said Steven Domenikos, CEO of IdentityTruth. "Identity thieves are actually able to re-route people's tax returns or file in their name. Given the current economic climate, consumers need to be more vigilant now than ever before."
IdentityTruth has compiled a list of tips that consumers should keep in mind this tax season.
- Beware of calls from the "IRS": If you receive a phone call from the IRS asking for personal information, hang up because it's a scam. Fraudsters call asking for your account number and bank routing number to deposit your refund. Armed with that information, they can in fact set up an electronic debit and siphon funds from your account. Contact the IRS Taxpayers Advocates to report it.
- The IRS does NOT email taxpayers: You may receive emails pretending to be from the IRS asking for your personal information. This is a scam. Identity thieves use these "phishing" attempts to solicit personal information for future misuse. The IRS does NOT communicate with taxpayers via email. Visit their site for more information.
- Don't use online filing programs: Make sure the tax filing...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Obama Adviser Urges Global IT Investment
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65500
Governments around the world can beat the global recession by investing heavily in the information technology industry, which can lead to higher productivity and create more jobs in virtually every sector of the economy, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.
Investment in computers, broadband Internet and digital technologies will have a bigger, longer-term impact that any other kind of economic stimulus spending, said Robert D. Atkinson, who was technology adviser to President Barack Obama's transition team.
Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington DC-based think-tank, said the U.S. economy can be revived by infrastructure projects and pumping money into the system -- including by investing in technology.
"You don't have to do it (invest in technology), but it is a much smarter way of doing it," he told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian forum on stimulating economies through information infrastructure.
Recommendations from the ITIF helped lead to the Obama administration allocating $39.2 billion from the $780 billion stimulus package for improving IT network infrastructure.
Of that amount, some $7.2 billion will be spent on broadband Internet, $19 billion on health and $13 billion on a smart power grid for more efficient power transmission and pricing.
All this, Atkinson said, will help create more than 1 million jobs in the U.S., 60 percent of them in small businesses.
Wider broadband penetration will lead to development of newer computers and accessories, more e-commerce and e-government while smart electricity grids will spur the production of smart appliances, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, energy storage and residential solar power, Atkinson said.
He said the IT industry is used by virtually every sector, including transportation, retail, manufacturing and services. By using technology, these industries can increase productivity, thereby bringing down cost of products and boosting sales. This in turn will lead to...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Wireless Zeebo Brings Gaming to Emerging Markets
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65489
A new wireless video-game console is debuting in Brazil. Dubbed Zeebo, its makers are billing it as the first affordable 3-D game console designed specifically for emerging global markets -- and it's backed by Qualcomm.
Secure 3G wireless game delivery is one of Zeebo's hallmarks. The console fills a gap in emerging markets where content for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Sony PlayStation 3 is too expensive for the middle class, or is not culturally or locally relevant. Software piracy also makes these markets unattractive for content providers.
"The Zeebo console will deliver a truly engaging and entertaining gaming experience to a potential billion new consumers around the world, many of whom have never experienced gaming in the home," said John Rizzo, CEO of Zeebo. "The system provides an intuitive, quick and easy-to-use home-shopping user experience featuring popular, culturally optimized content from leading game publishers and developers around the world. It also delivers high value and warranty protection compared to gray-market products, with no need for a separate wireless access plan."
The Zeebo system ships with four embedded games and gives users the ability to download a fifth title free. It carries a suggested retail price of US$199 in Brazil. That's nearly one-fifth the price of mainstream leading consoles. In other international markets, Zeebo is expected to retail for less than US$179 this year and well below US$149 in volume next year.
Game publishers and developers like Capcom, Com2uS, Digital Chocolate, EA Mobile, Gameloft, Glu, Id Software, Machineworks Northwest, Namco Networks and THQ are porting console, PC, dedicated handheld, and high-end mobile titles to the Zeebo platform.
"Zeebo is bringing an innovative console and distribution model to untapped consumer markets with significant potential," said Michael Pachter, director of research for Wedbush Morgan Securities. "Zeebo provides a solution for a difficult...
Wed, 25 Mar 09
Credit Crunch Fueling Rise in Web Attacks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65446
ScanSafe, a provider of SaaS Web security, this week issued its Annual Global Threat Report.
The report is based on an analysis of more than 240 billion Web requests processed in 2008 by the ScanSafe Threat Center on behalf of the company's corporate customers in more than 80 countries. It represents the world's largest security analysis of real-time traffic.
The report reveals that there has been an explosive growth in malware throughout 2008. ScanSafe noted that there has been an overwhelming 582 percent growth between like quarters in 2007 and 2008 and a 300 percent volume ratio increase from January 2008 through December 2008. Exploits and iframes were up 1731 percent in 2008, while data-theft Trojans increased 1559 percent.
"We saw a continued acceleration of Web-delivered malware in 2008, reaching significant peaks in both October and November. The numbers are staggering," said Mary Landesman, senior security researcher, ScanSafe. "There is a high correlation of increased online crime with the decline in the global economy. It could be that the increasing levels of job loss and uncertainty are fueling the surge in criminal activity. It is also likely that cyber crime is proving to be a viable business opportunity in a climate where legitimate opportunities are becoming increasingly more limited."
Other key findings from the report include:
- The Web is now a massive front for data harvesting
Cyber criminals in 2008 have shown a change of intent and are now focused on the ongoing targeting and harvesting of sensitive data. Most of the malware delivered through the Web provides remote customization and configurability, enabling criminal attackers to target specific data and to remotely manage how that data is obtained. For home users, gaming credentials or credit card numbers could be at risk. For enterprises, there is the possibility of intellectual...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
iPhone Headset Change Sparks New iPhone Rumors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65488
Covering Apple's corporate activities is similar to watching the Vatican cardinals select a new pope. You're reasonably certainly something is happening, but it's hard to know exactly what or when.
One of the consequences of Apple's notorious secrecy is that the slightest change to its Web site can spark rampant speculation about future developments. A good example is the latest microscopically examined (and microscopically sized) event: With little fanfare, Apple put an electronic discontinued sticker on Web sales of its Bluetooth headset for the iPhone.
The news that the $99 accessory (which originally debuted for $129) has been taken off the shelf has raised speculation that Apple is planning to do one of two things: Get out of the Bluetooth market altogether or introduce a new stereo version of the Bluetooth headset with the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0.
When the Apple Bluetooth headset first debuted a couple of years ago, it received only mixed reviews. Some praised its hallmark Apple design elements of simplicity and elegance, its lack of garish lighting, and a thoughtful charger design that allowed both an iPhone and the headset to be charged at the same time. Others, however, complained that the device had poor battery life and range, and lacked controls for voice dial and volume.
The lackluster performance demonstrated by Apple's headset created a great opportunity for third-party manufacturers, who were able to step in with lower-cost products that offered better performance and more features. Those manufacturers may be playing catch-up this summer if Apple does release a new model with stereo capability.
Michael Gartenberg, vice president at Interpret, said the Bluetooth headset is an example of Apple's periodic efforts to enter the accessories market, and the discontinuation has more to do with software changes than a disinterest in selling add-ons.
"Given the new BT capabilities in iPhone 3.0,"...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Game Conference Opens Amid Strong Sales and Layoffs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65484
The Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco will be beeping and buzzing this week as video-game fans, employees and developers gather for Think Services' annual Game Developers Conference. The GDC, which is expected to attract just under 18,000 attendees, opened Monday and runs through Friday.
According to Director Meggan Scavio, the GDC serves as a barometer for the health of the video-game industry. "The strength and spirit of the industry," Scavio said, "is reflected here in these five days where the community gathers together to continue to network and learn from one another and to directly challenge current global economic conditions by finding and creating new opportunities."
Attendees can choose from among 500 lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions, and will have a chance to hear a keynote address by Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, on Wednesday.
According to sales figures sent out last week by David Riley, senior manager for NPD Group, GDC attendees should be in a pretty good mood. Year-to-date sales for the video-game industry hit a remarkable $2.81 billion at the end of February, a solid 11 percent increase from the same period in 2008.
Hardware vendors received particularly good news as their sector surged over the previous year by 14 percent, compared with 13 percent for accessories and 10 percent for software.
There will be plenty of opportunity to talk over developments as the GDC hosts a variety of summit meetings. Among the events scheduled are the AI Summit, the Casual Games Summit, the Game Outsourcing Summit, the IGDA Education Summit, the Independent Games Summit, the Localization Summit, the Serious Games Summit, and the Worlds in Motion Summit.
Despite the fact that the video-game industry is bucking economic trends so far, there are some warning signs of potentially difficult times ahead. Thanks in part to steadily rising development costs,...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Adoption of Internet Explorer 8 Slows To 2.02 Percent
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65483
Adoption of Microsoft's new Internet Explorer Web browser appeared to be leveling off Monday after peaking at 2.58 percent of all Internet users over the weekend, reports Net Applications. IE8's share of the global market was down to 2.02 percent on Monday at noon, equivalent to the new browser's adoption rate at 5 p.m. Friday -- the first full business day after its release.
Microsoft's relatively quiet rollout of IE8 stands in stark contrast to the excitement that Mozilla generated when it released Firefox 3 to great fanfare on June 17. By the start of the following month, Mozilla's new browser had already captured a 4.34 percent share of the global browser market.
One reason for IE8's slow adoption is clearly due to Internet Explorer's enduring strength as the Web platform of choice among enterprises, which are always cautious when it comes to adopting a new browser, noted Gartner Research Vice President and Distinguished Analyst Michael Silver. "While the promise of browser-based applications was that migration would not be necessary, some applications are still written to specific browsers," Silver said.
This helps explain why IE6, which was introduced in 2001, still has 18.85 percent of the global browser market, just behind the 19.11 percent share held by Firefox 3. "IE6 seems to be a particular problem, with many IE6 applications not working properly on IE7 or IE8," Silver said.
"This has prevented many organizations from upgrading beyond IE6 and has even delayed some Vista migrations," Silver said. "This is likely to continue being a problem in the Windows 7 time frame as, again, IE6 cannot be run on that platform."
On the consumer side, IE8's slow gallop out the starting gate suggests that Microsoft hasn't made a good case for why users should upgrade from previous Internet Explorer releases or switch from...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
$10 Million Means More iPhone, iPod Touch Games
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65479
ngmoco is flush with cash to develop new games for the iPhone and iPod touch, thanks to a second round of venture-capital funding led by Norwest Venture Partners. The company's previous financiers, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Maples Investments, are also participating in the $10 million bet on mobile gaming.
As part of the deal, Norwest's Tim Chang has joined ngmoco's board of directors. The company said it will use the funding to expand its pipeline of premium games and accelerate development of its publishing and social-gaming platform for Apple's mobile devices.
Established in 2008, ngmoco is led by the veteran management team of Neil Young, Bob Stevenson, Alan Yu, and Joe Keene. Since its launch last summer, the company has developed and deployed multiple iPhone and iPod touch games, including chart-toppers MazeFinger, Topple, Topple 2, Dr. Awesome, Dropship and Word Fu. With five top-10 products and more than seven million installations, ngmoco is one of the leading game publishers for the iPhone and iPod touch.
"Our mission at ngmoco is to create and publish incredible game experiences in close collaboration with the best and brightest game makers in the world," said Young, CEO and founder of ngmoco. "The iPhone and iPod touch have revolutionized both the game-play and game-making experience, and we're committed to building a new type of world-class publisher for this new kind of market."
Games continue to dominate Apple's App Store -- there are currently more than 6,700. Apple has sold more than 30 million iPhones and iPod touch units, keeping pace with Nintendo's Wii video-game console. Those statistics set the stage for ngmoco to push deeper into the App Store with its popular games. ngmoco's biggest hit is Rolando, which sells for $9.99.
ngmoco tailors its games to take advantage of the features and functionality of...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Facebook Users Object To New Twitter-Like Interface
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65478
The problem with being a social-networking site is that, when successful, it can become a part of people's daily routines. The growing backlash from Facebook users over the site's new interface shows some of the consequences of disrupting people's routines.
More than 640,000 comments have filled the Vote on the New Facebook Layout application offered by the company, and many are resoundingly negative. And about 1.7 million Facebook users have joined Petition Against the New Facebook, a new user group. But, as large as these numbers are, they represent only a fraction of the site's 175 million members.
"I dislike it thoroughly," writes user Cherie Hrynchyshyn in a comment posted Monday morning in the Vote section. "It gives you a lot less features than we used to have and takes much longer to find what you would like."
Antoni Corone wrote that he has "sooooo many 'FRIENDS' that I care very little about keeping up with on a minute-to-minute basis." And Ricardo Vila-Roger wrote that "it's not as fun anymore. If I wanted Twitter, I'd have joined it."
The interface changes were made earlier this month. On the company blog, Facebook's Peter X. Deng wrote that "we want you to be able to find out everything that is going on in the world around you at any given moment, or shape the stream of information most relevant to you."
Deng added that "the biggest part of the new home page is your improved News Feed, or the stream of content that's most relevant to you."
Many observers have commented that the changes were designed to capture the kind of immediacy offered by Twitter, with its constant stream of updates.
But Brad Shimmin, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said if Facebook feels "a need to compete with Twitter...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
IE8's Cumbersome Privacy Controls May Discourage Use
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65455
Microsoft's release of the final version of Internet Explorer 8 has sparked controversy on everything from glitches to market share. Now user privacy has joined the list.
When Microsoft released IE8 last Thursday it included features that can block advertising networks from tracking a user's Web surfing. The features are InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering.
InPrivate Filtering (InPrivate Blocking in beta versions of IE8) allows users to block third-party content, including Microsoft's, from detecting a user's online behavior. The filter is off by default and must be turned on with each browsing session.
"Because InPrivate Filtering is designed to watch for and block only third-party content that appears with a high frequency across sites you visit, no content is blocked until such levels are detected, nor is any such content blocked which is served directly by the site you are visiting," according to Microsoft's IE8 Web site.
To use the feature, users must select it from the Safety menu. Users also have to customize which third-party content is blocked or allowed in the InPrivate Filtering settings.
InPrivate Browsing lets users control whether or not IE8 saves browsing history, temporary Internet files, cookies, usernames, passwords or other data. If used correctly, IE8 leaves no evidence of a user's browsing or search history.
It also prevents Web sites and advertising networks from dropping cookies, or small pieces of code, onto a user's computer. Cookies allow ad networks to see what sites a user has visited.
While both features give control to the user, analysts say many users will avoid turning them on because they are cumbersome and can't be turned on with a single click.
Web sites continue to pull tracking data, often without the user being aware. Sixty-eight percent of users, however, are aware that their browsing information may...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Salesforce.com Puts Twitter in the Service Cloud
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65454
Salesforce.com is helping its customers get on the Twitter bandwagon. The company on Monday announced Salesforce CRM for Twitter to allow companies to search, monitor and join conversations on Twitter directly in its Service Cloud.
Twitter provides a free platform for users to answer the question, "What are you doing?" in 140 characters or less and broadcast the answer to a broader community. Dubbed tweets, the posts can cover any topic area, including specific companies, brands and products.
Salesforce.com announced its Service Cloud in January to increase the quality and lower the cost of customer service. Salesforce CRM for Twitter will let companies leverage the Service Cloud to connect with Twitter's more than eight million users.
"Since its introduction in January, we've seen tremendous momentum and validation from customers, prospects and partners that the Service Cloud represents the future of customer service," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com. "Today's announcement builds on this momentum by enabling companies to join the conversations happening between the more than eight million users on Twitter."
Twitter's explosive growth has attracted the attention of companies like Dell, Starbucks and Whole Foods that want to get involved in what is becoming an influential community. In addition to tweets, Twitter offers a platform for companies to make direct connections with their users in a casual setting.
Salesforce CRM for Twitter and the Service Cloud aim to offer companies a convenient way to join Twitter conversations by enabling search, monitoring and joining functions. Specifically, the service lets companies search through the millions of tweets to find relevant conversations, capture and monitor the conversation by creating a record that tracks the original posts and all replies, and a way to funnel relevant responses to customer needs from the Service Cloud into a Twitter post.
"Twitter is being mainstreamed...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Google: Beware the eBay Curse
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65442
There's a reason why cocky Silicon Valley startups fancy themselves the "The Next Google." The search giant embodies Silicon Valley at its best: product developed by nerds in a Stanford dorm room; humbled venture capitalists who turned down the chance to invest, declaring Web search "done;" now-defunct companies such as Excite that refused to buy Google for peanuts when they had the chance; and of course, a storied initial public offering, stellar balance sheet, market dominance, and entrenched, multiyear position as the tech stock darling. In a downturn that's ravaged every industry and most companies, Google is holding up quite well.
Turn back the clock to the last recession, and you could have said almost all of those things about another company: eBay. But I bet in a few years Google doesn't want to look anything like eBay does now: a company with a solid core business whose growth is nonetheless slowing rapidly and has little to pick up the slack, despite billions of dollars spent on acquisitions. I'd also wager Google's shareholders don't want their stock to drop more than 80 percent, suffering the same fate as eBay investors in the years since that stock peaked in December 2004.
No one says Google is headed for a rapid descent any time soon. It commands 63.5 percent of Web search and none of its rivals has been able to mount a credible threat for years. Yet this do-no-wrong tech darling can't afford complacency, especially when some of its best and brightest are heading for the exits. As venture capitalist Peter Thiel explains, the further a startup gets from its initial share sale, the more quickly it loses star employees -- one of the main reasons even the best newcomers don't stay on top for long.
In the interest of avoiding eBay's fate, let...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Cell-Phone Users Cutting Back on Contracts
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65440
More than 60 million consumers are poised to dump their cell phone contracts and pare back on "extras," such as texting and mobile Web access, a new survey shows.
The study released by New Millennium Research Council finds that two out of five Americans with cell phone contracts, or 39 percent, are likely to cut back on wireless service if the recession deepens over the next six months.
About 19 million consumers -- representing one in five cell phone users who have extra features -- have actually cut back or have considered doing so in the past six months.
"The true era of cell phone penny-pinching is here," says scholar Allen Hepner at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The group accepts funding from a variety of sources, including telecoms.
To save money, many consumers may wind up switching to prepaid plans, which tend to be cheaper, he says. Cell phone users with contracts spend about $60 a month, on average. Monthly prepaid plans start at about $10 a month.
Only about 17 percent of U.S. cell phone consumers currently use prepaid, but the figure is "creeping up" by a percentage point or two a quarter, thanks to the recession, says Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen.
Outside the USA, prepaid is far more popular, representing 30 percent to 80 percent of users.
Prepaid products are a lot less profitable than contract-based services, Entner notes. That's why big carriers tend to not push prepaid too hard, he says. "They barely break even on prepaid" products. Contract services can have profit margins of 50 percent.
The U.S. trend toward prepaid has been picking up steam for a while, but the New Millennium study is among the first to attempt to quantify it.
Potentially chilling for U.S. cell phone carriers: 19 percent of consumers who don't have a cell phone...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
TomTom Sues Microsoft on Patent Infringement
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65439
Dutch navigation device maker TomTom has filed a countersuit against Microsoft Corp, accusing the U.S. company of violating three of its patents.
The suit, filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Virginia, comes a few weeks after Microsoft filed a complaint against TomTom for violating its patents related to innovations in car navigational technology and other computing functionality.
The two companies had failed to reach a patent-licensing agreement after more than a year of talks.
TomTom's suit says Microsoft's Streets and Trips product violates three patents, namely "Generating a Maneuver at the Intersection Through A Turn Lane," "Route Generation in a Vehicle Navigation System" and "Quick Selection of Destinations in an Automobile Navigation System."
"I can confirm that we are suing," a spokesman for the Amsterdam-based company said, but declined to give more details.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment. Its complaint against TomTom had been filed in a U.S. District Court in Washington and at the International Trade Commission.
Analysts have said the dispute could hang over TomTom for some time, although some also expect the two companies to eventually settle.
"Although it looks as though the legal battle is heating up, it is likely that the end result will have no or little impact on the business of TomTom," SNS analyst Martijn den Drijver said in a research note.
"It is our opinion that the most likely outcome is that both companies, in the end, will agree to use each other's patents in exchange for the lawsuits to be dropped."
TomTom shares were roughly flat at 3.44 euros from their previous close of 3.43 euros. Microsoft was at $17.15 in trading before the market opened, compared with Thursday's close of $17.14.
Tue, 24 Mar 09
LinuxWorld Conference To Become OpenSource World
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65437
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is expanding to become OpenSource World and is co-locating with Next Generation Data Center and CloudWorld to offer an end-to-end view of enterprise technology within the data center, IDG World Expo announced.
These events, scheduled for August 12-13, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, will provide comprehensive technology conferences with an IT solution showcase element.
From cost-effective open source solutions and data center tools to cloud computing strategies, these events will cover the full spectrum of integrated, enterprise technologies aimed at increasing data center efficiency and reducing costs. Qualified IT professionals will get an in-depth look at key technology trends, as well as a chance to meet face-to-face with vendors who offer the best solutions for their needs. Attendees will include: IT directors and managers; IT architects; line-of-business managers; system administrators; and, corporate developers seeking real-world solutions to meet technology needs across the data center.
"The IT marketplace is changing, particularly given the current economic climate. Evolving LinuxWorld to OpenSource World and co- locating it with Next Generation Data Center and CloudWorld creates an efficiency that maximizes productivity for both our attendees and exhibitors," said Mary Dolaher, chief executive officer of IDG World Expo, a producer of tradeshows and events. "These events enable IT professionals to network and share best practices with their peers, meet the vendors creating the next generation of enterprise tools, and receive hands-on training to implement cost-effective strategies to increase performance, flexibility and scalability in their data centers."
Conference program track highlights will include: Enterprise Application Infrastructure; Deployment and Management; Open Source in Mobile; Security; Virtualization; Data Center Applications; Enterprise Storage; and, Cloud Applications and Infrastructure.
"LinuxWorld and Next Generation Data Center have been go-to events for IT professionals for years," said Jeffrey M. Kaplan, conference chairman for CloudWorld and managing director at THINKstrategies. "Co-locating with...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Computer Guardians Trying To Curb Malware Worm
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65435
An extraordinary behind-the-scenes struggle is taking place between computer security groups around the world and the brazen author of a malicious software program called Conficker.
The program grabbed global attention when it began spreading late last year and quickly infected millions of computers with software code that is intended to control the infected machines and lash them together into a powerful computer known as a botnet.
Since then, the author of the program has repeatedly updated its software in a cat-and-mouse game being fought with an informal international alliance of computer security firms and a network governance group known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Members refer to the alliance as the Conficker Cabal.
The existence of the botnet has brought together some of the world's best computer security experts to prevent potential damage. The spread of the malicious software is on a scale that matches the worst of past viruses and worms, like the I Love You virus. Last month, Microsoft announced a $250,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the Conficker author.
Botnets are used to send the vast majority of e-mail spam messages. Spam in turn is the basis for shady commercial promotions including schemes that frequently involve directing unwary users to Web sites that can plant malicious software, or malware, on computers.
Botnets can also be used to distribute other kinds of malware and generate attacks that can take commercial or government Web sites off-line.
One of the largest botnets tracked last year consisted of 1.5 million infected computers that were being used to automate the breaking of "captchas," the squiggly letter tests that are used to force applicants for Web services to prove they are human.
The inability of the world's best computer security technologists to gain the upper hand against anonymous but determined cybercriminals is viewed...
Tue, 24 Mar 09
Australian Internet 'Blacklist' Prompts Concern
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65433
A whistle-blower organization claims a secret list of Web sites that Australian authorities are proposing to ban includes such innocuous destinations as a dentist's office.
Australia's government denied that the list -- published by renegade Web site Wikileaks.org -- was the same as a blacklist run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA. However, a manager at the dentist's office said the ACMA had confirmed her site's inclusion on the ban list.
Wikileaks' publication of the list this week reignited a debate over whether a government proposal to impose an Internet filter for all Australians could have unintended consequences for innocent businesses.
The list in question is provided to the creators of Internet filtering software that people can opt to install on their computers. But Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has proposed mandating that Australian Internet service providers implement the list, which would make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries. Several Internet providers are conducting trials of the filter through June.
The authority says the list largely contains the addresses of Web sites promoting child pornography and sexual violence, but it has refused to release its contents publicly.
The proposal has prompted protests across the country, with critics slamming it as censorship. Internet providers argued that a filter could slow browsing speeds, and pointed out that illegal material such as child pornography can be traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats, which would not be covered by the filter.
On its site, Wikileaks accused Australia of "acting like a democratic backwater," and said "Australian democracy must not be permitted to sleep with this loaded gun." The site -- which casts itself as an outlet for "untraceable mass document leaking and analysis," with a focus on exposing oppressive regimes and unethical behavior -- did not explain how it obtained the purported blacklist.
The list...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Video Games Continue Strong Sales in February
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65453
The video-game industry is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise grim economic environment. According to figures compiled by market research firm NPD Group, sales of games and hardware were 10 percent higher in February compared to a year before, bringing in a robust $1.47 billion in revenue.
That good news follows a similar increase in January, when U.S. retailers reported a 13 percent rise. Altogether, the industry has generated nearly $3 billion in sales in the first two months of this year.
In an e-mail to media late Thursday, NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier said that despite the tough economy, "the U.S. video-game industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year."
The leader of the pack in the game-console battle once again was Nintendo, which sold a remarkable 753,000 Wiis in February alone. The company was also strong in the handheld market, selling 588,000 DS devices.
Microsoft finished in second place for the month, moving 391,000 Xbox 360 units, while Sony once again brought up the rear with 276,000 PlayStation 3 sales.
Taken together, hardware sales increased slightly more than the video-game sector as a whole, rising 11 percent over the same period last year.
Sony's solid position at the back of the console pack has lent credibility to rumors that the company is planning a price reduction (estimated to be $100 off the PS3's $399 price) to regain market share. News on whether the company will go through with a price drop and how much it will be is expected at the end of next week.
Nintendo also took top honors in the software segment -- the Wii Fit with Balance Board sold 644,000...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Brand-New IE8 Draws Howls From Users About Problems
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65452
Fresh out the door, users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 are complaining of glitches one day after the IE8 final build was made available at noon Eastern time on Thursday. Dozens of posters are complaining about printing from Web sites, search functions, and disappearing images.
The browser, which was supposed to make navigating a Web site easier and faster by adding a new favorites bar, address bar, and tabs bar, is instead making the user experience not so easy.
"I have just installed IE8 and still the search option doesn't work; all I get is a blank line with no search box, so what and where is the problem?" asked Aviramof on Microsoft's feedback discussion board.
A poster writing as Dexus said his toolbar, including all the File menu items, went completely black. And another poster wasn't happy about a "dragging Facebook applications bug" that had not been fixed. Multiple users complained that they weren't able to drag photos on their Facebook pages in IE8.
A post by Bessler listed a few problems with the IE8 install. Bessler said the boot-up time doubled, the application used an additional 4GB of hard-drive space, and the calendar was outlined in violet.
Kris Krueger, the test lead for IE8, said that Microsoft fixed many of the top issues identified by beta testers, and those issues were prioritized based on votes by the community.
IE8 is currently available from Microsoft's main download center as a manual download and on the IE8 page. Microsoft said it plans to begin automatically installing the new browser on machines running IE6 or IE7 in the future.
Requests for information from Microsoft weren't returned in time for publication.
Microsoft needed to get this release right, as the software giant's browser was under scrutiny for losing market share. According to Net Applications, which...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Palm Reports Loss as Apple's iPhone Targets Pre
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65451
Longtime PDA manufacturer Palm lost $98 million, or 89 cents a share, in its third fiscal quarter. That's a substantial increase from its $57 million, or 53 cents a share, loss in the same quarter last year.
"We're proceeding through a challenging transitional period," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "However, our current results shouldn't overshadow the tremendous progress we've made against our strategic goals. We're poised to usher in a new era at Palm."
Wall Street wasn't particularly fazed by the earnings report. Analysts had anticipated the company would fall short of profitability, although not as severely as Colligan reported. Palm share prices were up slightly in afternoon trading.
Potentially more problematic is that Colligan was unable to say exactly when Palm's corporate life raft, the eagerly awaited Pre smartphone, will float into Sprint stores. During a conference call to discuss the company's financial results and upcoming plans, Colligan said Palm planned to "deliver this product into the hands of consumers within the next 15 weeks."
This lack of specifics could prove problematic for a couple of reasons.
First, expectations for the new device have been high ever since it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The anticipation has eaten into sales of Palm's existing devices as consumers elect to wait for the new hardware. The longer it takes for the Pre to arrive, the greater the lost sales will be.
The second and perhaps greater concern is the changes Apple announced earlier this week for its iPhone operating system. Many of the features Apple is adding to version 3.0 are features that gained oohs and aahs when the Pre's webOS was deomonstrated at CES. Each day that the Pre is not on shelves is another day closer to the media and consumer frenzy that will...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Chrome Is Like Teflon in Browser-Hacking Contest
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65450
White-hat security experts attending the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver this week have succeeded in exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities in fully patched versions of Firefox, Internet Explorer 8 and Safari. According to Tipping Point, which sponsored the contest at CanSecWest, only Chrome remained impervious to assaults on Wednesday and Thursday.
The primary goal of the annual Pwn2Own contest is to responsibly unearth new vulnerabilities within computing systems so that the affected vendors can address them, noted TippingPoint, which manages the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program team responsible for awarding prizes to this year's winning contestants.
"All winners are asked to sign and agree to the general ZDI nondisclosure agreement, and the bugs will be turned over directly to the affected vendors," said Terri Forslof, TippingPoint's manager of security response.
The contest's first winner was Charlie Miller, who took down Safari on Mac OS X within two minutes -- winning free computing gear and a $5,000 cash prize in the process. Contestant Julien Tinnes also successfully exploited both Firefox and Safari, but "unfortunately his efforts fell outside the contest criteria and therefore could not be rewarded," Forslof observed.
However, the most impressive performance of the day came from the contestant known simply as Nils -- "You know, like 'Prince' or 'Madonna,'" said Forslof. Nils "ran a sleek exploit against IE8, defying Microsoft's latest built-in protection technologies -- DEP (Data Execution Prevention) as well as ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization)." He won $5,000 for his efforts.
Even better, Nils' successful IE8 exploit was just the warm-up exercise for what turned into a trifecta. He picked up another $5,000 by quickly taking down Apple's Safari browser, then ended the day with a flourish by cracking Firefox, which boosted his total cash winnings to $15,000.
The Microsoft Security Response Center notified Forslof on Thursday morning that it had...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
RIM Shrouds Niagara as Smartphone War Shapes Up
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65449
The summer may bring some heated competition among smartphone vendors. Research in Motion is said to be getting ready to release another BlackBerry called Niagara. That device is expected to go head-to-head with the Palm Pre and the new iPhone that some speculate will hit the market at the same time.
While some are speculating that Niagara is a new smartphone, others believe it may simply be a software upgrade.
Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst, met with RIM executives this week and said they remain tight-lipped. "Everything we have seen and heard about Niagara has been purely all speculation," Llamas said RIM told him.
"Nobody seems to be getting it right," Llamas said of the speculation. "RIM was seriously pinched when other devices leaked out way ahead of time, like the Pro flip, and now they are keeping everything under tight wrap. I've learned enough that when RIM is good and ready (to release a product), they will let us know."
Despite the secrecy, speculation continues. Reports have surfaced that the company is building on its popular line of Curve devices and Niagara will feature the same screen as the Bold, will run the same 624-MHz CPU processor and Blackberry OS 4.6, and will feature a QWERTY keyboard, GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
Others believe Niagara is an update, rather than an entirely new device.
"My current belief is you will not see any form factor changes from RIM this year, so maybe Niagara is software," said Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst. "The Storm is not a good product and they need to revise that, so maybe Niagara is the software to improve it."
RIM is focused on evolutionary changes, according to Dulaney. "The Storm was pretty different for them, and they obviously did not get it right and I suspect they...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Unlocked iPhone 3Gs Will Be Sold by AT&T
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65447
After all the controversy about unlocking Apple's iPhones, AT&T has made it moot by agreeing to sell iPhone 3Gs without a two-year contract. The company confirmed an Associated Press report that it will begin selling unlocked iPhones next Thursday for $599 and $699, depending on memory configuration.
Consumers can still purchase iPhone 3Gs for $199 and $299 with the two-year contract, or purchase a refurbished model for $149 from AT&T or Best Buy.
An unlocked iPhone has been on AT&T's agenda since at least July. When Apple released the iPhone 3G last summer, the wireless carrier said it would sell a contract-free iPhone in the U.S., but didn't give a date. The unlocked iPhone can be used on T-Mobile or AT&T networks, but it's not compatible with Verizon or Sprint networks.
AT&T's announcement brings the iPhone into line with standard procedures for every other phone on the market, according to Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis. AT&T has always been willing to sell the phones it offers unlocked without a contract if consumers ask and are willing to pay for it, he said, but the iPhone has been an exception.
"One of the reasons AT&T hadn't sold the iPhone unlocked is because there was a kickback to Apple for service revenues," Greengart said. "The ability to get an unlocked phone is less of a threat to Apple's goal of getting carrier distribution in multiple markets with the second-generation iPhone. Consumers can buy iPhones from local carriers in Europe and parts of Asia."
Despite the availability of an unlocked iPhone, analysts don't expect a rush on AT&T. That's because, for most people, there's no need for an unlocked iPhone. For consumers who intend to use the iPhone in the U.S., it makes better financial sense to allow AT&T to...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
iTunes Offers HD Movies for Purchase and Rental
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65432
iTunes movies in high-definition. That's the word from Apple, which announced Thursday that customers of the popular online iTunes Store can now rent or buy movies in HD for a Mac, a PC, or a TV set with Apple TV.
The HD movies include such new releases as Quantum of Solace and Twilight. Prices are $19.99 for a download purchase and $4.99 as a rental within 30 days from release.
Each HD movie also comes in a standard-definition version for watching on an iPhone or an iPod with video. iTunes 8.1 or later is needed for downloading.
Eddy Cue, Apple vice president of Internet services, said iTunes customers have already made HD content on the service "a hit, with over 50 percent of TV programming being purchased in HD when available."
Other new movie titles available in HD include Transporter 3, Punisher: War Zone, Bangkok Dangerous, Saw V, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, Religulous and, beginning April 14, the action/comedy The Spirit.
The availability of HD movies is part of a high-definition evolution on iTunes. In January 2008, Apple introduced its movie rentals, which included HD versions that were only available through Apple TV. Last fall, with the release of iTunes 8, the company said customers would be able to download HDTV programs.
Some observers have speculated whether HD movies on iTunes and other online stores could be a problem for the Blu-ray format. iTunes can have an enormous impact on the entertainment industry, given its catalog of more than 10 million songs, 40,000 TV episodes, and 5,000 movies.
But Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for consumer technology at the NPD Group, said HD on iTunes will "likely have minimal impact on Blu-ray." He added, "We've seen HD offerings via online before," such as with the Xbox, but...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Oops! Now You Can Pull Back That Embarrassing Gmail
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65430
Have you ever hit the send button too soon? Sent a sensitive e-mail to the wrong person? Said something you wish you hadn't in an electronic message? If so, you'll be pleased with Google's latest Gmail innovation: An unsend button.
Google on Thursday rolled out the new feature called Undo Send that aims to help erase embarrassing faux pas that hurried e-mail users sometimes stumble into. AOL once allowed its users to delete e-mails sent to other AOL members as long as they hadn't been opened. But this is a different approach, allowing Gmail users to block the sending of e-mails to people who are not Gmail users.
The function builds on the Mail Goggles tool launched last October to eliminate the "morning after" regret of e-mail and the Forgotten Attachment Detector it debuted last September that offers an alert if you mention attaching a file but forgot to do so.
"Sometimes I regret sending a message the morning after. Other times I send a message and then immediately notice a mistake. I forget to attach a file or e-mail the birthday girl that I can't make her surprise party," said Michael Leggett, a Google user experience designer. "I can rush to close my browser or unplug the Internet -- but Gmail almost always wins that race."
Leggett tells the story of how an e-mail to "the wrong Larry" led him to develop Undo Send. He said he could undo just about any other action in Gmail except for unsend, so he started talking with his colleagues about the concept.
"My theory (which others shared) was that even just five seconds would be enough time to catch most of those regrettable e-mails. And now you can do just that," Leggett said. "Turn on Undo Send in Gmail Labs under Settings, and...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Digital Retailers Cut Prices To Lure CD Buyers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65411
As the music industry watches in horror while physical CD sales tumble and digital sales fail to bridge the gap, online MP3 retailers are trying to stem the bleeding with an age-old technique: slashing prices.
Some new releases are being priced at a mere $3.99 for a limited time on Amazon MP3, including last week's top-selling album in both platforms, U2's "No Line on the Horizon"; the company offers some full album downloads for 99 cents. Apple's iTunes store runs spotlight specials for as little as $4.99. And subscription-based service Rhapsody routinely has deals for $6.99.
On average, a regularly priced full album digital download costs about $10.
Online retailers are keeping tight-lipped about these bargain-basement prices, usually available for anywhere from a day to several weeks, but industry analysts say the reason behind them is simple: to attract new customers, particularly the vast majority of people who aren't in the habit of downloading music.
Amazon MP3, a digital download offshoot of Amazon.com that launched in 2007, is in a particularly good position to convert the physical-CD-buying masses. "Amazon has customer relationships with virtually all of those people because everybody, at one time or another, has registered for an Amazon account and bought a CD from them," says Eric Garland, the chief executive of online media metrics service Big Champagne, which tracks downloading activity.
And it's not necessarily about trying to muscle in on the well-established turf owned by iTunes, which in 2008 became the number one music retailer in the United States. "The way one Amazon guy put it to me once: We're not trying to steal their share of the pie, we're trying to bake a new pie," Garland says.
One consumer happily dishing up that pie is Dan Jungmann, 41, of Niceville, Fla., who discovered Amazon MP3 while shopping for other items on...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Oracle Manages 3Q Feat: Healthy Contract Signings
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65409
Oracle Corp.'s sales force pulled off a big feat in the business software maker's latest quarter, sustaining a healthy clip of contract signings amid a dreary time for technology spending.
The efforts helped push Oracle's sales and profit above Wall Street's forecasts. Oracle also surprised investors by declaring its first dividend, a rare sign of confidence that comes as other bellwethers are cutting or suspending their dividends to save money.
Oracle's shares jumped $1.11, or 7 percent, to $16.94 in after-hours trading Wednesday after Oracle reported its results. The stock had gained 43 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close the regular trading session at $15.83.
Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison, called the numbers a "tremendous achievement in the face of the serious slowdown in the world economy."
In Oracle's fiscal third quarter, which covers December-February, Oracle said it earned $1.33 billion, or 26 cents per share, versus $1.34 billion, also 26 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Subtracting out one-time charges, profit was 35 cents per share. That was 3 cents better than the average estimate from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on that same basis.
Sales were $5.45 billion, a 2 percent increase over last year, though Oracle said revenue would have jumped 11 percent without the effect of a stronger dollar, which meant deals done in other currencies weren't worth as much in dollars.
Analysts had predicted $5.42 billion in sales.
A closely watched number for Oracle is its sales of new software licenses, which is significant because it correlates to how much in support fees Oracle can hope to rake in the future from those contracts.
Sales of new software licenses fell 6 percent to $1.5 billion, which was within the company's guidance. Some analysts had projected a far worse decline.
Oracle's customers spent more in other areas, however. Sales from software license updates and product...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Smartphones Ready To Take Out Universal Remotes
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65407
While the universal remote control has served humanity with distinction, its days are numbered. Your smartphone is to blame. Here's why.
In the beginning, a universal remote had to control two or three things (typically a television, a cable box and a VCR). And for that number of devices, a remote with all the buttons in one place worked just fine.
Over time, the universal remote expanded its jurisdiction, as there were new devices to control. DVD players, audio receivers, streaming-video boxes, digital video recorders and other home entertainment components had entered the scene.
The universal remote did the only thing it knew how to do: It grew more buttons.
But that was a stopgap solution at best. With so many devices to manage -- and with so many buttons to use -- universal remotes started to become ridiculously complex.
There was a solution, of course. Touch screens. Interactive displays that could change their layout depending on what you wanted the remote to control. Several manufacturers moved to incorporate touch screens into their high-end remotes.
But touch screen remotes were -- and are -- expensive.
Some engineers got to thinking: There's a growing number of touch screens already in the world. Most of them are hand-held, even. Smartphones, by Jove! And since more and more entertainment devices are Internet-enabled, and since smartphones are as well, they don't even need an infrared transmitter -- they can control equipment over home Wi-Fi networks.
And so applications and accessories are appearing that let us use the technology we already have to control the technology we already have. A frugal idea for today's diminished times. And not only frugal but also endlessly upgradable and infinitely flexible. Whether you want to control your music, your TV or your PowerPoint presentation, there may be a way that your phone can help you do that.
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Maine To Seek Stimulus Money for Broadband Study
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65405
Maine officials are planning to apply for federal economic stimulus money to pay for a study of the state's high-speed Internet network that they say will help give more people access.
The ConnectMe Authority, a state agency charged with expanding high-speed services across Maine, is seeking bids from contractors who can provide a detailed map showing where broadband Internet is available.
The authority currently uses a map created in 2007 that shows which communities are connected. It's seeking a more detailed map showing street-level or even house-level information that could be updated electronically, said Phil Lindley, the authority's executive director.
"It's hugely important," Lindley said. "Once we have the new map we'll be able to better identify who isn't being served."
Under the stimulus program, federal money would pay for 80 percent of the project, with the state paying for the rest. Lindley said he won't know the total cost until after contractors submit their bids.
Legislators in 2006 approved the creation of the ConnectME Authority as part of Gov. John Baldacci's initiative to increase high-speed Internet and wireless phone service across Maine.
Its job includes identifying areas of the state that don't have access to high-speed Internet, developing ways to bring it to those areas and providing funding and tax breaks to make it happen.
Since its creation, the authority says it has helped bring high-speed Internet access to 23,000 households in about 100 Maine communities. It has awarded $2.2 million in grants and is funded through a 0.25 percent surcharge on in-state telephone, Internet, and satellite and TV services.
Nearly 90 percent of Maine households have access to high-speed Internet through DSL, cable modem or wireless technology. But large swaths and small pockets of rural areas still don't have access.
Expanding broadband and wireless telephone coverage in Maine has long been one of Baldacci's priorities. Improving high-speed...
Sat, 21 Mar 09
Can Amazon's Stock Surge Last?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65403
For a company at the mercy of penny-pinching customers, Amazon is looking pretty good. In the past four months the stock has more than doubled, to 71.25 on Mar. 18 from a two-year low of 35.03 in mid-November, when investors sold the shares on concern yearend sales would slump.
Amazon shares are gaining as investors pursue the small number of companies they believe will withstand the current slump. The stock is also being propelled by hype over recent Amazon products. The speed of the rally, however, has some analysts concerned it may not last.
Many investors are looking for companies that continue to innovate while cranking out a solid performance despite the recession. Like Wal-Mart, Amazon is seen as a brand consumers believe provides good value. That's helping Amazon grab market share and new customers even in the downturn, and positions the company to emerge even more strongly from the recession, analysts say. "Investors are paying a premium for companies that are beneficiaries of the current environment and also for management teams they can trust with high-quality earnings," says Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus.
The hubbub about the Kindle e-reader is also pushing the stock higher, analysts say. The innovative device promises to create a new market for digital books, an opportunity the company is promoting by having CEO and founder Jeffrey Bezos barnstorm talk shows, ranging from the Today show to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
As attractive as Amazon's management and product mix may be, some investors are rushing to purchase the shares because there is a dearth of alternatives. Amazon did prove its mettle by posting strong holiday results despite the dramatic falloff in traditional and online retail sales. Institutional investors also are snapping up Amazon stock because they need somewhere to park money, says...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Mobile Firefox Browser Fennec Launched in Limited Beta
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65428
Mozilla has announced a limited beta release of its new mobile browser, code-named Fennec. Testing will be limited to people using the Nokia N810 tablet, although emulators have been written to allow people to test the application on desktop computers running Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
"I'm super-happy to announce the first beta release of Fennec for the Maemo platform," wrote Stuart Parmenter, mobile architect for Mozilla, on his Pavlov.net blog. "We've done heavy optimizations to our front-end code and made a number of optimizations to the platform, resulting in greatly increasing zooming speed and making panning pretty smooth. We've also been able to improve start-up performance by reducing a good bit of unnecessary work."
Other improvements, according to the Mozilla release notes, include tabbed browsing, integrated Web search (built into the address, or "awesome" bar), access to multiple search engines, and both bookmarks and tags.
One of the more interesting features of Fennec is the inclusion of TraceMonkey, an engine for JavaScript support. Parmenter said the inclusion of TraceMonkey will enable Fennec to take advantage of the JavaScript speed improvements built into Firefox 3.1.
In addition, like the desktop version of Firefox, Fennec permits the installation of add-ons that can extend the capabilities of the mobile browser. Not surprisingly, only a limited number are available right now, but testers are already playing with add-ons to access Twitter, fix typos in URLs, and enhance security.
Reviewers have also praised the new browser's intuitive handling of menus, bookmarks, auto-fill for URLs, and other features drawn directly from its desktop big brother.
Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, said the release of Fennec is a notable development.
"It certainly is a milestone, but, as with all browsers, it will need to be widely available on the key mobile platforms to compete," Gartenberg said. "Given the popularity...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Cisco Will Acquire Flip Video's Parent for About $600M
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65427
Cisco Systems, long a provider of network hardware and software, is moving deeper into the consumer market with the acquisition of Pure Digital Technologies, maker of the Flip Video cameras.
Cisco is finally "putting its money where its mouth is" after using Pure Digital products to make videos for its YouTube site, according to Senior Manager of Global Operations John Earnhardt.
The San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco said Thursday it will pay about $590 million in stock for Pure Digital. Cisco also will throw in up to $15 million in retention-based equity incentives for continuing employees.
Acquiring the privately held San Francisco, Calif. company is Cisco's first move into video entertainment. Flip Video products, which include FlipShare software, allow users to organize and edit videos and share them on social-networking Web sites like MySpace and YouTube. Pure Digital has sold more than two million of the popular Flip Video devices.
"Consumer has been a key focus for Cisco for several years; it dates back to 2003 with our acquisition of Linksys," said Charles Carmel, Cisco's vice president of corporate development. "Since that time we have been ramping up efforts and focus on the consumer space with smaller acquisitions such as with last year's (acquisition of) Pure Networks.
"With the acquisition of Pure Digital, we are taking consumer interest to the next level," Carmel added. "It gives us a great leadership position in the video capture and share market, which is an exciting market opportunity."
Jonathan Kaplan, chairman and CEO of Pure Digital and soon to be general manager of the combined organization, said the company will benefit from Cisco's size and technology expertise.
Cisco's plan comes just one day after news broke that IBM may be in talks to acquire Sun Microsystems. Neither company is commenting on the rumors.
Video-entertainment technology is a new segment for...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
iPhone OS 3.0 Is Good and Bad News for Developers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65426
The much-ballyhooed press event Tuesday on Apple's Cupertino, Calif., campus for iPhone OS 3.0 has generally been hailed as uniformly good news for iPhone users. Although it will be months before the upgrade is released, iPhone users will be able to download it for free, and iPod touch users will be able to purchase the upgrade for just $9.95.
Bundled into the new OS are numerous features for which iPhone users have been clamoring, including Multimedia Messaging Service capabilities, stereo Bluetooth, cut and paste, and push notification for applications.
But for iPhone application developers, the unveiling of the iPhone OS 3.0 specs was a classic "good news, bad news" scenario.
First, the good news. The iPhone OS 3.0 software developers kit (SDK) contains more than one thousand new application programming interfaces (APIs), substantially expanding the potential of the iPhone as a software platform.
Two features have attracted particular attention: The ability of apps to use CoreData, a data-handling tool developed by Apple as part of its Mac OS X, and GameKit, tools which enable applications to connect to other phones in peer-to-peer mode and chat in real time.
Zippy Aima, an industry analyst for digital media for ABI Research, said the new features give the iPhone a significant edge over other mobile devices. "The new updates on the phone will position iPhone as a device that has music, video and an advanced gaming platform," Aima said. "It's good news not only for gamers, but also offers new revenue-generating models for the mobile industry."
Perhaps the most exciting feature of GameKit is the ability of game developers (and other app sellers) to offer in-app upgrades for new levels, character features, and so on. Some reports suggest that in-app sales could generate as much as $1 billion in new revenue within the first 12 months....
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Chrome Beta Upgrade Is Faster, with 'Tear Off' Tabs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65422
Google has unleashed a beta version of its next Chrome upgrade to generate some early user feedback. The search giant has also opened a new developer channel that gives more accomplished PC users the ability to access a rough sneak preview of what is likely to be in Google's next-generation browser.
Early adopters of Google's new Chrome beta release will receive regular updates featuring the latest speed enhancements, features and bug fixes, noted Chrome Product Manager Brian Rakowski. "We're doing our best to quickly churn out new features as they are available rather than saving them up for occasional major releases," Rakowski said.
Perhaps the best thing about Google's new download is speed. According to Rakowski, Chrome beta is "35 percent faster on the Sunspider benchmark than the current stable channel version and almost twice as fast when compared to our original beta version."
Still, the new browser isn't without flaws. "Riding the beta channel is a great way to let us know about what's working and what's not, but don't be surprised to find some rough edges," Rakowski said.
Chrome beta users can now "tear off" any tabbed page and open it in a new window that only occupies half the computer screen. To accomplish this, users need only click on the desired tab and drag it to the mid-point of the top, bottom, right or left sides of the desktop until the feature's docking icon appears. Releasing the mouse pointer over the docking icon that appears at the bottom of the desktop, for example, opens the tabbed page in a new window occupying the bottom half of the desktop.
Google's new Chrome beta also includes an auto-scroll capability that makes Web page navigation less tedious than using the window's slide bars. Click on the mouse's middle button or...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Public-Domain Books Will Be Formatted for Sony Reader
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65421
The e-book wars are heating up. Google will make available more than half a million rights-free e-books on Sony's Reader, according to an announcement by both companies Thursday. The books are public-domain works that have been digitized by Google.
All the books were published before 1923 and include such classics as Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and Herodotus' The Histories. The books can be browsed by subject, author or title, and the full text can be searched.
The books have been available as PDF downloads, which works well for computer screens but not e-book readers. Google will provide the public-domain works to Sony in EPUB, or electronic publication format, which flows the lines to fit on a small screen. Amazon's Kindle e-book device uses its own file format, but EPUB is common among publishers.
Sony said the deal vaults its Reader past the Kindle, since the Reader will now have the larger e-book library with about 600,000 titles. The Kindle has more than 245,000 titles, and allows users to download wirelessly. For Sony's Reader, a user first has to download the titles to a computer, and then from the computer to the Reader.
A user could also read the public-domain books for free on a computer, after downloading Sony's free eBook Library Software and registering an account.
A Google spokesperson told news media that it wants to make the books available as widely as possible, on any device.
Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, said the e-book wars are "definitely" heating up, but added that he doesn't think the Google titles will help Sony much.
"With due respects to the classics" and other books among the Google titles, Gartenberg said, adding titles...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
IBM May Pay More for Sun as Industry Consolidates
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65418
IBM is reportedly negotiating with Sun Microsystems about an acquisition. At more than $6 billion, a Sun takeover would be Big Blue's largest-ever acquisition. Some observers are speculating that IBM would be willing to pay as much as $8 billion.
The talks were first reported in The Wall Street Journal. Neither Sun nor IBM were immediately available for comment, but analysts are bullish on the deal -- and so is Wall Street. Sun's stock skyrocketed on rumors of an IBM purchase, rising 80 percent in Wednesday trading. IBM's stock dipped one percent.
Although analysts have speculated about the possibilities of IBM acquiring Sun for years, this is the first time the companies appear to be in serious negotiations. IBM and Sun compete in the server and software markets, but each face a larger competitor in Cisco with its newly unveiled Unified Computing System. IBM may also be feeling pressure from Hewlett-Packard's $13.25 billion acquisition of EDS last year.
The purchase of Sun would be a win for IBM, according to Theresa Lanowitz, a former Gartner research director and founder of Voke Research. "Sun has been in a holding pattern since the dot-com implosion," she said. "And while Sun positioned themselves as 'the dot in the dot com,' that was the last innovation we have seen come from Sun."
While it once had very competitive hardware, Lanowitz said Sun had no idea how to produce and implement effective software products. "Sun works on the assumption that all software must lead to Sun server sales -- definitely a flawed idea that was proven wrong numerous times," she said. "Sun also was never able to quite grasp the idea of high volume and low-margin sales. Sun continued on in its technology efforts like it was 1988."
Lanowitz said IBM has clearly demonstrated that it's more than...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Final Version of IE8 Comes with Security Features
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65401
Microsoft was to release the final version of Internet Explorer 8 at noon Thursday. The latest version of the market-leading Web browser was to be available in 25 languages.
Redmond is making some bold claims with IE8. It promises the latest iteration of the dominant browser is easier to use, faster and offers security features that respond to consumer concerns about online safety.
A study by NSS Labs said IE8 blocks two to four times more malware attacks than other browsers. Microsoft also said IE8 cuts down on the time it takes to do tasks like searching, mapping and sharing, and blurs the lines between the services people use daily and the browser used to access the Internet.
"Customers have made clear what they want in a Web browser -- safety, speed and greater ease of use," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "With Internet Explorer 8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need, fast, and provides protection that no other browser can match."
Microsoft points to a just-released Harris Interactive study that shows 91 percent of adults in the U.S. are concerned about online fraud and identity theft, and 78 percent are more likely to choose a Web browser that includes built-in protection without having to download additional programs or browser add-ons. It also showed that 37 percent are less likely to shop online because they would have to give personal information.
"Microsoft is focusing on security, which, while important, doesn't become a top-line issue for consumers unless they are having a problem or have had a problem," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "The areas where IE8 doesn't quite seem to match up are speed, particularly as you are getting into complex Web sites that use a lot of JavaScript."
Microsoft says IE8 beats...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
U.S. 'Tweets' Down False Madagascar Rumors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65387
U.S. diplomats on Thursday "tweeted" down false rumors they feared might lead to a siege on the American Embassy in Madagascar.
State Department officials turned to Twitter feeds after dubious claims appeared on the micoblogging network that Madagascar's newly ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana, had sought refuge inside the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo, the Indian Ocean island's capital.
Twitter is a growing Internet phenomenon that people use to update others on what they are doing or observing. The postings, known as "tweets," are limited to 140 characters and can be sent and received on a mobile phone or computer.
Web-savvy State officials kicked into gear and within minutes, the agency had posted its own "tweets" denying the false reports on Ravalomanana.
"Misinformation can have serious consequences, and when we saw the story breaking that way, we decided we had to do something about it quickly," said deputy State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid. He added: "The situation was fluid and the embassy was open. We had to protect our people."
Several Twitter feeds posted from the capital claimed that after resigning and handing over power to the military, Ravalomanana had gone into hiding at the embassy. U.S. officials acknowledged concerns that the American compound might be attacked by opposition supporters.
The State Department's two-part Twitter reply: "We are aware of media reports that President Ravalomanana of Madagascar is seeking sanctuary at the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo." And then: "President Ravalomanana has made no such request and is not in the U.S. Embassy."
The same message was sent simultaneously by e-mail to the State Department press corps but most major news outlets, including The Associated Press, had not reported the claims in the first place.
"We wanted to get the accurate information out in the place where it originated and that was Twitter, and it was good that we had the...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Made-To-Order Magazine Lets Readers Choose
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65382
Time Inc. is experimenting with a customized magazine that combines reader-selected sections from eight publications as it tries to mimic in printed form the personalized news feeds that have become popular on the Internet.
Called "mine," the five-issue, 10-week experiment also aligns readers with the branding message that its sole advertising partner, Toyota Motor Corp., has for its new Lexus 2010 RX sport utility vehicle: It's as customizable as the magazine carrying its ads.
The magazine is free, but the print edition is limited to the first 31,000 respondents, while an online version is available for another 200,000.
Sign-ups are available immediately at http://www.timeinc.com/mine, with the first issue to be shipped in the mail in early April, and then once every two weeks. Online subscribers will get digital editions that look just like the printed version, but in a special format that allows virtual page turns with clicks. A promotional push for the magazine kicks off Friday.
Readers can select five titles from eight published by subsidiaries of Time Warner Inc. and American Express Co.: Time, Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Money, In Style, Golf, and Travel + Leisure.
Editors will pre-select the stories that make it into every biweekly issue, and readers won't have the option of changing the picks from issue to issue.
There are 56 editorial combinations in all (the Lexus SUV has 22 customizable settings, plus eight options handled by a dealer). Those who fill out an online survey will also find that advertisements fit their personal circumstances in a form of hyper-targeting.
A sample ad tag line for a respondent named Dave, who lives in Los Angeles and eats sushi, might read: "Hey Dave, your friends will be really impressed when you drive down Van Ness Avenue on your way to get sushi."
Lexus, which came up with the idea, will...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Toshiba Names New President
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65380
Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday it has named a new president, joining a string of other Japanese companies in shuffling management amid a crippling recession.
The electronics giant said its board of directors nominated Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Norio Sasaki, an expert in nuclear energy, as president and chief executive officer.
"My biggest task is to unite our group companies and employees as one to overcome the difficult time and turn around the business as quickly as possible," Sasaki told a news conference at company headquarters in Tokyo.
Sasaki, 59, will officially replace Atsutoshi Nishida in June after approval at a shareholders' meeting, the two executives said. The decision by the board of directors was based on a recommendation from Nishida, 65, who will become chairman.
"The business environment surrounding our company is extremely severe. I decided it would be best for both management and employees to pursue our business under a new leader," Nishida said.
Toshiba appears to be trying to show its determination to make a turnaround amid the global economic crisis. Sasaki has managed its heavy electric machinery operations, including nuclear power generation and equipment.
The company sank into the red in the third quarter and has projected a net loss for the full fiscal year, citing declining demand for its flash memory chips used to store data in consumer gadgets such as music players and digital cameras.
In January, Toshiba announced a plan to cut 4,500 contract workers and delay or cancel investments in new chip plants.
"Having compiled and mapped out the restructuring program, I've completed a phase," the outgoing president said. "Now it's time to hand it over to a person with a clear vision of Toshiba's future and a determination to achieve the goal."
A mechanical engineer, Sasaki joined Toshiba in 1972 and has spent most of his career on nuclear power...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Computer and Engineering Enrollment Up
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65378
Relief may be finally on the way for engineering-starved employers.
For the first time since the dot-com bust, there is a jump in the number of undergraduate computer-science majors. New enrollment in North American computer science and engineering programs rose 8 percent during the 2007-08 school year from the year before, according to a report released Tuesday by the Computing Research Association, a trade group for about 200 university computing departments. It is the first increase since 2002.
"The perception that IT jobs are hard to come by is over, and the field is now considered an interesting place to be," says Peter Harsha, director of government affairs for CRA, which also represents government research labs and research labs for tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and IBM.
The allure of popular technologies such as Web 2.0, iPhone, Facebook and YouTube have drawn more teens into computer science and should boost enrollment figures next year, too, Harsha says.
Adding to the surge: Many undergraduates who once considered business and finance majors are focusing instead on computing, says Jeff Hollingsworth, associate chair at the University of Maryland's computer-science department.
The dramatic shift should ease concern within the tech industry that the U.S. does not graduate enough computer-science students. For years, that has driven tech vendors to outsource low-level programming jobs to India, China and elsewhere.
The spike in majors comes as especially comforting news for IBM and others that often could not fill enterprise-computing jobs because of a paucity of qualified college graduates. "(Information technology) skills are now required to be more competitive in all professions -- not just a technical company," says Mark Hanny, vice president of alliances and academic initiative for IBM Software Group.
President Obama's $787 economic stimulus package underscores the importance of such skills in building a smart energy grid, modernizing health care and...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Imagine Getting Online Before Your Hair Turns Gray
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65376
So long, Windows. Hello, productivity!
Booting up a computer can be maddeningly slow, and "reboots" even worse, as computer users stare at their monitors and wait seemingly forever to get back to work.
Several tech firms are aiming to solve this with "instant on" computing. Their software bypasses Microsoft Windows, the dominant operating system for PCs, at boot-up and goes straight to the Internet browser. There they run speedier and faster, akin to the experience seen on tiny netbooks such as the Asus EEE.
The players:
*Presto (prestomypc.com), a $19.95 software download launched Monday, brings the netbook experience to your notebook.
*Phoenix Technologies' HyperSpace (hyperspace.com), out since January, is also a software download, at $39.95 to $59.95 annually.
*Splashtop (splashtop.com), from DeviceVM, is bundled with new netbook computers from many vendors, including Asus, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.
*Always Innovating's Touch Book uses instant-on technology built into a $399 laptop that doubles as a tablet PC. It will be released in June.
The downside to instant-on computing: You can't open applications such as Quicken, Microsoft Word or iTunes. It's the Internet or nothing. "But you can do what most people care about," says Jordan Smith, product manager for Presto, from Canadian software firm Xandros. "Check your e-mail, do instant messaging, make Skype phone calls."
Phoenix CEO Woodson Hobbs says Microsoft has nothing to worry about in terms of the notebook and desktop markets. But for netbooks, he boasts, "We're going to completely displace Windows."
Well, maybe not anytime soon, if Microsoft has a say. The Windows software giant is at work on a new, leaner, lighter version of Windows, Windows 7, scheduled for release early next year.
With the release of its Vista operating system, Microsoft opened "a window of opportunity for a whole host of companies," says Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies. Vista is too big and takes too long...
Fri, 20 Mar 09
Back Up Your Hard Drive with Fast-and-Easy Rebit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65343
For years, I have been harping on faithful readers to back up their computers -- or at least the data they want to keep.
A good portion of my computer business is recovering data from failed hard drives after people have failed to heed that advice. They usually have lost everything, including their wedding photos, the photos of their children, their master's thesis and all kinds of other irreplaceable stuff.
The trouble with backup routines is that people often fail to actually run them. They are too much of a hassle, people forget, or the process saps their computer power. Or, they find backing up their entire computer takes up too much space on a backup drive. That's because today's cavernous hard drives are very hard to back up.
I recently ran into a product called Rebit that has changed my mind about backup.
This product comes in two flavors. One is a software product for $49.95 that installs on an existing external hard drive, which you provide. Ideally, the external drive should be at least as large as the combined size of the drives you are trying to back up in the single computer. So for example, if you have a 320-gig hard drive, then I would get a 500-gig external.
Once installed, the Rebit software takes over the drive, and all that the user really needs to do is plug the external drive's USB cable into the host computer. The first time the cable is plugged in, the Rebit software takes over and does a complete backup of the computer. It does the entire computer, so if you lose your hard drives, you will be back in business in a matter of an hour.
Once the first backup is complete -- which does not really slow down your host computer -- then every time...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Research Projects Will Study Online Advertising
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65397
Despite years of effort and millions of dollars, the effectiveness of online advertising is still poorly understood. Now Google and WPP Group, a marketing and communication firm, have joined forces to promote science-based research on how traditional and online advertising affect consumer choices.
On Wednesday, the two companies announced that an initial round of 11 research proposals have been awarded "under the auspices of the Google and WPP Marketing Research Awards Program." More than 120 total proposals were submitted for consideration.
The Research Awards Program is a three-year initiative funded by $4.6 million in seed money from Google and WPP. The research proposals were selected by a committee of three academics with extensive experience in media, advertising, and consumer behavior: Professor John Quelch, senior associate dean of Harvard Business School and a non-executive director of WPP; Dr. Hal Varian, Google's chief economist; and Professor Glen Urban, former dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"The winning projects offer convincing designs to explore how online and offline marketing influence consumer attitudes, decisions and purchase behavior," Varian said. "As marketing continues to become more digital and more measurable, the results of these studies would also advance our understanding of how advertising investment should be allocated among media channels."
Both of his fellow committee members agreed. "I was very impressed with the volume and quality of the submissions," said Urban, whose own research proposal was awarded a grant. "I think we have an exciting set of grants that are truly innovative, academically rigorous, and relevant to the practice of digital marketing."
"These awards," Quelch said, "promise to focus some of the best minds in the marketing academy on the marketing impacts of the digital revolution."
The initial round of research projects covers a wide range of advertising-related issues. Among...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Discovery Says Amazon's Kindle Infringes on Patents
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65396
Amazon's popular Kindle e-book reader is under fire. Discovery Communications is suing Amazon for patent infringement in the wake of a backlash from authors who insist Amazon is trying to skirt royalty payments.
Discovery filed its lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware. The company behind cable TV's Discovery Channel is no patent troll looking to make a quick dollar on intellectual property.
Specifically, the suit says both versions of Amazon's Kindle infringe on one or more of the patents that John Hendricks, founder of Discovery, was awarded in November 2007. Discovery's Electronic Book Security and Copyright Protection System patent covers an encryption technology related to the distribution of digital books. Amazon wasn't immediately available to comment.
Discovery says the company and its founder were significant players in the development of digital content and delivery services in the 1990s. Hendricks' work, Discovery said, included the invention of a secure, encrypted system for the selection, transmission and sale of electronic books. The company is seeking damages and a royalty to compensate for "any future infringement" on the patent.
"The Kindle and Kindle 2 are important and popular content-delivery systems. We believe they infringe our intellectual-property rights, and that we are entitled to fair compensation," said Joseph A. LaSala Jr., general counsel of Discovery Communications. "Legal action is not something Discovery takes lightly. Our tradition as an inventive company has produced considerable intellectual-property assets for our shareholders."
According to Raymond Van Dyke, an intellectual-property attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Merchant & Gould, many companies promote innovations that cover their products as well as other technologies that may arise outside the core technologies. In Discovery's case, he said, the company has a patent portfolio covering diverse technologies.
"Non-core patenting is often useful in cross-licensing situations with competitors, present and future. Discovery may also...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Google's Cloudy Security Under Fire
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65395
The Federal Trade Commission is being asked to investigate Internet search giant Google for a lack of security in its cloud-computing services, a framework of software and services in which applications and data reside on third-party servers that provide remote access through Web-based devices.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a Washington, D.C.-based public-interest group, filed the complaint and is asking for an injunction by the FTC to stop Google from offering any of its cloud services until the FTC has investigated Google's safeguarding of consumers' information.
The complaint comes just 10 days after Google announced that it had unintentionally disclosed user-generated documents stored on its cloud-computing service.
In its 15-page complaint, EPIC said Google is not providing adequate protection of consumers' information in its group of cloud-computing services, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Desktop, Picasa Web Albums and Google Calendar.
"We understand the FTC is very interested and have received an acknowledgment from the FTC," Marc Rotenberg, president at EPIC, told us. "Now they will make a determination on whether to begin an investigation."
Rotenberg said EPIC always reserves the right to supplement the filing and may add to it because of Google's health-records service that "will clearly raise privacy and security concerns."
In September and November alone, 30.4 million consumers used Google's Docs and Gmail cloud-computing services, according to ComScore Media Metrix.
EPIC points out several flaws in Google's cloud-computing services. In January 2005, researchers found that usernames and passwords for Google accounts allowed others to steal log-in information, allowing outsiders to snoop on users' e-mail. Another flaw exposed Google users' personal data to malicious Internet sites, EPIC says.
"Of course what we did was we looked carefully at Google's statements and they sound very favorable, then you read their terms of service," Rotenberg said. "On one hand they are telling everyone cloud...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Sony Under Pressure To Drop PS3 Prices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65394
Six months ago, while gaming-console manufacturers Nintendo and Microsoft were busy trying to lure consumers with holiday discounts for their systems, Sony stubbornly refused to drop its prices. Kazuo Hirai, chairman and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, told reporters at the time that he thought the company's equipment was "a very good value proposition."
Six months of economic downturn -- and increasingly cautious consumers -- appears to have changed Sony's outlook. "A major UK retailer" told the industry journal CVG (ComputerAndVideoGames.com) that retailers were told by Sony that a price drop was planned for both the PS3 and the PSP.
As is commonly the case, the precise timing and amount of the price cuts are still unknown, although the mystery retailer told CVG that Sony had been contemplating the reductions for some time. A logical time for announcing the price change would be the end of next week, when the Game Developers Conference is scheduled to open in San Francisco.
Numerous outlets suggested that Sony would drop the price of an 80GB PS3 from its current $399 price point to around $300. The price drop for the PSP would be less, but proportional to its lower cost.
CVG also published a photo of a new product that will go on sale March 29 at Target: a Sony PS3 with two bundled games, MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man. That package, however, will not be discounted, and will sell for the current price of $399.
The possibility, even the necessity, of a price drop by Sony has been widely discussed in the trade press recently, with a number of analysts suggesting that such a move is inevitable.
Sony has been trailing badly in the console wars for some time, and the fourth quarter of 2008 was no exception. According to figures provided by...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
What Lawsuit? Psystar Offers Third-Gen Mac Clone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65392
Seemingly unfazed by Apple's lawsuit against it, Psystar on Tuesday pushed forward with its latest Mac clone.
Psystar has phased out its minitower for a smaller form factor with more powerful processor options. The third-generation Open Computer, called the Open(3), uses Intel's E7400 Core2Duo running at 2.8 GHz as the default processor. That makes the new Mac clone more than 50 percent faster than previous generations.
Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, questioned the wisdom of purchasing a Mac clone instead of a genuine Mac. "You are not getting something significantly cheaper or something that is going to significantly perform better," he said. "You are likely buying something that is going to be incompatible with anything Apple does in the future. And you are going to be depending on a company that really hasn't been around very long for technical support."
It's not clear how many Mac clones Psystar has sold, but it's clear that the company seems intent on producing the machines until a court makes it stop. It keeps developing new and improved models.
An Intel Core2Quad option for the Open(3) aims to enhance performance in computationally intense applications such as 3-D rendering and movie editing. Rudy Pedraza, president of Psystar, said a quad-core in a desktop that is less than four inches thick is the direct result of feedback the company has received from the public. At 47 percent smaller, the company said the new chassis improves space efficiency and versatility by using either a standard PC pedestal or horizontal placement.
"We are making the Open Computer a better fit for our users' environments in more ways than one," Pedraza said. "The smaller size will definitely make it easier to place in a home or small office, but, at the same time, the increased performance will allow it to...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Sun Shines on Cloud Computing with New Services
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65372
There's a new Sun among the clouds. Sun Microsystems announced Wednesday its new Open Cloud Platform, an open infrastructure powered by Java, MySQL, OpenSolaris, and Open Storage software technologies.
The computer company also outlined Sun Cloud, a new public cloud-computing service aimed at developers, startups and students.
Sun's strategy aims to position it in the growing cloud-computing marketplace, where applications and services exist on the Internet and are available to subscribers at any time, from any computer.
As part of its commitment to building communities, Sun said it is also releasing a core set of Open APIs for review and comments by the general public. The APIs will make it easier for developers to create applications and cloud environments that work with the Open Cloud Platform and the Sun Cloud.
The Sun APIs are published under a Creative Commons license, allowing anyone to use them for virtually any use. The company said third-party developers will be able to utilize prepackaged virtual-machine images of Sun's open-source software, and thus deploy applications almost immediately.
Sun Cloud has two services initially, the Storage Service and the Compute Service, and both will be available this summer. The company said it would make available to its customers the technologies and architecture of the Sun Cloud so others can build interoperable clouds.
The core of the Compute Service is the Virtual Data Center (VDC), based on capabilities acquired when Sun bought Q-layer in January. Sun said VDC provides everything developers need to build and run a cloud-based data center, including an integrated interface to stage an application that runs on either the OpenSolaris, Linux or Windows operating systems.
The VDC also has drag-and-drop, APIs and a command-line interface for assigning computing resources through a Web browser. The Storage Service supports WebDAV protocols for file access and storage.
In Sun's...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
IBM Could Become a Server Powerhouse by Buying Sun
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65370
Reports that International Business Machines is in talks to acquire Sun Microsystems is having a positive effect on the company that develops Java software. Shares of Sun rose substantially in European trading after word hit the market that IBM may pay $6.3 billion in cash.
Sources familiar with the matter disclosed the talks to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Sun's shares jumped from below $3 to around $8 Wednesday morning.
The acquisition by IBM would mean a great deal for Sun, which had a market capitalization of $3.7 billion at the end of trading Tuesday and fiscal 2008 revenue of $13.88 billion.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company with 33,556 employees worldwide had been seeking a buyer for some time. HP was approached as a potential buyer, but the company did not have any interest in a deal, the Journal said.
Sun has reached a point where it needs an exit strategy or a transition from hardware to focus more on open-source software and services. For years, the company stood out for its focus on innovation, but it has not had as much success in recent years.
Kristi Rawlinson, a Sun spokesperson, said the company does not comment on market rumors.
The reported talks between the two companies on opposite coasts and with opposite business cultures has ignited debate among observers who see the move as both a big mistake and a way for IBM to stay on top.
Those who see this as a bad move for IBM said the company doesn't need anything from Sun, including hardware, software, sales or market reach. IBM doesn't need UNIX, Sun's chip architectures, its sales force, its storage technology, or Java licensing.
IBM's access to Sun's hardware will be a plus for the company that mainly sells software and services, according to...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Patch Management Turns Critical
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65352
First detected last October, the Conficker worm has since infected over eight million computers worldwide. Derek Brown, security researcher at TippingPoint DVLabs, talks about the worm and strategies companies can take to secure the network.
The Conficker/Downadup worm appears to spread throughout vulnerable networks through a blended attack vector. Although the worm was initially successful in generating infections on unpatched Windows machines, once inside the network the worm can either self-propagate through brute force password guessing, or trick users with portable storage devices into running an executable program.
There is no singular significance to this blended threat, but the issue is that Conficker has become so pervasive due to its eclectic infection strategy that it exploits vulnerabilities in software.
The presence of unpatched machines in a corporate intranet is often the only security hole that a worm or virus needs to gain a foothold in the network infrastructure. That's why security administrators must be both diligent and vigilant when it comes to patch management.
Malware authors have come a long way. The most successful worms -- success in this context refers to a measure of gross infections over time -- now rely on multiple attack vectors to ensure fruitful propagation. Remember the Nimda worm? By some accounts, Nimda is the most widespread computer worm in the world -- a mere 22 minutes after its release.
Nimda spread throughout the Internet rapidly by placing copies of itself on otherwise innocuous Web sites and by exploiting a collection of directory traversal vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Internet Information Services Web server. Conficker raises the stakes by adding brute force password enumeration over mounted server message block shares.
When Conficker attempts to brute force passwords on the host, the IPS can be configured to block further attempts. The threshold on the block reaction from the alerts may need to be tuned...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Out of Work? Try Writing a Blog!
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65348
In happier times, the Above the Law blog, which bills itself as a "legal tabloid," riffed about Jerry Springer speaking at Northwestern University Law School's commencement and Clarence Thomas's love of Egg McMuffins. These days, it is a hot spot for rumors and real-time reports on big-firm layoffs -- and features, such as an out-of-work lawyer's "Notes From the Breadline."
We are in the worst economic downturn of the Internet age, and bloggers are making the most of it. Because of the diversity of voices, their ability to cover niche subjects and the infinite capacity of the Web for words, blogs have been able to take on the recession from every conceivable angle -- straight-up reporting, economic analysis, advice for the unemployed and more than a few servings of paranoia.
The Great Depression of the 1930s was documented with black-and-white photographs of migrant workers and film reels of bread lines. In this economic crisis, the iconic media coverage could be the furious postings occurring in the blogosphere.
There are blogs starting up that aim to be one-stop sites for information -- like recessionwire.com, founded by two downsized Conde Nast Portfolio editors. Its subjects range from a just-laid-off checklist -- practical advice on what to do in the first hours, days and weeks after losing a job -- to getting by with subsistence gardening.
Blogging economists are offering the sort of analysis once available only in specialized publications or graduate school seminars. Baselinescenario.com, whose writers include a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is a former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, drills down on issues like the A.I.G. bailout. Greg Mankiw, an economics professor at Harvard, writes a conservative blog heavy on theory. (A recent entry: "Team Obama on the Unit Root Hypothesis.")
Thrifty-living blogs have been around for awhile, but the...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Privacy on Web a Big Concern for Americans
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65346
As arguments swirl over online privacy, a new survey indicates the issue is a dominant concern for Americans, who live in one of the biggest wired countries.
More than 90 percent of respondents called online privacy a "really" or "somewhat" important issue, according to the survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted by TRUSTe, an organization that monitors the privacy practices of Web sites of companies like I.B.M., Yahoo and WebMD for a fee.
When asked if they were comfortable with behavioral targeting -- when advertisers use a person's browsing history or search history to decide which ad to show them -- only 28 percent said they were. More than half said they were not. And more than 75 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, "The Internet is not well regulated, and naive users can easily be taken advantage of."
The survey arrives at a fractious time. Debate over behavioral advertising has intensified, with industry groups trying to avoid U.S. government intervention by creating their own regulatory standards. Still, some Congressional representatives and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission are questioning whether there are enough safeguards around the practice.
Last month, the F.T.C. revised its suggestions for behavioral advertising rules for the industry, proposing, among other measures, that sites disclose when they are participating in behavioral advertising and obtain consumers' permission to do so.
One F.T.C. commissioner, Jon Leibowitz, warned that if the industry did not respond, intervention would be next.
"Put simply, this could be the last clear chance to show that self-regulation can -- and will -- effectively protect consumers' privacy," Mr. Leibowitz said, or else "it will certainly invite legislation by Congress and a more regulatory approach by our commission."
Some technology companies are making changes on their own. Yahoo recently shortened the amount of time it keeps data derived from searches. It is...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
Wooing Fame, Fortune and the Technorati at SXSW
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65345
Benjamin Satterfield, a 33-year-old Internet entrepreneur, knows how fickle Web tastemakers can be.
Last year he introduced an online collaboration tool called Twiddla at the annual South by Southwest Interactive conference [in Austin, Tex.], which attracts thousands of influential Webheads. Twiddla won praise and even a prize at the conference's Interactive Web Awards. But the spotlight quickly faded.
"We had millions of hits to the site," Mr. Satterfield said. "Then it died off. I was in a trough of despair."
This year, he tried to build something that would be used long after the conference buzz died down. He created Gigotron, a free Web and iPhone application that rounds up listings of nearby concerts.
The service is already running in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and Mr. Satterfield is about to take the wraps off a version tailored for the Austin music scene. "You know you're going to get traction at South by Southwest," he said.
Mr. Satterfield is one of many entrepreneurs who flock to the music and media conference in the hope of capturing the attention of attendees and elevating their product or service out of obscurity.
Twitter, the chatty Web service that is quickly entering the mainstream, first hit it big during the 2007 conference because of giant screens installed around the convention center displaying Twitter messages from the crowd. Shawn O'Keefe, who has been helping organize the tech-oriented portion of South by Southwest for nearly a decade, said that in the early days the conference also helped give a lift to the makers of the blogging tools Blogger and Movable Type.
But wooing the technorati is a tricky business. Start-up companies are aware that in-your-face marketing is a good way to scare off the kinds of people who go to South by Southwest.
JagTag, a company based in Princeton, New Jersey,...
Thu, 19 Mar 09
How To Tell, What To Do if Computer Is Infected
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65320
Computer-virus infections don't cause your machine to crash anymore.
Nowadays, the criminals behind the infections usually want your computer operating in top form so you don't know something's wrong. That way, they can log your keystrokes and steal any passwords or credit-card numbers you enter at Web sites, or they can link your infected computer with others to send out spam.
Here are some signs your computer is infected, tapped to serve as part of "botnet" armies run by criminals:
- You experience new, prolonged slowdowns. This can be a sign that a malicious program is running in the background.
- You continually get pop-up ads that you can't make go away. This is a sure sign you have "adware," and possibly more, on your machine.
- You're being directed to sites you didn't intend to visit, or your search results are coming back funky. This is another sign that hackers have gotten to your machine.
So what do you do?
- Having anti-virus software here is hugely helpful. For one, it can identify known malicious programs and disable them. If the virus that has infected your machine isn't detected, many anti-virus vendors offer a service in which they can remotely take over your computer and delete the malware for a fee.
- Some anti-virus vendors also offer free, online virus-scanning services.
- You may have to reinstall your operating system if your computer is still experiencing problems. It's a good idea even if you believe you've cleaned up the mess because malware can still be hidden on your machine. You will need to back up your files before you do this.
How do I know what information has been taken?
- It's very hard to tell what's been taken. Not every infection steals your data. Some just serve unwanted ads. Others poison your search result or steer you to Web...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Marvel Comics Will Put Characters in Online Games
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65369
There are some businesses and organizations that seem to be not only surviving the economic downturn, but even thriving: Liquor stores, movie theaters, libraries, and now online video games.
According to an announcement Tuesday, Marvel Comics is teaming up with a small and relatively unknown multiplayer online (MMO) game developer called Gazillion Entertainment to create a virtual universe featuring Marvel characters.
The joint venture will first produce a low-level online game aimed at children using Marvel's Super Hero Squad. The more sophisticated online game Marvel Universe does not have a specific release date, but will probably appear in late 2010 or early 2011.
Although an earlier Marvel-based online game never took flight, both Marvel and Gazillion think the comic publisher's enormous fan base will help make Marvel Universe a hit.
"Despite the tough economy, the video-game industry continues to grow, and MMO games for mass audiences represent the next big opportunity for the upcoming decade," said Rob Hutter, president and CEO of Gazillion. "This is particularly the case for established global-entertainment brands like Marvel, which possess hundreds of millions of touch points with fans worldwide. The next step is exceptionally high-quality MMO entertainment, and that's our mission at Gazillion."
The comic-book company currently has more than 5,000 characters, including such iconic figures as Wolverine, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and Captain America. A number of those characters have been the basis of successful films, making the prospect of cross-marketing even more alluring.
Despite its relatively short track record, Gazillion will be partnering with a number of major creative companies to assist in the creation of Marvel Universe, including Apple, Pixar Animation, Blizzard Entertainment, and Microsoft Game Studios. Four separate studios will be involved in the product development and launch.
Marvel and Gazillion hope to tap into what is already a...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Privacy Is Now Optional for Facebook Postings
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65361
As most people are aware, Facebook has been undergoing considerable changes over the past couple of weeks, ranging from alterations for its despised terms of use to a new screen layout that has some users grumbling. On Tuesday, the company rolled out yet another new feature, designed to let users share their Facebook information with a wider audience.
When users click on their privacy settings for the first time since the change was implemented, they'll see a message that reads: "Now there is an 'Everyone' option for sharing. If you choose, you can now open your profile and share information with everyone on Facebook for broader distribution and better sharing. None of your settings have changed with this new option."
Overall, the change doesn't appear to be causing much concern, in large part because Facebook made sure to turn off "everyone" when it rolled the feature out.
Each type of content -- Profile, Status Updates, Links, Wall Posts, Basic Info, Personal Info, Education Info, Work Info, Photos of You and Videos of You -- can be controlled separately. If the "everyone" option is selected, that specific content can be viewed by anyone who locates it in a search or who sees a reference to the content in another friend's Newsfeed.
In a post to the Facebook blog, engineer Mark Slee said the change in privacy settings was a response to user requests.
"We have largely focused on enabling you to give access to your profile to people you confirmed as friends and people in your networks," Slee wrote. "While these controls remain important and a priority for us, many of you have explained that you also want to open parts of your profile to a wider audience. Starting today, you can choose to make your profile and any of your content available to...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
iPhone OS 3.0 and SDK Open Doors for Developers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65360
Apple on Tuesday previewed its much-anticipated iPhone OS 3.0. The beta release has significant changes that give developers more freedom to create new applications for the popular smartphone.
The iPhone OS 3.0 beta release includes an updated software development kit (SDK) with more than 1,000 new application programming interfaces (APIs). The mobile platform also offers an app interface for accessories, access to the iPod music library, a new maps API, and push notifications.
"The new iPhone OS 3.0 is a major software release packed with incredible new features and innovations for iPhone customers and developers alike," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. "It will keep us years ahead of the competition."
"Years ahead of the competition" is a bold statement from Apple. But the Mac maker is offering some proof. In addition to the more than 1,000 new APIs, Apple also announced 100-plus new features for the iPhone and iPod touch. Some of those features include cut, copy and paste, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), landscape view for mail, and text and notes.
The iPhone OS 3.0 also offers stereo Bluetooth, syncing notes to the Mac and PC, shake to shuffle, parental controls for TV shows, movies and apps from the App Store, and automatic log-in at Wi-Fi hot spots. It also offers a new Voice Memo app and expanded search capabilities for all key iPhone apps, as well as s Spotlight search across the iPhone or iPod touch.
With the new APIs, developers can leverage the App Store purchase model within apps. In-App Purchases allows developers to offer subscription content and sell new content and features. Developers can also more easily create peer-to-peer games for the iPhone and iPod touch, using Bluetooth.
"Today we saw a lot of evolutionary features combined with some potentially revolutionary changes. Cut,...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Mac Sales Slide 16 Percent in February
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65359
The NPD Group reports that unit sales of Mac computers fell 16 percent in the United States last month, even as Windows-based PC sales rose 22 percent, driven by demand for low-cost netbooks.
Even in the typically strong notebook segment, NPD noted, unit sales of MacBook laptops fell seven percent in February, whereas Windows laptops jumped 36 percent. If not for the strong netbook sales, however, Windows laptops would have risen only 16 percent.
On the other hand, Apple did better in the overall U.S. PC market than rivals Dell and HP in the fourth quarter of 2008, growing unit sales by four percent even as total PC sales declined 4.4 percent from one year earlier, noted Mika Kitagawa, a principal analyst at Gartner.
Apple had strong growth in the U.S. professional market, "showing a growing interest from business sectors," Kitagawa said. "In the home market, Apple's growth was lower than the U.S. average" but only because of "robust mini-notebook shipment growth."
Still, Apple is not likely to jump into the netbook market without carefully considering how to protect its regular Mac line, noted Stephen Baker, NPD vice president.
"The mainstream PC business is a mass market, wide distribution, low margin kind of product area, whereas the Mac business represents relatively limited distribution, high margins and higher prices," Baker said. Because of the potential "for cannibalization and price declines," he observed, "I am not sure that having a netbook would be in [Apple's] best interest."
Furthermore, stronger netbook sales are not really helping Apple's rivals either, Baker added. "In January it seemed to us that half of the netbook volume represented new unit sales while the other half was based on cannibalizing regular PC sales."
Nearly 50 percent of last year's netbook sales occurred in December, by which...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
HTC Will Roll Out Multiple Android-Based Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65358
HTC had an edge over its competitors when it rolled out the first Android-based phone with Google and T-Mobile, the G1, and it plans to keep the upper hand with the rollout of additional smartphones using the open-source mobile platform.
Peter Chou, chief executive and cofounder of the Taiwan-based company, said the G1 pushed past the targeted one million units and the company plans to launch several more Android smartphones in 2009. He told an audience at the Merrill Lynch Technology Conference in Taipei that HTC plans to roll out more than three phones this year.
HTC announced the HTC Magic, an Android-based phone, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The handset, often referred to as the G2, will first be sold in Europe by Vodafone, beginning in April.
Sales of Linux-based smartphones were up 19 percent from 2007 to 2008, mainly because the Android-based G1 became available through T-Mobile during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Gartner.
HTC thrives on innovation and being first to market. It boasts about developing the first color palm-size PC, the first Microsoft-powered smartphone, the first Microsoft 3G phone, and being the first to use the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.
HTC's Android-based smartphones will have to compete with other vendors' devices, including those from Nokia, which had 44 percent of the smartphone market last year, according to Gartner; Research in Motion, which had the second-greatest share with 17 percent; and Apple, which held eight percent. HTC had the smallest share, along with Sharp, with 4 percent (Gartner only counts devices branded under HTC).
In the fourth quarter, global smartphone sales to end users reached 38.1 million, an increase of 3.7 percent from the same quarter in 2007, according to Gartner. For the year, global sales of smartphones reached 139.3 million, up...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Dell Steps Out in Style with New Thin Adamo Laptop
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65356
Its name comes from the Latin word for "falling in love." And that's the swooning response that Dell hopes customers will have for its new Adamo laptop, which, as befits most storybook lovers, is as thin as you can get and still be beautiful.
In fact, the first in the new Adamo brand is "the world's thinnest laptop," according to its proud parent. The Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker set a lofty goal for this new line of products, saying it's intended to do nothing less than "disrupt the personal-computing space with the combination of new design aesthetics, personalization choices, and sought-after technologies."
To get the thin profile that Adamo boasts -- 0.65 of an inch compared to the MacBook Air's 0.76 -- Dell milled the chassis from a single piece of aluminum.
The lifestyle factor is a major angle for this first Adamo, available in the colors formerly known as black and white and now known as Onyx and Pearl. Rumors of the new laptop first emerged on a lifestyle blog, and the Web site features a Flash video that slides between fashion-style photos. "Prepare to fall in love," it warns.
At January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Dell had fashion model Wakeema show a black Adamo model -- but only the body, as the power was not turned on.
But many industry observers have noted that the release of a fashion-emphasized laptop could be a risky strategy for Dell. The vast majority of Dell's sales are to businesses, and the current recession is making both business and consumer buyers cautious. There has also been speculation that businesses, in particular, will be updating hardware less often because of the economies offered by network-based "cloud computing."
Laura DiDio, an analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corps, disagreed with those who think...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Cisco's Unified Strategy Revamps the Data-Center View
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65355
Details of Cisco's much-anticipated but highly cloaked data-center architecture, solutions and services have been unveiled. Once code-named California, Cisco's Unified Computing System leverages VMware's technologies to offer a new approach to data centers.
The solution unites computing, network, storage access, and virtualization resources into a single system to reduce costs, simplify use, and improve efficiencies.
Among the first products in the Unified Computing System lineup are Cisco USC B-Series blade servers based on Intel Nehalem processors; support for a unified fabric that consolidates networks, security, policy enforcement, and diagnostic features; and Cisco's USC Manager to handle system configuration and operations. The system delivers IT as a service, with flexibility to set policies around network and server usage.
For something ostensibly cloaked in secrecy, Cisco's efforts around its California blade servers have been the talk of the IT industry since mid-January, when rumors of the impending launch began, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. The support of Cisco partners, he said, suggests that the potential benefits and opportunities of the Unified Computing System are significant.
"During the past few weeks, most analysts and media outlets focused their attention on the threat Cisco's plans posed to server stalwarts, including HP, Dell, IBM and Sun. This is natural enough, since Cisco's move into servers can only succeed at the expense of those companies," King said, noting that considerably less attention has been paid to the implications of Cisco's strategy.
Cisco's system suggests that in virtualized and cloud-computing environments high levels of system and network integration deliver optimum performance. By extension, King said, the characteristics of individual servers and other hardware components are less important than their capacity for working in concert.
He called this a thoroughbred versus wagon-team mentality. Though less refined and elegant, he said, a wagon team is capable of greater sustained...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
It Takes a Cloud To Manage Apps in the Cloud
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65338
Cloud computing is on the rise for enterprises, despite unresolved issues. IDC estimates that spending on cloud computing will increase from $16 billion in 2008 to $42 billion by 2012, representing about 25% of all IT spending that year. A May 2008 report from Merrill Lynch estimates that 12% of the worldwide software market will migrate to the cloud over the next five years.
The promises of cloud computing are intoxicating: reduced cost when IT becomes a pay-as-you-go function; greater flexibility to deploy new applications and services more quickly; increased mobility for users who now can access applications and information more easily from anywhere; and the liberation of internal IT staffs from constant server and software updates, which frees them up to focus on more strategic contributions to the business.
But before enterprises rush to the cloud, it's important to first understand and mitigate the risks, many of which arise from the loss of control over and visibility into application behavior. One of the biggest challenges is how to manage applications in the cloud. Given that the likely scenario for most enterprises is that they will need to rely upon both in-house and cloud applications, a related challenge is how to reconcile and integrate the two. No one wants two sets of disconnected application monitoring and management tools -- one to mange internal apps, and one to manage apps in the cloud.
Managing applications is difficult no matter where they reside, and many enterprises have spent years and considerable amounts of money on tools and processes to establish effective and consistent monitoring and audit solutions. It's understandable IT organizations do not want to lose this hard-won visibility and control as they move their applications into a cloud.
A cloud computing approach can enable enterprises to efficiently monitor and act upon the following --...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Nokia To Slash 700 More Jobs Amid Weak Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65337
Mobile-phone giant Nokia plans to slash 700 more jobs worldwide in the next few months amid weakening demand for its products. The announcement Monday by Espoo, Finland-based Nokia comes just two months after the company first said it would shrink its handset unit and cut 1,000 jobs.
Last month, Nokia continued cost-cutting measures by starting its global Voluntary Resignation Package, which offered the first 1,000 employees who volunteered to leave severance packages. The company also encouraged employees to take holidays as time off instead of taking cash compensation.
Monday's announcement of 700 job cuts brings the total to 1,700. While the cuts will be global, Finland alone will see nearly 700 jobs eliminated.
Along with its handset unit, Nokia plans to cut jobs in sales, corporate development, marketing and in other global support functions. Last month it cut back production at its Salo facility in Finland.
Nokia executives say the cuts are part of the company's initial plans to adjust its business operations after its January 2008 acquisition of Symbian. Nokia acquired the remaining 52 percent of the company in an effort to better compete with Google's Android.
The most recent cuts, however, came because of slowed market demand. In January, the company announced a poor fourth quarter, with a 69 percent drop in profits. Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo blamed the job cuts and lower profits on reduced demand for mobile handsets.
"I think the job cuts are a result of the very tough market environment and not necessarily a symptom of specific issues Nokia is facing," said Carolina Milanesi, a U.K.-based research director for mobile devices at Gartner. "It is clear that cost control is paramount today."
"Nokia needs to strengthen its high-end portfolio while continuing to deliver good value for money devices like the ones we saw in Barcelona," Milanesi said. She...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Gather Ye Tech Bargains While Ye May
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65324
If there were ever a time to hunt for bargains in tech, it's now. Prices for many must-have gadgets are low as lackluster demand forces manufacturers and retailers to slash prices. "Most categories continue to see [above seasonal] price declines," says Stephen Baker, vice-president of industry analysis at researcher NPD Group. The Consumer Electronics Assn. expects consumer electronics sales to slump 0.6 percent, to $171 billion this year. According to PriceGrabber.com, average selling prices on laptop computers, flat-panel TVs, navigation devices, and the like are on the decline.
But there are signs that the pace of price declines may slow in the coming months. Serial price slasher Circuit City has closed its doors, reducing pricing pressure on other retailers. Demand is expected to rebound in the second half, and component prices are starting to rise.
Prices of components such as flash memory, used in cell phones, and some types of digital storage used in items like computers are starting to recover, says Bill McClean, president of researcher IC Insights. Suppliers of many types of components have already increased prices by 2 percent to 23 percent since December, in some cases for the first time in two years, he says. Component prices may rise even more in the second half as electronics manufacturers gear up for the holiday season, McClean says. With component prices rallying, gadget manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Nokia, and others may be forced to choose between raising prices on finished items or holding prices steady at the risk of cutting their margins.
Circuit City, which historically has accounted for about 10 percent of total U.S. electronics sales, closed its stores in March. After filing for bankruptcy protection last fall, the electronics retail chain slashed prices through the holiday selling season. Its disappearance reduces pressure on other retailers...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
With Mobile Apps, Smartphones Take the Wheel
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65317
Can a smartphone make you a smart driver? Perhaps. Most BlackBerry owners, for example, know they can improve their highway I.Q. by using the navigation function of their smartphones.
People with a Web browser on their phone can check out services like World Traffic Cams to check on conditions at notoriously congested spots.
Indeed, our love affair with mobile phones is increasingly being coupled with our love affair with the automobile, spawning applications -- some silly, some sublime -- that drivers can download to their handsets for little or no money.
On the practical side, there are programs that help with the more mundane aspects of automobile ownership.
One free application for the iPhone, for example, tries to demystify repair bills. Tap in the make and model of your vehicle along with what ails it (for instance, worn brake pads and rotors) and RepairPal spits out estimated parts and labor costs. It does not include diagnostic fees and taxes, but, for Americans, it does offer a list of nearby repair shops with customer ratings, should you want to comparison shop.
Conversely, on the pure fun side, there's Dynolicious. Using the same kind of technology that enables a Nintendo Wii game controller to follow your gestures, this application gauges 0-to-60 miles-per- hour times and other performance characteristics, including lateral G-forces. Like competing programs like g-tac pro, Dynolicious will also let you assess your vehicle's top speed, but to get precise results you'll need to secure the phone in a cradle.
These programs are designed to be used on closed road courses, of course, but for those who can't resist the temptation to test posted speed limits on public roadways, there's the Njection speed trap alert program for the iPhone. The program compiles reports from other drivers to pinpoint speed traps along your route, but the information is...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Building Keyboards for New Needs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65314
John Landino's couch may be comfortable, but it was never easy for him to sit back, relax and type. The keys were never at the right angle and there was no flat surface for a mouse. So he built the Phantom keyboard with a twirling, tilting mechanism for positioning it just right.
"The lapboard allows you to have complete and full keyboard and mouse interaction from just about any type of position," he said. "You can use it as a lefty or righty."
Bringing the keyboard to market was not easy -- it has taken Mr. Landino's company, Phantom Entertainment (phantom.net), three years to create it, and copies are just now being shipped from the manufacturing plant in China. He estimates that stores should be stocking it this spring at a price of $129.
Mr. Landino is not the only one focused on the keyboard. As computers shrink, more and more people aren't content with the $10 model thrown in the box by the PC manufacturer. Some are embracing more exotic materials, some want a platform that works from an easy chair, some are demanding additional functions, and some just want a shape that places less stress on their aching hands and wrists. You can now spend more on a keyboard than on some desktop computers.
"We feel that many IT professionals take pride in choosing and using a high-performance keyboard in the same way many professional writers choose and use high-quality fountain pens and excellent typewriters," said Kazuya Nakamura, a sales manager for Fujitsu's keyboard division, PFU Ltd.
Last year, his company issued a limited-edition model with "Wajima-nuri lacquered keys that had been built into an elegant shaved aluminum body frame" for yen525,000, or $5,350. Its current, and less extravagant, line is sold primarily in Japan.
The living room and the bedroom are the next...
Wed, 18 Mar 09
Taiwan Changes Tack To Save Chipmakers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65313
Faced with a disastrous downturn in a vital industry, chip making, Taiwan is experimenting with a novel way to try to save it.
With at least two leading chip manufacturers teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, the government in recent weeks has introduced the broad outlines of a plan to create a new entity, called Taiwan Memory, to support production. It aims to balance concern about taxpayers' wrath over the use of public money against the threat of a banking crisis and anger over thousands of lost jobs if one or more of the companies fail.
"This is one of the clear motivations when the government is looking at the DRAM sector," said Tony Phoo, a Taipei-based economist with Standard Chartered, referring to dynamic random access memory chips, which are used in a range of popular consumer electronics products. "It wants to prevent this from morphing into something that could get out of hand and have serious repercussions."
Under the plan, the government hopes to invest 30 billion Taiwan dollars, or about $870 million, in the venture, and will limit its stake to less than 50 percent. It wants private investors, including at least some of the six main DRAM manufacturers in the country, to own the rest, though the terms of their involvement have not been detailed.
John Hsuan, a chip industry veteran tapped to lead the new company, told reporters that the government did not intend to merge the six companies, and that it would not immediately bail out individual manufacturers.
"The purpose of Taiwan Memory is to make Taiwan's DRAM industry more competitive," he was quoted as saying by local news media.
But analysts say some consolidation may be needed to help the chip makers weather the economic crisis and to deal with competition from giant South Korean rivals like Hynix Semiconductor and...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Internet Access on Mobile Devices More Than Doubles
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65336
The number of people using mobile devices to access the Internet more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009, according to comScore, a provider of Internet tracking. Internet users have been using smartphones for personal use and to conduct business, similar to the way they would use a laptop or home computer.
Last January, of the 63.2 million people who used their mobile device to access information, 22.4 million, or 35 percent of mobile-device users, did it on a daily basis, more than double last year's 10.8 million people.
"It was surprising to see such a dramatic change in the usage of mobile news and information," said Jaimee Steele, spokesperson for comScore. "Only a year ago, the majority of those accessing news and information reported that they did so only a few times in the month; so over the course of one year, we have seen mobile Internet access become a part of the daily media diet of a growing number of people."
The increase in daily users indicates a few trends, according to Steele.
"First of all, the mobile content is no longer merely a diversion or novelty for gadget enthusiasts, but is truly integrated into people's daily lives," Steele said. "Secondly, the content being offered is resonating with consumers, which bodes well as advertisers and publishers consider mobile as part of their media budgets."
Mobile-device users are using them for both business and personal use, according to comScore. People are using mobile devices to blog, visit social-networking sites, and download applications such as those offered through the iPhone App Store.
"What we are seeing is people are using them for both personal and business use. The line between business users and consumers is becoming less differentiated," Steele said.
At the beginning of this year, 22.3 million people...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Mystery Ipod Shuffle Chip Sparks Apple DRM Rumors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65335
A mysterious chip in the volume-control bud of Apple's new iPod shuffle headphones has set off a flurry of rumors that Apple is adopting a program of digital-rights management (DRM) for its hardware.
The rumors were launched during the weekend by very detailed reviews of the new hardware on the tech Web sites iLounge and Boing Boing Gadgets. The iLounge review was written by Editor in Chief Jeremy Horowitz, who complained bitterly about the limited controls on the shuffle and its impact on headphone use.
"Because of what Apple has done here -- something sneaky and arguably terrible for consumers, especially if it continues with other iPod and iPhone products in 2009," Horowitz said, "if you plug your old third-party headphones of any sort into the new shuffle, you'll find that you can't do anything with the device other than have it continuously play music without volume controls or interruption, unless, of course, if you turn it off."
Horowitz's allegation that third-party manufacturers of headphones would have to license an authentication chip from Apple sent the techies at Boing Boing off on a hunt to see if they could find it. When they unearthed a small chip in the headphone module labeled 8A83E3, headlines popped up on Web sites around the globe that Apple was trying to dominate the headphone market.
As the Boing Boing site conceded, the techies actually weren't sure what they had found: "For all we know, it could be something the FCC made them put in so that it doesn't interfere with whale song," Joel Johnson and Rob Beschizza wrote.
But the discovery of the chip set off a scramble for comment from Apple and its vendors. Accessory manufacturers V-moda and Scosche confirmed that Apple is requiring the purchase and installation of a chip, currently only available from Apple, to...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Cloudera Floats Linux Distro for Cloud Computing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65334
The same cloud-computing technology used by Facebook, Google, Yahoo and other Web giants is poised to land in regular enterprise data centers, courtesy of a free software distribution from Silicon Valley startup Cloudera.
Inspired by Google's MapReduce and Google File System research papers, Hadoop is a cloud-computing technology for storing and processing petabytes of information on systems comprised of hundreds or even thousands of servers, said Cloudera CEO Mike Olson.
"Processing this kind of big data has been too expensive or too technically difficult for all but the most sophisticated IT organizations until now," Olson said. "Cloudera is focused on bringing the power of the open-source community to the market at large" and making "big data-processing capabilities accessible and affordable for all companies."
IDC predicts that worldwide IT spending on cloud services will grow almost threefold by 2012, when it is expected to total $42 billion and account for nine percent of revenues in five key market segments. More important, the research firm forecasts that spending on cloud computing will accelerate throughout the forecast period, capturing 25 percent of IT spending growth in 2012 and nearly a third of the expected growth for the following year.
Though David Smith, Gartner's vice president, thinks cloud computing still has a way to go before it reaches maturity, making Hadoop available to a wider range of companies is certainly "one of the important things that starts to unlock the potential of cloud computing." However, Cloudera "is not the only company supporting Hadoop: HP is doing a lot of work with Hadoop, as is Yahoo" Smith observed.
What makes Cloudera different from HP and Yahoo is its goal of serving as a specialized one-stop shop for the free Java software framework that currently empowers the cloud.
"As we listen to the community,...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Lenovo Pocket Yoga Flirts with Netbook Enthusiasts
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65333
Proving once again that technology journalism has more than a little similarity to online dating, a bunch of tech sites ran stories Monday hyping a new entry into the sub-subnotebook field: The Pocket Yoga by Lenovo.
The stories began appearing after a series of high-quality photographs showed up on Lenovo's Flickr feed, depicting a sleek, leather-wrapped, ultrathin PC that opened up to a very wide (but not very tall) screen and a matching keyboard with edge-to-edge keys. Another picture showed the screen folded all the way back so that it could be used as a small tablet PC roughly the size of a reporter's notebook.
To secure the case while traveling, Lenovo designed a small leather belt to hold the screen shut. When the computer is in use, the belt folds up and becomes a travel-size mouse.
The tech site Engadget's response to the photos was pretty typical: "Tantalizing, yes? That's it for details, but be sure to hit up that gallery for those red-hot pics."
But as is all-too-often true online, it turned out that the photos have no basis in reality. According to Johnson Li, director of Lenovo's Beijing Innovation Center, the photos depict a concept the company considered a couple of years ago but decided not to bring to market.
"Last week some buzz was created by a photograph that someone snuck out of our Beijing design studio," Li said in a blog post. "The picture was of a pocket-sized PC we developed about two years ago, well before the current netbook craze and the introduction of a similar form factor by one of our competitors."
Li added that the concept of the Pocket Yoga was based on a larger folding notebook called the Yoga, which in turn was inspired by the athletic interest of a Lenovo designer from New Zealand.
"Pocket Yoga...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Facebook Traffic More Than Doubles in One Year
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65332
Internet users are spending a lot of time on social-networking Web sites, and as a result Facebook has shot up in popularity and has everyone from groups of moms to priests talking about it. The number of users flocking to the site to communicate with friends, check event invites, and post photos has soared.
Social-networking sites in general saw an increase in visitors, claiming 6.13 percent of U.S. Internet traffic, up four percent year over year, according to tracking company Hitwise. Facebook's share of that traffic more than doubled, to 36 percent from 14 percent.
"I think what is really interesting about the growth is how Facebook has continued to grow and Web-site traffic to Facebook has had an upright trajectory," said Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise.
Moms aren't spending their nights out talking about their children spending time on Facebook -- they are talking about their own experience on the Web site. Tracking results show the site is not only attracting teens, but visitors aged 35 and older, a group that grew 23 percent from February 2008 through last month.
The older demographic may also be switching from MySpace to Facebook, since MySpace saw a two percent decline in that age group during the same time.
"When you look at the ages of visitors on Facebook, the biggest share is still aged 18 to 24," Dougherty said. In fact, 29 percent of traffic to Facebook last month was from that age group, 17 percent were 45 to 54, and nine percent were 55 and older.
Still, there is a clear shift away from Facebook being visited by just the 18-to-24 group. Traffic from all age groups -- except the 18-to-24 category -- increased from February 2008 to February 2009, according to Dougherty.
"It has become far more mainstreamed than...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
iPhone Gets Facebook Connect, More Features Expected
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65331
Facebook Connect and OS 3.0 are coming to Apple's iPhone, and there are rumors of more additions.
Late last week, Apple issued invitations for a special event Tuesday in Cupertino, Calif., to discuss its new operating system and a new software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone. A variety of rumors have been populating the Web in anticipation of the OS 3.0 release.
One rumor, in particular, supported by the SDK release, is that Apple will release "true" background processing. Currently, background processes aren't permitted in third-party applications, which means those applications must quit completely when they are closed.
Push notification was a solution Apple said it would offer so apps could receive messages or updates when not active. But push notification was dropped from a recent firmware update, leading to speculation that user-selectable background processing could be coming.
Others have speculated that a universal search capability and a multimedia messaging service will be in 3.0. There has also been speculation from Digg founder Kevin Rose that the new operating system will enable copy and paste functions for text or photos. This functionality is available in the recently released Pre from Palm. Rose commented Monday at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.
There are also reports of more functions to tie the iPhone into enterprise networks, as well as a VoiceOver feature for reading text aloud. However, the long-awaited addition of Flash to the iPhone isn't high on lists of anticipated additions.
Another rumor suggests Apple is planning a premium App Store to complement its current one, which primarily features free and very inexpensive downloads. The new, higher-end store would allegedly focus on games costing $20 or more, a level of development many developers have felt isn't supported by the pricing structure in the current store,...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Intel Objects To AMD's Spin-Off of Globalfoundries
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65330
Intel has accused rival Advanced Micro Devices of breaching a 2001 cross-licensing agreement with the $4.3 billion semiconductor spin-off of Globalfoundries. AMD denies the allegations.
Threatening to terminate AMD's rights in 60 days if the company doesn't correct the breach, Intel said it "believes that Globalfoundries is not a subsidiary under terms of the agreement and is therefore not licensed under the 2001 patent cross-license agreement."
AMD responded through a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AMD denied any wrongdoing and argued that Intel has no right to terminate its rights and licenses covered by the cross-licensing agreement.
"Intellectual property is a cornerstone of Intel's technology leadership, and for more than 30 years the company has believed in the strategic importance of licensing intellectual property in exchange for fair value," said Bruce Sewell, Intel's general counsel.
At issue is a confidentiality agreement. Intel said the joint venture between AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company breaches a confidential section of the Intel-AMD agreement. The AMD plants that manufacture the chips based on Intel's intellectual property are now part of Globalfoundries.
"AMD cannot unilaterally extend Intel's licensing rights to a third party without Intel's consent," Sewell said. He said the company is "willing to find a resolution" and indicated Intel would seek resolution through mediation rather than a long court battle.
However, AMD said Intel had already breached the agreement by its "purported attempt to terminate [AMD's] rights and licenses under the cross license." Intel's threat, AMD said, gives AMD the right to cancel the agreement that expires in 2010.
Does Intel's threat mean it feels threatened by AMD and its new joint venture? According to Ron Lineback, a senior market-research analyst at IC Insights, anything that helps AMD cut costs and become more viable and competitive is a threat to...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Cisco Shakes Up Market with Intelligent Virtualization
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65329
Cisco on Monday set out to shake up the server world through a partnership with VMware that offers customers access to virtualized and physical computing systems over an intelligent network.
Dubbed Cisco Unified Computing System, the new technology relies on VMware's virtualization software to offer what the company calls a next-generation data-center platform that unifies computing, network, storage access, and virtualization. The result is a scalable and flexible environment for the delivery of IT as a service.
Prem Jain, senior vice president of Cisco's Server Access and Virtualization Business Unit, said the Unified Computing System simplifies transitioning to fully virtualized data centers.
"We are working closely with VMware to increase visibility of virtualized infrastructures that can be managed and secured as easily as physical machines, but at a more dynamic scale across the data center," Jain said. "We believe this kind of manageability will further accelerate the market adoption of virtualization and provide for more flexible and responsive data-center environments."
According to Cisco and VMware, the combination of Cisco's Unified Computing System with VMware virtualization will accomplish several goals. First, it will allow their customers to expand the deployment of virtualization to a broader range of mission-critical applications. Second, it simultaneously will help reduce the total cost of ownership, increase business agility, simplify system management, and improve energy efficiency.
From a technology standpoint, each Cisco Unified Computing System will support thousands of virtual machines. The architecture will support a unified fabric with certification of consolidated I/O via 160GB lossless Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet, a built-in VN-Link, and integration with VMware vCenter suite management products.
"VMware has been working with Cisco for more than three years to bring together VMware's virtual data-center operating system with the intelligent network fabric," said Tod Nielsen, chief operating officer of VMware. "The Cisco Unified Computing System combined...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Sirius XM Radio Planning To Stream to iPhone, iPod
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65296
Financially struggling Sirius XM Radio Inc. is planning to stream its subscription radio service to the iPhone and iPod Touch devices from Apple Inc. beginning this spring.
After narrowly avoiding a filing for bankruptcy protection last month, the nation's only satellite radio provider wants to step up sales directly to consumers. New car purchases -- which had been Sirius' best source of customers -- are way down.
Sirius XM also said in a call Thursday to discuss its fourth-quarter earnings that it's ramping up efforts to reach buyers of used cars with factory-installed satellite radios.
"We've been testing a number of initiatives to make the Sirius XM content and experience more ubiquitous," said Jim Meyer, president of operations and sales at New York-based Sirius.
Sirius now has 19 million subscribers, up 10 percent from a year earlier.
By streaming its music, sports and talk channels to users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, Sirius can give its existing subscribers another way to access content and let new customers sign up without buying new radios, CEO Mel Karmazin said.
Sirius also sees opportunities to bundle its satellite radio service with TV packages from DirecTV Group Inc. DirecTV's controlling shareholder is Liberty Media Corp., which rescued Sirius from a debt bind last month with a $530 million investment. Karmazin said he has met with DirecTV CEO Chase Carey and Liberty CEO Greg Maffei over the past few days.
Karmazin said several parties had been interested in investing in Sirius, but the company's "complex" balance sheet and the liquidity crisis scared many away. Sirius faced $1 billion in debt that was coming due in 2009 that the company couldn't repay and was having trouble refinancing.
One person that stepped up was Dish Network Corp. CEO Charlie Ergen, who bought a substantial amount of Sirius debt to wrestle for control of the...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
Ads Delivered on Spam, at Times With Zingers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65295
"Russ Wang" wants me to call for information on a "Bacheelor, Masteer MBA" or "Doctoraate diploma." The fact that he's not able to spell it is, shall we say, troubling. Today I was offered "Academic Qualifications" from a "prestigious non-accredited" university, attainable "without examinations, classes or textbooks" and just a phone call away. How valuable is such an academic qualification from a non-accredited university, anyway?
"Royal Vaughan" promises my organ's enlargement is possible with just two capsules a day, resulting in a "larger, more powerful you" -- er, me. "Mari Gaston" concurs, that, herbally, I can expect a month by month "increase in size" of up to -- well, I'll leave that to your imagination -- and it's going to take some imagination, since I'm female.
I am, as you may be, too, daily electronically peppered by pretend-Chase, pretend-JPMorgan, pretend-MSN, pretend-PayPal, pretend-Google and other "pretend-ities" who presume to know me. The really offensive ones have stopped, which is both the good and bad news, for while I hated being on those lists, they did generate some excitement in the office, a little unsolicited mini-porn.
What perplexes me is the absolute tenacity of all these messages, the hope in them that this day, unlike the hundreds before and after it, is the day I will decide to click on this absurdity and give them -- well, anything.
The newest twist on the pepper grinding out of the e-mill is notice that the date of my high school reunion has been changed to Friday. The "celebretion" was changed to Friday of last week, too (I didn't go then, either). What's more, it's being held at the "Savoy Room," according to "Susanna Hamilton." I don't know where the "Savoy Room" is, and neither "Susannah Hamilton" nor "Frankie Reeder" (who sent me last week's notice) was in the...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
eBay Hints That Skype May Be Put Up for Sale
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65292
John Donahoe, the eBay chief executive, is doing nothing to dispel ongoing speculation that the company is planning to put Skype, the Internet calling service it bought four years ago for $3 billion, on the block.
When Donahoe took over as eBay's chief in January 2008, he said he wanted to take time to evaluate any synergies between Skype and eBay.
But at an event eBay held on Wednesday in San Jose for analysts and investors at its PayPal headquarters, Donahoe said that eBay was wrong in assuming that Skype would "enhance communication between buyers and sellers and reduce friction in the eBay marketplace and payments."
He also said eBay "was done apologizing" for buying the calling service and that it was a great standalone business.
But when asked if Skype was for sale, Donahoe smiled and declined to answer directly.
Meanwhile in a separate presentation, Skype's president, Josh Silverman, said Skype had posted a 20 percent net income last year, on $550 million in sales in 2008. Silverman predicted that the calling service's sales would more than double to more than $1 billion in 2011.
When asked if the fact that the company included 2011 projections for Skype in its presentation meant eBay was counting on owning the company until then, Donahoe said it "doesn't mean anything."
Skype's value may have just taken a hit since Google on Thursday stepped up its attack on the telecommunications industry with a free service called Google Voice that, if successful, could chip away at Skype's revenue.
Google Voice is an expanded version of a service previously known as GrandCentral, a start-up that Google acquired 20 months ago. It is intended to simplify the way people handle phone calls, voice mail and text messages. The service will initially be made available only to existing GrandCentral subscribers; Google says the general...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
German Police Investigate Possible Internet Hoax
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65287
German police worked with U.S. authorities Friday to determine if they had fallen victim to an Internet hoax as they investigate a school shooting in southern Germany that killed 15 people.
Tim Kretschmer, 17, gunned down students at his former high school in Winnenden Wednesday before fleeing on foot and by car, killing three more people, and eventually turning a 9-millimeter Beretta pistol on himself.
Investigators said Thursday that Kretschmer had posted his intentions in an Internet chat room only hours beforehand, but they now say they have serious doubts about the authenticity of the posting.
Police spokeswoman Brigitte Wahl said Friday that investigators were working with officials in the United States, where the servers that host the German-language Web site are located, but did not expect to clear up the mystery quickly.
"It could take a while," she said.
Police said they were alerted to the purported Internet threat after the attack, and released a transcript of the chat at a news conference. But later in the day, after the site itself claimed the posting was fraudulent, they searched Kretschmer's computer and found no trace of it in the computer's history, police spokesman Klaus Hinderer said.
Meanwhile, the attack appeared to have triggered copycat threats.
In a town near Duesseldorf, northwest of Winnenden, police said they arrested a 17-year-old student Friday who allegedly told his fellow students he was planning an attack on his high school.
During a search of his home in the town of Ennepetal, police said they found instructions for how to make explosives and a "chemical substance" that could have been used in the process. No further details were immediately available.
In the town of Ilsfeld, northeast of Winnenden near Heilbronn, police sealed off a high school early Friday after learning of a threat posted in an Internet chat room, said police spokesman Roberto...
Tue, 17 Mar 09
World Wide Web Marks 20 Years
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65286
It was a technical paper with the simple title "Information Management: A Proposal," written by a researcher at a European physics laboratory and filled with esoteric terms like hypertext and browser.
It was also the birth certificate of the World Wide Web, a technology that's generated immense new wealth and transformed the ways we work, learn, and amuse ourselves.
Twenty years ago this month, Tim Berners-Lee, then a researcher at Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or CERN, in Switzerland, handed in his proposal for a new kind of computer network. That paper and the technology it envisioned would spawn such giant enterprises as Google, Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay. At the same time, the Web has replaced countless other services and resources, said Ted Schadler, an Internet analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge. Newspaper circulation dwindled as readers turned to the Web instead; travel agents shut down as tourists book their trips online. And millions of us started to watch our favorite shows on computers instead of TV sets.
p
Berners-Lee, now based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, oversees W3C, the global organization that maintains the Web's technical standards. Instead of patenting his 1989 brainstorm, Berners-Lee insisted the idea must be given away at no charge, or few people would use it. It took 18 months for my colleague Robert Cailliau and me to persuade the CERN directors not to charge royalties for use of the Web, said Berners-Lee in a speech last year. Had we failed, the Web would not be here today.
p
The World Wide Web giveaway spawned an entrepreneurial frenzy as companies sought new ways to profit from Berners-Lee's generosity. But nobody could make money on the Web until people began to use it.
p
Berners-Lee built his first primitive browser in late 1990. It was entirely text-based, with none of...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Targeted Ads Wake Up Congress on Consumer Rights
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65306
In the wake of news that Google is introducing behavioral targeting of advertisements, a Democratic congressman from Virginia is renewing his suggestion that new consumer-protection legislation may be needed to rein in data collection.
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) said he is working with Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), to craft a bill to require online companies to notify consumers of tracking activity. All three congressmen are members of the Internet subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which Boucher chairs.
Boucher and his staff weren't available for comment on Friday. However, Boucher told CNET last month that the model for his bill is likely to be the Consumer Privacy Protection Act. The CPPA was first proposed in 2002, but was not adopted.
"I think if we empower (Internet) users in this way," Boucher said, "it would lead to greater consumer confidence, leading to more electronic commerce."
Among other things, the CPPA provided that "upon the first instance of collection from the consumer of personally identifiable information, that may be used for a purpose unrelated to the transaction, by a data-collection organization, the organization shall provide the notice at the time personally identifiable information is collected."
The bill also required data-collection agencies to give consumers an opportunity to opt out of the sale or disclosure of personal information, and imposed a requirement for the drafting and implementation of an "information security policy" to protect confidential information.
The issue of behavioral targeting of advertisements has become an increasingly hot issue in Washington. Just last month, the online advertising industry dodged a bullet when the Federal Trade Commission concluded that companies were capable of regulating themselves and held off imposing restrictions on data collection. But Boucher questioned whether that was the right decision.
The FTC's action was praised by major online ad...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Google Voice Chatter Could Be a Legal Nightmare
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65305
Google's new telephone service, Google Voice, is receiving generally positive reviews from industry analysts. Some of the features, however, are raising potentially troubling legal issues.
Nearly two years ago, Google bought Grand Central, an Internet-based phone service, and opened it up to a limited number of beta testers. Over the following months, users got increasingly impatient with the lack of new features or upgrades to the service.
It turns out, however, that Grand Central was merely on hold as Google undertook a complete revamping of the service to better integrate it into the Google universe. Current users and new subscribers will be able to read transcripts and search text of their voice mails, make low-cost overseas calls and free calls within the United States, set up free conference calls, and redirect both calls and text messages to up to six different numbers at the same time.
But not surprisingly, given Google's increasingly dominant online profile, the news that the company is doing for voice what it's done for virtually every other type of data has raised questions about both privacy and legality. Critics are worried about yet another data stream flowing through the Google server farms.
In a widely reported interview, Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the new service raises worrisome issues. "It raises two distinct problems," he said. "In the privacy world, it is increased profiling and tracking of users without safeguards. But the other problem is the growing consolidation of Internet-based services around one dominant company."
Since even Google hasn't figured out how to repeal the laws of economics, the obvious question is how the company will be able to support the undeniably attractive offer of free telephone calls, voice-mail transcriptions, and so on. As with other Google services, the answer is likely to be...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Amazon, Rackspace Compete on Cloud Services
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65304
Amazon and Rackspace appear ready to duke it out in the cloud-services space.
Amazon Web Services has rolled out Reserved Instances, an additional pricing option for Amazon EC2 that extends on-demand pay-as-you-go pricing. Web services customers now can make a one-time payment to reserve capacity and reduce hourly usage charges.
On the other side of the ring, Rackspace took its Cloud Files out of beta. Cloud Files provides storage and fast content delivery through Limelight Networks. Prices start at 22 cents a gigabyte.
Whether the two companies can run neck and neck in the cloud-services arena is too soon to tell, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "Frankly, every time the IT industry gets its teeth into a new idea, we see the same thing happen," he said. "In this case, every vendor and their brother and sister is coming up with their own definition of cloud, and it just happens to be a very close connection with that vendor's traditional software and hardware strengths."
Amazon is betting on its reputation and very aggressive prices, King said, while Rackspace is betting on its big footprint in hosted services. Amazon's Reserved Instances aims to offer businesses more flexibility in computing costs.
"Customers of all sizes enjoy the pay-as-you-go flexibility of Amazon EC2, but many have told us they are ready to reserve capacity in order to achieve even lower costs," said Peter De Santis, general manager of Amazon EC2. "Now customers can choose to reserve capacity as if they owned the hardware, but unlike traditional infrastructure, with Reserved Instances customers do not pay to maintain and operate idle hardware and instead pay usage charges only when actually utilizing the instances."
Rackspace addressed the competitive-pricing issue head-on. E.J. Johnson, a manager of software development at Rackspace, said Cloud Files is in many cases less...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Injured Woz Will Keep On Dancing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65302
A fractured foot won't stop an enthusiastic Steve Wozniak from another "wild and fast" dance on Monday's Dancing With the Stars. And he won't be the only dancer facing pain, as two other cast members have also admitted to injuries.
Shortly after his widely panned debut on the TV show with professional dance partner Karina Smirnoff, the Apple cofounder was taken to a doctor, who diagnosed a fractured foot. The doctor insisted that the Woz use a removable cast except during practice and stop dancing if he experiences any pain.
So, the Woz says, he's planning to have some more fun on the show. He noted his dancing debut "set a record with 23 million viewers." He added, "I hope that the producers decide that it was largely due to my presence."
Also limping along is Jackass star and fellow competitor Steve-O, with a back injury. He reported, "A physical therapist has told me that nerves are being pinched in my back and it is in spasms because of inflammation related to torn muscles." He still plans to compete and added, "It is going to be a risky routine that I hope to pull off."
The third competitor nursing an injury is Gilles Marini, with a separated shoulder. The Sex and the City hunk said he has had a cortisone shot and plans to be quick-stepping on Monday's show.
That's a lot of pain, but Steve-O's partner, Lacey Schwimmer, told MTV that injuries to non-dancers are not uncommon. She helped Steve-O walk through their routine and said an extra kick of adrenaline often helps an injured dancer get through a live performance.
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Apple's New iPod Shuffle: Small Talk Is Cheap
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65301
Apple has been busy this week. The Cupertino-based company rolled out the newest generation of its iPod shuffle, but the device is getting mixed reviews.
With its $79 price tag, the new iPod shuffle is still inexpensive compared to other iPods, but it is even smaller than the last version.
The AA battery-sized iPod shuffle measures 1.8 inches long and less than an inch wide, and weighs only .38 of an ounce, according to Apple's specs on the device.
Manufacturers moved the controls from the actual device to a play button found just below the right earbud. By pressing the control button, users can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist.
The iPod shuffle comes in only two colors, and includes a stainless-steel clip and a built-in rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. When fully charged -- a process that takes three hours -- the iPod shuffle can be used for up to 10 hours.
The new anodized aluminum design may be smaller, but it comes with 4GB capacity and holds 1,000 songs -- double the amount of the previous iPod shuffle version.
Aside from increasing its song capacity, Apple added a completely new feature to the device: a voice feature that turns the iPod shuffle into "the first music player that talks to you," according to Apple.
Apple added voice-over technology, which allows the iPod to speak to its owners. The feature -- a male or female voice, depending on whether the user has a Mac or PC with which to sync songs on iTunes -- names the song and its artists as well as the playlist names.
Voices come in more than a dozen different languages, including Chinese, French, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish.
"Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 Offers Better Performance
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65300
Mozilla has unleashed its third beta release of Firefox 3.1 to testers. Available in 64 languages as well as separate builds for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 includes several new features and enhancements for boosting browser performance, Web compatibility, and speed.
The sheer volume of work that has already gone into the development of Firefox 3.1, which is code-named Shiretoko, makes the new browser feel like much more than a small, incremental improvement over Firefox 3, said Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director of Firefox development.
For this reason, Beltzner noted, a proposal was put forward at last week's Firefox/Gecko delivery meeting "to change the version number for Shiretoko to Firefox 3.5." If Mozilla decides to adopt the proposal, "the following fourth beta will be numbered Firefox 3.5b4a," Beltzner said.
The browser's developers have continued to make improvements to the Tracemonkey JavaScript engine, which they say is more stable and faster than previous beta releases. Furthermore, they have added a new capability to the private browsing feature that will give users the ability to select Forget This Site from the application's history sidebar.
Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 also marks the completion of developer changes related to an enhanced scripting feature called "Web worker threads" that gives Web site builders a way to move extensive JavaScript computation to a background thread. This allows the user interface to remain responsive to commands even as the JavaScript engine churns away. Moreover, navigating away from the Web page pauses the computation.
Other notable improvements include a significant upgrade to the Firefox Gecko layout and rendering engine. The plug-in previously required for video and audio elements has been eliminated by adding support for some aspects of the forthcoming HTML 5 spec, which is expected to remain a work in progress for years...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
iPhone Fire Sale Linked To Apple Plans for a New iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65299
Not long after T-Mobile decided to drop the price of its Apple iPhone 3Gs in Germany, rumors have surfaced that O2, a carrier in the United Kingdom, is planning to do the same.
The rumored price cut comes on the heels of growing evidence of a new iPhone coming to market. T-Mobile's, and, if true, O2's price cut could be based on the carriers wanting to get rid of inventory to make room for the new model. T-Mobile dropped its iPhone 3G price in January.
O2 is expected to drop the price of the iPhone 3G in May, just in time for Apple's rumored new iPhone to hit the shelves in the summer, the U.K.'s Mobile Today reported. Apple's 16GB iPhone is currently free to consumers who pay $105 a month and the 8GB model is free for consumers paying $63 per month.
In December, O2 confirmed that it would cut the price of the iPhone to $235 as part of a limited offer. The reduction on the 8GB model began in December and is expected to run until June. The 16GB iPhone was not included in the 2008 offer.
"Will we see price cuts or not? It's a carrier-level decision," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret. He said any cuts would be depend on the service agreement and the carrier involved, and the arrangement and the country it is being offered in. He doesn't think a price drop equates to a new iPhone coming to market.
"I don't see anything in particular that is indicative of any coming price cuts," Gartenberg said. "Typically where we have seen this is in the past when inventory is hard to get."
Last spring there was a period when it was difficult to purchase a first-generation iPhone before the...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Google's Online Ad Builder Will Shape the New AOL
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65297
The beleaguered online service AOL has chosen Google Senior Vice President Tim Armstrong as its new chairman and CEO. Current Chairman and CEO Randy Falco and President and COO Ron Grant, who were brought in two years ago to turn around AOL, will leave after a transition period.
Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said Armstrong "helped build one of the most successful media teams in the history of the Internet" for online search advertising at Google. Bewkes said Armstrong will be able to help AOL grow its audience and programming businesses, and expand its advertising platform.
Armstrong will have his hands full. AOL's annual revenue dropped 20 percent last year to $4.2 billion, and the company is currently dropping about 10 percent of its workforce.
These most recent layoffs, begun early this year, will reduce the staff by about 700 employees. Since coming to AOL in 2006, Falco has also cut about 2,500 other jobs.
Many industry observers think AOL's attempt to remake itself as an ad-based Web service, instead of a proprietary, subscription-based online service, still has a long way to go. Some are predicting that AOL will have to merge or spin off parts of its empire.
Andrew Frank, a research director at Gartner, called Armstrong "a great choice for AOL." But, he added, whatever direction Armstrong takes AOL, it will be "dramatically different from today."
The "least likely" scenario, he said, is that AOL will remain in the same structure as now, within Time Warner.
What is "quite likely," Frank said, "are spin-offs, partnerships, mergers or outright acquisitions" of the whole company or parts of it. He pointed out that the direction chosen will also need to address that AOL is actually two businesses -- a consumer portal and an ad service.
In noting the accomplishments...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Texting Rumors Will Get Easier with Sprint's LG Rumor2
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65283
It's no rumor. It's the Rumor2 -- and Sprint just confirmed it will be selling the next-generation LG phone exclusively, beginning this month.
Sprint is billing the Rumor2 as ideal for customers who want an affordable phone that keeps them connected at a great value. The new LG Rumor2 offers a full sliding QWERTY keyboard for messaging, e-mail and social networking, as well as stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a large QVGA display.
"LG is proud to offer consumers the Rumor2, which is an updated version of one our most popular messaging devices, the Rumor," said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones. "Through listening to consumer feedback, we've taken the successful components of the original slider phone and made the device more impressive by including battery covers for personalization and an extra row of keys on the keypad to make texting even easier."
The original Rumor by LG quickly became one of Sprint's best selling CDMA devices when it launched in late 2007. The new version offers an expanded QWERTY keyboard with an additional row for typing, increased screen resolution to QVGA clarity, stereo Bluetooth, and an extra enclosed battery cover for greater personalization options. It will be available in two colors: Black titanium and vibrant blue.
The LG Rumor2 also incorporates an MP3 player with microSD memory-card slot with 16GB card capability. The phone comes preloaded with Sprint Navigation, and Sprint promises easy access to Microsoft Exchange Server and IBM Lotus Notes accounts through Sprint Mobile Email Work at no additional charge in several Sprint pricing plans.
"LG Rumor2 gives customers the benefits of Sprint's Now Network on a phone that's attractive and affordable, appealing to anyone who needs the ability to quickly send off a text or Picture Mail," said Kevin Packingham,...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Caution: Watch Where You're Going with GPS
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65265
The distress call came in to Sgt. Christopher Buckley late one night: Two motorists and their families had followed their Global Positioning System devices off the main road near Windham, Vt., onto a snowmobile trail. Though the road became narrower and the snow deeper, the two men kept driving.
"Then they ran out of road, and they sunk in the snow," Buckley, of the Vermont State Police, says of the February incident.
It's not the first time drivers have blindly followed their GPS units, Buckley says. He's assisted on three rescues since January, and others in his division have logged at least three other instances in which people drove over snowbanks onto unplowed roads and got stuck.
One Fort Drum, N.Y., soldier drove his car over a snowbank and sank so deeply onto a trail that police needed a snow tractor to haul him out, Buckley says.
"I ask them why and they say, 'That's what my GPS told me to do,' " says Buckley, who late last month issued a news release pleading with drivers to trust their common sense over their navigation devices.
As GPS units and their databases of maps become common features in cars and cellphones, more drivers are encountering unmapped areas and map inaccuracies, says Andrea Barisani, chief security engineer for Inverse Path, a computer software company based in England.
In response, some companies are trying to map these obscure nooks, unpaved roads and trails. Others are asking customers to correct inaccuracies and report changes on their routes.
"All of those maps have very big gaps in them, and there's a whole cottage industry developing that's trying to fill in those gaps," says Marcus Needham, president of Mountain Dynamics of Tucson, which launched a GPS device last December with a database that includes 100,000 miles of snowmobile trail maps. The company also...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
eBay Outlines Three-Year Revival Plan
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65264
With few exceptions, tech companies that get tagged with the dinosaur label have a hard time shaking it. Executives at eBay are making a concerted effort to keep their company off the list.
In Mar. 11 presentations for Wall Street analysts at the company's San Jose [Calif.] headquarters, eBay executives detailed plans to increase revenue in the coming years. "This business has continued to fall short of our expectations and customers' expectations," said eBay CEO John Donahoe, the former Bain & Co. consultant who took over the top job from Meg Whitman last year. "That's not acceptable. The eBay you knew is not the eBay of today or the eBay of the future."
To back up the talk, Donahoe and others spelled out a laundry list of internal changes and specific plans both to improve the auction site and increasingly to focus on other businesses. The overall goal: to create a one-stop shop where customers can make purchases in a wide variety of ways -- from bidding in auctions to clicking on ads, scanning classifieds, or making outright purchases. And he promised the site would be easier to use, offer even better deals, and provide a more satisfying experience. "The 'buyer beware' experience has run its course," Donahoe said.
Some investors are giving eBay the benefit of the doubt. The company's shares rose 4.8 percent, to 11.63, on Mar. 11. "EBay did a respectable job of trying to reposition investors' view onto components of their business that have the most long-term growth," says Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt. Still, the company faces long-term challenges, Devitt says.
Adding to the credibility was some surprising frankness about the mistakes of the past. Time and again, executives admitted what most investors had long known -- that the company spent years sitting on...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Troubled Economy Ideal for Scammers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65262
Last week I got two pieces of spam, apparently from myself.
I don't know the technical details of how someone is able to steal my good name, and it concerns me that some friend might get a message from me that is actually a virus or part of some other nefarious scheme.
And I'm not alone.
Similar concerns were expressed last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, which warned the investment community and consumers about scammers and schemers who pretend to be what they are not.
With the SEC, the problem is phony e-mails supposedly from SEC agents. With the FTC, it is messages, e-mails and Internet ads -- complete with photos of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden -- promising a piece of the economic stimulus package.
Don't believe them, said Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
"Unfortunately, it's taken scam artists no time at all to exploit the headlines about the president's plan to stimulate their own fraudulent businesses and reel in unsuspecting consumers," Harrington said last week.
Rather than helping you get a piece of the $787 billion stimulus pie as promised, a small upfront fee that is requested can be the down payment on a "negative option" agreement that may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you don't cancel.
She used one site, Jessica's Money Blog, as an example.
"When you click on the link to get your free kit about government grants, you get to the second page, where President Obama, CNN, MSNBC and CBS news seemingly want you to know that you can get $25,000 in free grant money to pay off your debt," she said.
All it costs is $1.88.
But "read the dense and lengthy terms and conditions" and you'll find that if you don't cancel within 14 days...
Sat, 14 Mar 09
Can the Tech Industry Save the Economy?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65260
Technology helped fuel the economic boom of the 1990s. Then the dot-com bust caught some of the blame for the recession of the early 2000s. If technology is so tied to the national economy, and the current recession started on Wall Street, not in Silicon Valley, can technology lift the tide this time?
Technology boosters argue that their sector certainly can help. And the stimulus bill is packed with funding for high-tech projects. But technology's influence on the U.S. economy is not as big as you might expect.
Here are some questions and answers about the extent to which the U.S. tech industry could help turn this crisis around.
Q: What happened in the 1990s?
A: Investors got hooked on the idea that the Internet had given birth to a new business model in which companies could afford to grow fast operating at a loss, then turn big numbers of Web visitors into a moneymaking business later. They poured venture capital into startups and sent shares of Web companies soaring, even though many of those businesses had shaky plans at best for becoming profitable. Stock prices ballooned in part because it was hard to figure out how much this new breed of companies was worth.
A combination of high-profile dot-com failures, rising interest rates and debt and overcapacity quickly eroded the optimism. The technology-heavy Nasdaq tumbled in early 2000 and layoffs cascaded from Silicon Valley to New York's Silicon Alley.
Q: In this recession, the recent stimulus bill pins some hope on technology to help spark a rebound. How much money in the stimulus package will flow into the technology sector?
A: Technology is at the core of many projects outlined in the stimulus bill, from education and health care to green power generation and energy grid management. The bill also sets aside funding to expand high-speed...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Apple Schedules iPhone 3.0 Preview for Journalists
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65280
They're busy dusting off the chairs and sweeping the stage in the big auditorium on Apple's corporate campus. Around the country, iPhone-geek journalists are getting ready to descend on Cupertino, Calif., lured by Thursday's e-mail announcement of an "Apple event" on Tuesday, March 17. Details are scant, but the company is promising "an advance preview of what we're building" for an upcoming iPhone 3.0 software release.
The event is scheduled to get under way at 10 a.m. Pacific time in Building 4, Town Hall, and a number of tech Web sites have promised live blogging and Twittering.
Despite the lack of substance in the Apple invitation -- or perhaps because of it -- tech journalists spent much of Thursday speculating about what Apple might talk about.
At the top of nearly every list are some basic iPhone usability improvements, including such items as copy/paste from one application to another, the ability to send multimedia text messages, expanded Bluetooth capabilities, or even the ability to tether the iPhone to laptops and provide a cellular data connection when there's no Wi-Fi available. There is also widespread expectation that Apple will announce the introduction of a true global search capability, perhaps off an icon on the iPhone home page.
Another popular theme is more extensive and better use of push services, not only for e-mail messages and other online services, but also for application updates. Currently, all updates have to go through the Apple's App Store, which introduces an often-frustrating delay for new versions. Apple may be willing to loosen the reins slightly to allow developers to push updates directly onto the phones of their subscribers.
There was at least one specific hint in Apple's invitation: Journalists will have a chance to "learn about the new SDK." There have been growing complaints in recent...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Fast Charging Could Mean Smaller, Lighter Batteries
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65279
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered a new way to store electrical energy and a paper on their research was published this week in Nature.
Gerbrand Ceder, an R. P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and his team at MIT's Computational and Experimental Design of Emerging Materials Research group have found a way to demonstrate how batteries, which obtain high energy density by storing a charge in the bulk of a material, can also reach super-high discharge rates.
What they have developed are battery cells that charge up in seconds. The rates are similar to those of supercapacitors, which are similar to regular capacitors with the exception that they offers a very high charge in a small package.
Nearly five years ago, Ceder and colleagues made a surprising discovery. Computer calculations of a well-known battery material, lithium iron phosphate, predicted that the material's lithium ions should actually be moving extremely quickly.
The researchers, whose work was supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, began experimenting with how lithium ions move in and around lithium iron phosphate, a material used in lithium-ion batteries. Through computer calculation of lithium iron phosphate, the researchers predicted the material's lithium ions would move more quickly from one area to another.
Their discovery of a way to charge and discharge batteries in seconds instead of hours may lead to new technology applications, according to Ceder and MIT graduate student Byoungboo Kang.
Storage of electrical energy at a high charge and discharge rate is significant for several technologies and could change the landscape of batteries produced for laptops and other technological devices. One technology that would benefit, but with limitations, is green technology. The high charge and discharge rate will enable hybrid and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles and...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Third-Generation Nintendo DSi May Keep Sales Soaring
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65278
Nintendo reports it has sold more than 100 million handheld gaming machines since its late 2004 launch of the Nintendo DS, which inaugurated a new era of portable gaming by introducing touchscreen and voice-recognition capabilities.
The second-generation Nintendo DS Lite, which is backward compatible with the Nintendo DS and arrived in North America in June 2006, features touch input from a stylus and Wi-Fi connectivity. Both handhelds are popular among gaming aficionados worldwide.
As of year-end 2008, 83 software titles for the two devices have shipped more than one million units globally, and seven have topped the 10 million mark, Nintendo said. The company hopes to keep gamers flocking to the platform by releasing its third-generation handheld early next month in North America and Europe.
Called the Nintendo DSi, the new device sports a number of improvements, including the ability to record, manipulate and play sound files, and even allows gamers to personalize their portable playing experiences. However, the most noticeable change comes from two new cameras that serve as the DSi's eyes: One on the outer shell and one inside that becomes active when the user opens the case.
"The outer camera is there so you can take pictures of other objects or persons as you usually would with a digital camera," said Masato Kuwahara, a member of the Nintendo DSi engineering development team. "The inside camera is for taking pictures of yourself while you play. That's why there are two."
The new cameras only feature 0.3-megapixel resolution, but Kuwahara says that's equivalent to 640x480 pixels, sufficient for the gaming tasks at hand. "You can capture images at a resolution 2.5 times that of the length and width of the DS screen," he said.
The sound quality of the DSi has received a boost in comparison with...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
One-Year-Old Hulu Adds Boxee-like Friends Feature
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65273
Hulu is celebrating its first year and adding new features. The online video service, co-owned by News Corp., NBC Universal, and Providence Equity Partners, went from beta to live a year ago and began offering users access to online videos, television shows, and clips from various content providers.
As part of its milestone celebration, Hulu has added a Friends feature to Hulu.com. The site integrated with e-mail providers, including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Hotmail, and social-networking companies Facebook and MySpace to let users invite friends to Hulu.
Similar to the way users on Facebook can keep track of what their friends are doing with status updates, Hulu has added a Tab to the Friends feature allowing users to keep track of what friends are watching, subscribing to, and discussing.
Once the friends are added, users will be able to share content by sending videos along with a note or by posting them to outside sites, including Digg, Delicious, MySpace and Facebook, according to the company. Users can also keep a scorecard of how many videos they have watched or rated, according to Hulu.
As of January, Hulu had more than 24 million users on a monthly basis, according to comScore VideoMetrix, and with the new feature that number is expected to grow. Hulu has gained a lot of momentum in its first year and has been backed by top video and TV players, including Fox, MGM and Sony Pictures Television.
CEO Jason Kilar said in a blog post Thursday that Hulu has enjoyed tremendous growth. He shared some company stats, including increasing the number of content partners from 50 to more than 130, the number of advertisers from 30 to 175, and the number of streams from 63 million (as of May) to 308 million.
Some of the same content providers that made...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Google Challenges Telcos with Phone Services
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65255
Google moved into telecommunications Wednesday with a new service to help people manage voice calls. Dubbed Google Voice, the service will be available initially to existing users of GrandCentral, a company Google acquired in July 2007.
The service lets users get transcripts of voice mail and archive and search all SMS text messages sent and received. The service can also be used to make low-priced international calls and access Goog-411 directory assistance.
"As you may know, GrandCentral offers many great features, including a single number to ring your home, work and mobile phones, a central voice-mail inbox that you could access on the Web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voice mail," wrote Google Voice product managers Craig Walker, Vincent Paquet, and Wesley Chan on the Google blog. "You'll find these features, and more, in the Google Voice preview."
Google's latest innovation further merges the telephone and computer with a laundry list of benefits, including a single number for all calls and SMS texts. Other features include call screening, listening in, blocked calls, phone routing, forwarding phones, notifications, personalized greetings, and shared voice mail.
Google Voice also offers the ability to record calls and store them online, switch phones during a call, view an inbox from a mobile phone, and set up preferences by group. For example, set up contacts, click the groups button and choose a group name, then add contacts to the group. Groups could be friends, family, work or some other group.
"If you want to talk to more than one person at once, just tell everyone to call you on your Google number," Walker, Paquet and Chan wrote. "When you get a call-waiting notification, you will have the option to press 5 to add them to your existing call."
According...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Dell Plans All-in-One Touchscreen PC with Style
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65254
Last week, Apple refreshed its one-piece iMac line, and now Dell plans a one-piece computer. Called the Studio One 19, the new desktop was announced Thursday and will be launched in Japan next week.
The computer maker said a U.S. rollout is expected later this spring. The Studio One 19 features an optional multi-touch screen, a hard drive of up to 750GB, and a starting price of $699.
A major targeted environment for the Studio One 19 is the kitchen. "More and more people are making the kitchen the center of their entertainment and computing experience," said Alex Gruzen, Dell senior vice president of consumer products. The new model, he continued, is "the ideal system for that need" because of its form factor, its capabilities, and a pricing that is "very affordable for the family."
The lifestyle and design aspect is being emphasized. The Studio One 19 is made with aluminum, glass and fabric, which Dell expects will offer a "style statement" that people will want to display rather than park in a corner. Colors include Solid Pure White, Tuscan Red, Navy Blue, Powder Pink, and Charcoal.
In addition to the footprint and the style, the Studio One 19 is being promoted for its multimedia capabilities. If the multi-touch option is chosen, that kind of interaction can be used for photo editing, slideshow creation, playlist building, note-taking, and Web browsing.
You Paint finger-painting software offers a playful means of expression without the mess, and there's a multi-touch percussion center for creating music. Videos can be recorded and uploaded right to YouTube with touch controls and, similarly, photos can easily be uploaded to Flickr.
Options for processors include the Intel Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Pentium Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, or Core 2 Quad Core. Integrated graphics options include the Nvidia GeForce 9200...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Giving Users Control Is a New Twist on Behavior Ads
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65253
Behavioral advertising always draws the ire of privacy advocates. Nonetheless, Google rolled out technology Wednesday that uses that principle.
Google isn't calling it behavioral advertising. Rather, the search giant has labeled its initiative "interest-based" advertising and is testing the concept on its partner sites and on YouTube. Google calls it a move to drive relevance and improve the connection between advertisers and users.
"Users get more useful ads, and these more relevant ads generate higher returns for advertisers and publishers," said Susan Wojcicki, vice president of Google's Product Management Advertising. "Advertising is the lifeblood of the digital economy: it helps support the content and services we all enjoy for free online today, including much of our news, search, e-mail, video and social networks."
Wojcicki set out to explain the difference between what Google has been doing and what Google plans to do through its new advertising technology.
Google has historically displayed ads based mainly on the searcher's interest at the specific moment. A search for "digital camera" will pull ads for digital cameras, for example. And consumers reading the sports pages of a newspaper or blog might see an ad for the latest Nikes. But Google is convinced that isn't always the best approach because a keyword or Web-page content doesn't always generate the most relevant ads.
Google is also certain its "interest-based" efforts will yield more relevant ads by leveraging additional information about other Web sites people visit. Wojcicki said the ads will associate categories of interest -- say sports, gardening, cars, pets -- based on the types of sites you visit and the pages you view. Google may then use those categories to show what it considers more relevant text and display ads.
"While interest-based advertising can infer your interest in adventure travel from the Web sites you...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
EC Extends Microsoft Deadline on IE Monopoly Charges
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65243
The European Commission has granted Microsoft's request for an extension to the software giant's deadline for responding to allegations that it misused its market-dominating position to stifle competition for Web browsers.
On Jan. 17, the EC sent Microsoft a statement of objections that presented the evidence behind the preliminary determination by European antitrust authorities that the software giant's method of linking Internet Explorer to Windows "harms competition between Web browsers, undermines product innovation, and ultimately reduces consumer choice."
Initially, Microsoft had until March 17 to formally respond to the charges. But with Wednesday's extension, Microsoft will have until April 21 to formulate a response.
In the Windows 7 release candidate, Microsoft added a control panel called Windows Features. "If a feature is deselected, it is not available for use," said Microsoft's Windows 7 engineering team last week. "This means the files -- binaries and data -- are not loaded by the operating system (for security-conscious customers) and not available to users on the computer."
The inclusion of IE8 on this list is hardly surprising. In January, Microsoft notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that the software giant was facing the prospect of "a significant fine based on sales of Windows operating systems in the European Union." Microsoft is certainly looking for a way to avoid a repeat of the $1.4 billion fine it paid the EU last June.
Still, the latest Windows 7 changes fall well short of the "ballot screen" approach that EC spokesperson Jonathan Todd described last month, which would enable new PC buyers in Europe to replace Internet Explorer with a competing Web browser, or use both Internet Explorer and a rival browser. On Tuesday, Todd suggested Microsoft may be considering this remedy.
"Microsoft has not told us anything so far," Todd told the EurActiv portal, which serves...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Review: Bookmark for Public Radio Saves Your Place
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65220
I'm sort of a public radio junkie, so if I'm in my car and the kids haven't usurped the radio dial, I'm likely tuned to "Morning Edition," "Marketplace" or "Fresh Air." Unfortunately, my short daily commute often leaves me catching just part of a compelling story or interview.
Help has arrived with the Radio Bookmark, a key chain device that lets me tag shows or stories so I can later catch them in their entirety on the Internet.
The gadget from Sky Blue Technologies can't be bought. It's a gift offered by at least 50 public radio stations to members who contribute at a certain level -- typically about $120 a year. Sky Blue founder Chris Baker says there's no plan to adapt the technology to commercial radio.
Bookmarking a story, show or segment couldn't be simpler. Just hit a button and the device remembers the date and time you were listening to the station. (The version I tested actually sports two buttons marked "1" and "2," allowing you to set each to a different participating station in case you're in an area with more than available one public radio channel.)
The Radio Bookmark doesn't record anything. It simply makes a time stamp, and the real work is done once the device is plugged into a computer's USB port.
After a simple installation process the first time you connect the bookmark -- in which you choose your station and set up the playback software -- whenever you plug the device in, it brings up a list of bookmarked clips in your Web browser.
The bookmark can time-stamp up to 128 radio segments, a total you're unlikely to exceed because the list is cleared whenever you connect the device to the computer. The length and specificity of a clip can vary. Some presses of the bookmark will...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Cloud Computing for the Masses
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65218
Small businesses that want to save money (a major concern during a recession), as well as hassle (a major concern anytime), should look to the heavens -- specifically, the clouds. Or rather, "the cloud," that ethereal place on the Internet that will eventually supply all our data and computing needs.
The cloud is ready for prime time, says Henry Broodney of InGrid Networks, which has come up with perhaps the first low-cost, enterprise-level system-recovery application/platform for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Usually, it's hard to find sentences in which the terms "small business" and "enterprise level" are used together. Hardware, software and service companies offer all sorts of enterprise-level products and services -- because enterprises can afford to pay big money for those items. As a result, administrators of corporate data centers and networks can avail themselves of all sorts of backup, duplication, replication and recovery schemes, with data stored on site, off site, underground or across the sea, depending on the system's parameters and the company's needs.
Products designed for data recovery leave no stone unturned, ensuring large organizations -- who can afford to pay for privilege -- the ability to get back online within minutes of a disruptive event, like an earthquake, terrorist attack, etc. With a recovery system in place, workers can be moved to other sites and pick right up where they left off almost immediately, ensuring that the business -- and income flow -- continues.
Unfortunately for the small-business person -- the accountant, the lawyer, the graphic artist -- enterprise solutions that allow them to immediately recover from major outages are out of the question, mostly because of the cost. Instead, most small businesses rely on file backup -- copying important files to CDs, or uploading them to an online backup server, like http://mozy.com/, or even using Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/),...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Hitachi To Admit To Fixing LCD Prices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65217
Hitachi Displays Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices on the sale of LCD panels.
The Japan-based electronics firm agreed to pay a $31 million fine as part of its deal with the U.S. Justice Department.
Three other major producers of liquid crystal display panels have already admitted their involvement in price-fixing.
Hitachi admitted to fixing prices of the screens sold to Dell, Inc. for use in desktop monitors and notebook computers from 2001 to 2004.
LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp., and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. struck similar plea agreements last year relating to their sales of glass display screens.
A one-count felony charge was filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco.
With the Hitachi plea, the U.S. government will have garnered more than $600 million in criminal fines stemming from LCD price-fixing.
"This case should send a strong message to multinational companies operating in the United States that when it comes to enforcing the U.S. antitrust laws we mean business," Acting Assistant Attorney General Scott Hammond said in a statement.
The court papers charge Hitachi participated in meetings and communications in Japan, Korea, and the United States to discuss the prices of screens sold to Dell, at which they agreed to set certain prices.
There is a $70 billion worldwide market for LCD screens. Regulators in Asia and the European Union also have opened investigations into LCD pricing.
Last year, LG Display, a South Korean company, and its LG Display America Inc. unit agreed to pay a $400 million fine for its part in fixing prices of certain LCD panels from 2001 to 2006.
Chunghwa, a Taiwanese company, agreed to pay $65 million for its role in the scheme.
And Sharp, a Japanese company, agreed to pay $120 million for participating in separate conspiracies to fix the price of certain LCD panels sold to Dell,...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
How Low Can Personal Computer Prices Go?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65210
When Jim Wahl bought his first computer back in 1995, it cost $2,500. In December, when the Dallas acquisitions manager bought a Hewlett-Packard laptop for his daughter, he paid just $600. "[In the past], it was a lot bigger decision," Wahl says. "But now, the tires on my car cost more than my laptop."
Personal computer prices tend to fall over time, of course. But in the past few months, computer prices have plummeted much more sharply than the usual 5 percent yearly declines. In the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, the average personal computer's selling price dropped 14.3 percent, according to consultancy IDC. Only once in the past 15 years have PC prices declined at a faster rate -- in the fourth quarter of 2001, as the Internet bubble burst, when they dipped 14.5 percent, according to IDC.
And the recent slide may be a precursor to sharper declines ahead. As consumers cut back amid the global economic downturn and the popularity of low-cost computers known as netbooks rises, the computer industry could see a big drop in prices. "We are not done yet," says Rob Enderle, president of consultant Enderle Group. "The drop is going to continue through the year." Matthew Wilkins, an analyst with researcher iSuppli, predicts that average laptop prices could fall a further 10 percent in 2009, while desktop prices drop 15 percent.
The accelerating price declines could change the dynamics of the tech industry. For consumers and corporate customers, the trend is overwhelmingly favorable. They get more computing capability than ever before, often for less than $1,000 and, in the case of netbooks, for as little as $250.
But for tech companies, the squeeze is painful. Computer makers such as Dell and Lenovo are struggling as customers hunt hard for bargains. Manufacturers of...
Fri, 13 Mar 09
Pixily Moves Your Paper Documents Online
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65133
Life comes with too much paper, especially if you're like me: a mildly obsessive but poorly organized pack-rat.
I'm afraid to throw away potentially useful pieces of paper out of fear that I'll need them later. This often results in my personal spaces at home and at the office looking disorganized -- some would say a mess. I envy people who are good at organizing, and at depositing bills, financial statements, and other important documents into file cabinets. I marvel at the spaces of well-organized colleagues whose offices look orderly.
Paper has a funny way of accumulating. I've long been in the habit of clipping interesting things from newspapers and magazines, though now I'll often grab copies of stuff I like online and save it to my hard drive. But what about the stuff you can't just grab from a Google search -- the stuff that's only on paper?
For instance, I have hundreds of articles from early in my career -- I started out as a newspaper reporter -- that are boxed away in a basement, slowly decaying. I have a life's worth of other analogous ephemera that for whatever reason I'd like to preserve in digital form: a review in a French newspaper of a 1988 Pink Floyd concert I attended, old recipes found in magazines that I still want to try, memorable cards and letters from family and friends, tax and legal records, financial statements. All this is scattered about with no rhyme or reason in cabinets and boxes in my home and office.
Some of it -- the articles I've written, especially -- I'd like to scan and store on my computer's hard drive and perhaps publish on the Web. There are excellent document scanners on the market that make that task fairly easy to do, but...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Craigslist Stands Firm on 'Erotic Services' Ads
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65128
Popular classified-ad Web site Craigslist.com faces a battle with the Cook County, Illinois, sheriff's department. Sheriff Thomas Dart says the Web site's "Erotic Services" section is being used for prostitution and he wants it shut down.
Along with classified ads for baby furniture, toys and comic books is a list of services for sale. That list includes beauty, legal and therapeutic services along with one that stands out -- escort services.
Dart's office is suing Craigslist and seeking $100,000 spent on investigating the Web site.
Craigslist last year began charging for ads listed under "Erotic Services." The proceeds from those ads are donated to charities. Craigslist also lets users flag inappropriate ads for removal.
"Misuse of Craigslist to facilitate criminal activity is unacceptable, and we continue to work diligently to prevent it," Craigslist spokesperson Susan MacTavish Best said. "Misuse of the site is exceptionally rare compared to how much the site is used for legal purposes. Regardless, any misuse of the site is not tolerated on Craigslist."
A year ago Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Craigslist to shut down the escort-services ads after a Connecticut woman was arrested for using the service for prostitution. As a result, Craigslist began requiring users to provide a phone number.
"Craigslist is providing an interactive computer service, and as such is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act," said Brock Meeks, spokesperson for the Center for Democracy and Technology. "This provision essentially says that a service like Craigslist can't be treated as a publisher or speaker of any information put there by a user. So Craigslist isn't responsible for the content that users put on its site. That said, Craigslist has worked with law enforcement and toughened up the procedures -- require name and valid credit card -- required for putting...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Digital Reading Likely To Spread with More Platforms
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65127
Two announcements from earlier this week suggest that digital reading is poised to reach a wider audience now that the technology is embracing a wider spectrum of platforms and applications.
Northwest Missouri State University recently gave a progress report on its electronic textbook pilot project in cooperation with publisher McGraw-Hill. The university is hoping to launch an all-electronic textbook program for students beginning as soon as the fall semester.
What's more, Amazon.com has just unleashed a new digital reading application for the iPhone and the iPod touch, which Gartner Research Vice President Van Baker thinks is a very smart move.
"For the average consumer that goes to work in the morning and spends their evenings at home, the Kindle offers minimal perceived value over paper," Baker said. "There are roughly 18 million iPhone users, and some percentage of them will at least want to try reading an e-book on the phone."
Digital books also can be read on desktop PCs, laptops and even low-cost netbooks. Sony already offers a software download that lets computer users purchase and read any title in Sony's current library of electronic books without purchasing a Sony Reader.
The requirements for Sony's software reader are relatively modest. The program for Windows Vista and XP computing devices requires an 800-MHz processor or better, 20MB of free hard disk or solid-state storage capacity, an Internet connection, and either 128MB (for XP) or 512MB (for Vista) of RAM.
Many commuters are likely to appreciate the ability to read a chapter or two of a book while traveling to and from offices on a bus, train or airplane without having to purchase a hardware reader. Moreover, the content on the screen of a smartphone or netbook can be read in low-light environments, or even in the dark.
However, consumers have clearly said they...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Renegades To Sell Apps for Jailbroken iPhones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65126
RIM has made headlines this week with its BlackBerry App World online store, but a trio of startups are moving to grab some attention by competing directly with Apple's App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the renegade stores will sell unauthorized applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. One expected to launch Friday is called the Cydia Store and aims to sell applications not available on Apple's sanctioned store. Another company plans to sell adult games for the iPhone.
To purchase applications from these unauthorized stores, consumers have to "jailbreak" their iPhones -- modify them so they can install and use the unauthorized apps. That's why a third company is launching an online store called Rock Your Phone to help users who haven't modified their iPhones.
Apple iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded more than 100 million applications from the App Store since it launched last July. Thousands of applications are available, hundreds are free and 90 percent are priced at less than $10. Apple hauled in more than $30 million in revenue in its first 30 days and could see that number swell to $360 million in the first full year.
Those figures make copycat stores attractive, but analysts question how the new stores will get developers to create applications, especially considering that the iPhone has to be jailbroken. Consumers cannot modify the phone without violating Apple's warranty, which leaves them without support if something goes wrong.
"It's hard to see how somebody could effectively create a third-party ecosystem for mainstream consumers without Apple's blessing," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret. "Developers would have to find some way of getting on the device, and jailbreaking the phone isn't something the mainstream user would ever...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
IT Professional Gets Four Years for Stealing with Botnets
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65125
An IT professional employed by Internet company Mahalo.com has been sentenced to four years in jail and is the first person in the nation to plead guilty to wiretapping charges in connection with the use of botnets.
John Schiefer, 26, of Los Angeles will begin his sentence June 1 after an investigation by the FBI called Operation Bot Roast II found Schiefer was involved in several scams.
Schiefer developed an army of botnets while employed by 3G Communications, a telecom company based in Los Angeles, according to documents released by the U.S. district attorney in central California. With the botnets, Schiefer was able to watch Internet traffic between victims and companies such as PayPal.
Once in control of PCs, Schiefer, along with accomplices, would take money from his victims' bank accounts or use their financial accounts to make purchases.
His malicious dealings didn't end there. Schiefer also gave stolen usernames and passwords to others and stole information from several computers by accessing Windows PStore, a secure storage area, with malware.
Schiefer also defrauded a Dutch Internet advertising company out of $19,000 by promising to install adware only when owners gave consent. Instead, he installed the program on 150,000 computers without the owners' consent.
"This is pretty sizable," said Jose Nazario, manager of security research with Arbor Networks. "The number of machines he has pleaded guilty to controlling is pretty sizable among the larger botnets we generally see. If one in five computers have, say, a direct credit card, that is a huge amount of gain potential (for the hacker) and loss for individuals and financial institutions."
In April, Schiefer pled guilty to charges of Federal wiretapping and faced a sentence of up to 60 years in federal prison and a fine of $1.75 million.
"By and large, this kind of criminal complaint...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Microsoft Admits Windows 7 Will Be Able To Turn Off IE8
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65124
A Windows enthusiast blog has discovered that Internet Explorer 8 can be turned on or off in a recent Windows 7 build, and Microsoft is now admitting it.
The news of such divorce-ability between the browser and the operating system would be good news for regulatory agencies, especially the European Commission, which reportedly has been considering requiring such a split.
The AeroXperience blog found that, in Windows 7 build 7048, the dialog box for turning features on and off includes a checkbox for Internet Explorer 8. It did, however, note a catch.
"This only seems to wipe out the actual executable running Internet Explorer 8 (iexplore.exe)," writes blog author Bryant Zadegan, "but given that many of the most vocal proponents of choice were just looking for an option to functionally remove IE8, this might've been the only way to do it without killing the rest of Windows."
The blog notes that completing this removal requires two reboots and a configuration step, which might indicate that there's some kind of remapping for IE-related functions going on. Afterward, the blog writers said, the IE8 components are still present, but IE itself is missing from Set Program Defaults and there are no complaints from the system.
Some other observers, however, said this step doesn't remove IE8 completely, because it has become so interwoven with other parts of the Windows operating system that its complete removal is difficult, if not impossible.
The European Commission, prompted by an antitrust complaint from Opera Software, issued a "statement of objections" in January that pointed, in particular, to the inclusion of the Internet Explorer browser as part of the Windows OS. Microsoft has issued a statement on its blog to the effect that it will provide a response within the next couple of months and will have little to say before...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Patch Tuesday Will Challenge IT with Core Updates
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65123
Microsoft plans to deliver three security updates -- including one critical fix -- for the March Patch Tuesday. However, Redmond will not issue a patch for an Excel flaw that attackers are actively exploiting.
Tuesday's updates will address vulnerabilities in Windows. The critical update plugs holes in editions of Windows the company still supports. The update ranked "important" will protect against spoofing bugs in Windows and Server 2000.
"Along with the spring weather, March is bringing one of the most disruptive Patch Tuesdays we've seen in a while," said Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst for Lumension. "What's interesting about this series of patches is that they affect all Windows operating systems, which are impacted by the remote code execution, implying that it could be comprised through malicious code -- something we'll have to confirm on Tuesday."
According to Henry, the critical patch is going to be a huge undertaking for IT administrators. That's because the broad platform impact of the bulletin suggests that core services -- rather than isolated application components -- of the Windows operating system need to be modified. Any patching of the core infrastructure opens up other applications to potential risk. The bottom line: A simple patch deployment is impossible this coming Patch Tuesday.
"To make sure this is secure, IT departments will have to do a scan of the entire system as well as reboot all Windows machines in the entire enterprise. When at the server software level, rebooting is a very disruptive event, making servers further exposed to vulnerabilities," Henry said.
In order for this vulnerability to be removed, he continued, IT will have to bring down the servers with the additional challenge of continuing to maintain service-level agreements. Given the breadth of this critical update, he said, all resources at Microsoft are likely engaged in...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Sheriff Sues Craigslist To Remove Prostitution Ads
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65122
"Craigslist is the single largest source of prostitution in the nation." That's the provocative -- and headline-grabbing -- pronouncement of Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Tom Dart, who announced Thursday that his office is suing the popular online classified advertising service for facilitating the sale of sexual services.
Dart is asking a federal judge in Chicago to order Craigslist to remove the "erotic services" section from its Web sites and to reimburse his office for an estimated $100,000 that Dart says was spent investigating Craigslist-aided prostitution cases.
This isn't Craigslist's first run-in with law enforcement on the advertisements in its "erotic services" section. In March 2008, Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also accused the company of allowing advertisements for prostitution.
In response, Craigslist agreed last November to require all "erotic services" ads to include a valid phone number and credit card. The goal was to make it easier for law-enforcement officials to crack down on the sale of sexual services. Craigslist also beefed up its screening tools to block the advertisement of illegal services, but claims it is unable to keep pace with programmers who develop software to circumvent its protective measures.
Dart is clearly unsympathetic. He said Thursday that he has repeatedly written to Craigslist management asking them to police the site more effectively or remove "erotic services" altogether. He suggested the company's reluctance to do so is because the "erotic services" ads are a large part of Craigslist's $80 million-per-year revenues.
"They have crafted their site to accommodate people," the sheriff said. "None of the ads require any imagination. There's no mystery at all. We all know what's going on here."
Ironically, Craigslist may be protected by the very law that was passed in an effort to drive sexual content off the Internet: The 1996 Communications Decency Act. Section 230 of that...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Alltel Will Also Sell Palm's Treo Pro Smartphone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65117
Palm is reaching out to business consumers with both hands. The company announced Thursday that its Palm Treo Pro smartphone will be available through Alltel Wireless. That announcement comes just one day after Palm said the device will be available through the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15.
The new device, which costs $579.99 without a plan and $199.99 with a two-year activation and $125 mail-in rebate, is geared toward enterprise customers who want quick access to e-mail, the Web, and other applications that get them through a typical work day. The phone is being made available online on Alltel's Web site and at Alltel retail stores.
Initially, there was some confusion about Wednesday's announcement, with some observers thinking Sprint had announced the availability of the much-anticipated Palm Pre instead of the Pro. Some rumors had said the Palm Pre would be delayed, but Palm said it's on track, with a Webcast planned with Sprint on March 12.
The Treo Pro is thin, comes with a high-resolution color touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, and a removable battery that lasts up to five hours. It also includes Wi-Fi and GPS (with turn-by-turn directions and searches for points of interest) and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1. Palm's Treo Pro is the company's first smartphone that comes with Internet Explorer 6 and with options for either mobile or desktop-like browsing.
"Treo Pro is the best product for busy professionals who always need to be productive and connected so that they can take care of their work and move on to their other priorities," said Alexander Hunter, a spokesperson for Palm.
"This is a different kind of form factor for Palm Windows Mobile devices -- they are much thicker and heavier and we've seen devices become smaller, lighter and thinner," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas. "Windows...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
RIM Prepares To Launch App World for BlackBerry
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65112
Research in Motion on Wednesday announced an application store for its popular BlackBerry line of smartphones. Previously billed as App Center, the new store will instead be called App World and will offer both free and paid downloadable applications.
The launch is expected later this month, with an initial rollout in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Potential customers can sign up now at the App World Web site for notification. RIM has already begun populating its virtual shelves with applications by third-party developers, who have been sending submissions since January.
The apps will work on RIM devices that use version 4.2.0 or higher of its operating system, and that have a trackball or a SurePress touchscreen. This includes the Bold 9000, Storm, Pearl and Pearl Flip series, Curve 8300 Series, Curve 8900, and the 8800 series. Trackwheel devices are not supported.
App World customers must have a PayPal account to make purchases, and will have to download an application. Some observers have speculated that the App World app may be preinstalled on future devices from RIM. Downloaded apps cannot be stored on a device's SD card.
While the best-known application store for mobile devices, Apple's App Store, offers prices as low as 99 cents in addition to free choices, RIM is setting a floor of $2.99 for paid apps.
The pricing floor could result in either better applications or fewer sales -- or both. Apple's low end has come under criticism from developers, who have complained that, unless an app is a huge best seller, it's extremely difficult to support the costs of significant development at that price level.
App World also has steps for higher price levels, in dollar increments to $19.99, $10 increments to $99.99, $50 increments to $599.99, and $100 increments to the maximum...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Sources: Universal, Google Mull Music-Video Venture
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65107
Universal Music Group, the world's largest music recording company, is in talks with Google Inc.'s YouTube division to create a music video venture, according to people familiar with the matter.
Instead of just receiving licensing fees or a share of ad revenue from the online video site, Universal is seeking an equity relationship on an ad-supported site focused on high-quality music videos, separate from the grainy user-generated fare common to YouTube's main site.
Other record labels such as Warner Music Group Corp., Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Group Ltd. have also been contacted about the plan although they are not part of the talks. Universal is a division of France's Vivendi SA.
The discussions began about a month ago but are still in the preliminary stages, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are supposed to be confidential.
News of the talks was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.
The discussions began at the behest of Universal Chief Executive Doug Morris, who has pushed to earn more revenue from music videos on its artists, from U2 to Lil Wayne, one person said. Universal's licensing arrangement with YouTube, which began in 2006, was set to expire at the end of March, which provided another reason to revisit their agreement.
Universal's channel on YouTube is by far the site's most popular, generating some 3.6 billion views. The sides are considering forming a separate destination site under the working title "Vevo."
Record labels, faced with declining sales of compact discs, have been experimenting with a number of different ways of distributing their music online, such as getting paid for streams on News Corp.'s MySpace Music site.
But YouTube has run into a number of problems from content providers.
In December, Warner Music pulled all of its music from YouTube, saying the payments it received did not...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Detection of Security Leak Spotlights Firm
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65106
Its discovery that someone in Iran shared online the engineering and avionics data about one of the helicopters in President Barack Obama's fleet has thrust a Cranberry (Pa.] Internet security company into the public eye this week.
Tiversa Inc. had become well-known among national security officials as early as 2004 -- after a meeting among company co-founders Robert Boback and Sam Hopkins and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Pittsburgh-area natives told Hatch that Tiversa found Arabic-language training videos that al-Qaida operatives were sharing using peer-to-peer networking over the Internet -- and that Tiversa's technology also found the individuals who were searching for those files, Boback said.
"Senator Hatch kept us overnight in Washington, D.C., and set up meetings for us with the CIA in Langley (Va.) the next day," said Boback, chief executive officer of Tiversa.
"He told us he said to George Tenet, who headed the CIA back then: 'George, I don't know if the CIA has this capability, but if they don't, they better.'"
Today, Tiversa employs nearly 40 employees, all of whom make at least $45,000 -- and the company provides Internet security monitoring services for companies around the globe, Boback said.
"I'm 99.9 percent sure that Tiversa is the only game in town. They're pretty unique in what they do, and how they do it," said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Michigan-based Ponemon Institute, an independent research company that focuses on information security and data protection.
Ponemon now sits on Tiversa's advisory board after being so impressed with the company's technology, he asked to join.
Media coverage of Tiversa grew after the company alerted the federal government Feb. 25 that someone in Iran had shared a file on potentially sensitive data about a helicopter in President Obama's fleet, said Keith Tagliaferri, director of operations...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Hey eBay, Say Hello to Bonanzle
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65080
The first Saturday morning of each month, licensed auctioneer Walt Kolenda holds live auctions on the Web. Buyers usually show up early to inspect the goods and ask "Auction Wally" questions through a live chat window. From the comfort of his home in Barre, Mass., Kolenda calls the action over a real-time podcast, taking bidders, offering bundle deals, and calling attention to the rarity of a set of antique postcards or the craftsmanship of a piece of ornate glassware.
Like many thrift stores and estate sellers, Kolenda has benefited from strapped consumers, many of whom have cleaned out their attics in search of valuables that might help pay the bills. "I can't keep up with what I'm doing because so many people are coming to me looking for advice on how to sell their items," Kolenda says.
The first advice he gives most sellers: Leave eBay. Since 1999, Kolenda relied on the popular site that pioneered online auctions. But he says changes eBay made to its platform in recent years have hampered the ability of smaller sellers like him to compete with larger wholesalers who use the site as a clearinghouse to sell large amounts of goods at fixed prices. "Now, they want to be a big box [store]," Kolenda says. The changes that turned him away include higher fees for listing each item, the removal of a feature that allowed sellers to negatively rate buyers, and the elimination of all transaction methods other than PayPal, a payment service eBay owns.
In September, Kolenda set up shop at Bonanzle, one of several niche online marketplaces that have sprung up to serve the growing number of online merchants who are leaving eBay out of frustration. Bonanzle was launched in June 2008 by Seattle computer programmer Bill Harding, who wanted to re-create the...
Sat, 7 Mar 09
Afghan Tech Boom: Mullah Embraces iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65072
Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef is a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. He spent almost four years in Guantanamo. He wears a black turban, has a thick beard -- and is never without his Apple iPhone.
The ultra-conservative Taliban banned modern technology like the Internet and TV during its harsh 1996-2001 rule, but those items have boomed in Afghanistan since the regime's 2001 ouster, helping to bring the country into the 21st century.
Zaeef, who reconciled with the Afghan government after being released from U.S. custody, says he uses his iPhone to surf the Internet and find difficult locations, employing the built-in GPS. He even checks his bank account balance online.
"It's easy and modern and I love it," Zaeef said as he pinched and pulled his fingers across the iPhone's touch screen last week. "This is necessary in the world today. People want to progress."
Beyond making life easier, some say the country's embrace of technology could help break the cycle of 30 years of relentless warfare. It puts at the tip of a finger many things that were strictly outlawed by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- music, movies, pictures of people and games like chess.
Young Afghans see the world differently from older Afghans because of their use of the Internet and mobile phones, and their participation in sports, said Shukria Barakzai, a female lawmaker and former newspaper editor.
Afghanistan's youth are not caught up in "the old circle of war," she said. "They are engaging with the rest of the world. That's why technology is so important for Afghanistan."
As an example she uses the popular television show Afghan Star, a version of the American Idol-style singing contest, which draws millions of viewers each week, both young and old. Viewers vote for a winner by text messaging, helping to promote democratic practices, she said.
Eight...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Apple Expected To Announce New Mac Desktops
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65009
Apple is expected to unveil new Mac desktops soon. Rumors on World of Apple and My Apple Guide swirled over the weekend and continued Monday about updates to the Mac mini, the all-in-one iMac, and the Mac Pro.
Apple is expected to make the announcement of updates at a media event on March 24, similar to the event the Cupertino, Calif.-based company held last October to announce notebooks. Kodawarisan, a Japanese Web site, however, said the new Mac desktops will be announced Tuesday.
While updates for the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro were expected at Macworld in January, Apple didn't deliver. An anticipated change for the Mac Pro features Intel Nehalem processors.
Along with new desktops and adding the latest Nvidia graphics cards, Apple is expected to pull a rabbit out of a hat with a "pleasant surprise," sources said.
"Given that we haven't seen major updates to these products, it might be time for Apple to do a refresh," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret.
The Mac mini hasn't had an update since 2007, and the iMac was last updated nearly a year ago. Changes to these Macs aren't expected to be significant, but the Mac Pro is expected to include a major architecture change with the inclusion of the Nehalem (Core i7) processors.
Rumors also say there will more than just changes under the hood. A new design for the Mac Pro's aluminum casing is also expected.
While there have been no concrete announcements from Apple, the company also hasn't denied the rumors. In fact, new Apple marketing literature shows "high performance Nvidia graphics" as a feature in the iMac 20- and 24-inch products.
A photo has also surfaced online of a packaged Mac mini. The image, posted by OneMore Thing, shows the retail box of a...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Marine One Details Leaked on P2P Network
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65008
For those wondering about the state of America's cybersecurity, consider the latest item: Tiversa, a Pennsylvania security company, recently discovered that highly sensitive data had leaked from a defense contractor onto public peer-to-peer networks. Among the files leaked was one containing detailed information about President Obama's helicopter, Marine One.
"We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One, which is the president's helicopter," Tiversa CEO Bob Boback said in an interview with NBC's local affiliate in Pittsburgh, WPXI. "What appears to be a defense contractor in Bethesda, Md., had a file-sharing program on one of their systems that also contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One."
In addition to the technical information, the files from the defense contractor included a variety of financial information with potential intelligence uses, including costs related to transporting the president from the White House to various locations in the D.C. area, including Andrews Air Force Base and Camp David.
The preliminary results of the investigation into the incident suggests the breach was unintentional. An employee at the defense contractor reportedly installed a peer-to-peer sharing program and forgot to turn off the program's default sharing.
Most P2P clients are set up to automatically share common folders such as "My Music" or "My Documents"; some even go so far as to "share" an entire hard drive. Unfortunately, in this case, the hard drive in question contained a variety of classified files.
Retired Air Force General (and former presidential candidate) Wesley Clark, a consultant with Tiversa, told WPXI that any threat had been contained. "We found where this information came from," he said. "We know exactly what computer it came from. I'm sure that person is embarrassed and may even lose their job, but we know where it came from and we know where it went."
Clark's...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
TomTom Suit Doesn't Appear To Be a Threat To Linux
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65007
Last week, Microsoft sued TomTom, saying it infringed on eight patents covering technologies closely linked to Linux. However, The 451 Group analyst Jay Lyman said Microsoft has been going out of its way to claim the litigation isn't aimed at the Linux operating system or open-source software.
The key point in Microsoft's legal actions "involves the Linux kernel as implemented by TomTom," Lyman said. This is "very different from the Linux kernel when we're talking software code and patent-infringement suits."
It's not unusual for companies to develop products based on a mix of proprietary and open-source code, Lyman observed. "Like every other company, they must take responsibility for ensuring that their systems do not infringe others' patents," he said.
Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin advised the open-source community to stay calm about what amounts to a private dispute between two companies.
"We do not feel assumptions should be made about the scope or facts of this case and its inclusion, if any, of Linux-related technology," Zemlin said. "Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing, has specifically stated that it isn't ... in any way directed at Linux."
Still, the software giant has long made sweeping claims that Linux violates its intellectual-property rights, which explains why it's a nagging worry for the open-source community -- for good reason. Under Microsoft's alliance with Novell, for example, the software giant has promised not to litigate against customers who purchase SUSE Linux Enterprise Server or other covered products, which strongly implies that Microsoft reserves the right to sue others who use Linux.
It was not lost on the open-source blogosphere that Microsoft decided to take legal action against a European company at the very time that European competition authorities are poised to whack Microsoft...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Sixty Percent of the World Uses Cell Phones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65006
Six in 10 people on the face of the globe have cell-phone subscriptions, and more than 60 percent of cell-phone users come from developing nations.
So says a United Nations report published Monday. The report's findings suggest that mobile phones are the communications tool of choice in poor countries.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reports an estimated 4.1 billion cell-phone subscriptions at the end of 2008. That compares to about one billion just six years ago. Fixed-line subscriptions grew by only one billion since 2002.
Africa leads the way for developing nations' cell-phone use, with 25 percent of the population toting the devices.
"There has been a clear shift to mobile cellular technology," the ITU said in its report. It noted that less than half of mobile subscriptions around the world were in developing nations in 2002.
In other findings, Internet use has more than doubled. The ITU figures about 23 percent of people globally used the Internet in 2008. That's up 11 percent from 2002. However, despite the double-digit progress, poor countries are still behind on Internet access and adoption. Only one in 20 people in Africa logged onto the Internet in 2007, according to the most recent figures available.
While some citizens of the planet have yet to sign onto the Internet, more of those who do are using faster speeds. The ITU reports that fixed-broadband use increased to almost 20 percent in richer countries. Still, the statistics for poorer countries reflect the overall Internet usage trend. Broadband Internet access at home is available to only one in 20 people worldwide.
Mobile broadband subscriptions are climbing the fastest. Mobile broadband technology lets people all over the world log onto the Internet at high speeds. That service is available to three percent of the Earth's population, 14 percent in developed countries.
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Nokia Halts Launch of 5800 XpressMusic Phone in U.S.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65002
Nokia on Monday admitted to some glitches during the launch of its 5800 handset in North America. The Finnish company has halted distribution of the phone in the United States.
The phone debuted on Feb. 26, but Nokia USA stopped selling the U.S. version of the much-anticipated 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen model at its flagship stores in New York and Chicago after consumers began reporting two persistent problems.
First, the phone's earpiece speakers don't have adequate protection against moisture. The speakers reportedly work well at first, but degrade over time. Given the phone's positioning as a music device, speaker issues are a fatal flaw.
Second, Nokia's phones are having trouble finding AT&T's 3G network. Customers have been returning the phones in droves, and Nokia is selling the European version as a replacement. But the European model doesn't work on the 3G network.
Nokia planned to turn up the volume on its music offering with the 5800. It's Nokia's first touchscreen device in the U.S., and the company has called it a top-priority product. Many billed the phone as a strong competitor against Apple's iPhone. Instead of giving the iPhone a run for its music, though, the 5800 turned up the volume of customer complaints.
Despite the glitches, there are high hopes for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. It's one of the first devices to support Comes With Music, the handset manufacturer's service that offers customers one year of unlimited access to the Nokia Music Store catalog. The Nokia 5800 has marketed itself with the promise of more memory, loud and powerful speakers, easy synchronization, and direct access to important contacts and content.
The phone's innovative features include a Media Bar, which offers a drop-down menu that offers direct access to favorite tracks, videos and photos. It also offers a direct link to the Web and...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
iPhone, Safari, Google Dominate Mobile Web Browsing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64985
Apple's iPhone platform and Safari browser, along with Google's search engine, are kings in the mobile world of Web browsing. That's the conclusion of the new monthly report by industry watcher Net Applications.
The report shows the iPhone with a crushing 67 percent market share for operating systems used for mobile browsing. Java ME is second at about nine percent, Windows Mobile is nearly seven percent, and Android and Symbian are close behind at a little over six percent. The research firm also shows Palm at about 2.3 percent, BlackBerry at a surprisingly remote 2.2 percent, and Qualcomm's BREW at about two percent.
On the desktop, Windows gained as Windows XP usage continued a slow decline to 63.7 percent of all PCs but Windows Vista rose to 22.8 percent and the Windows 7 beta had .18 percent of the market. Apple's Mac OS X fell .32 percent to 9.6 percent.
Some observers have pointed out that the BlackBerry's share of mobile Web browsing is misleading in the Net Applications report, since sales reports show it has sold more units than the iPhone. One question is whether its users are as intent on browsing the Web as iPhone users are. But another factor could be that its default browser is WAP-based rather than HTML, and WAP isn't measured in the Net Applications report.
Mobile measurement is very much a challenge, and Net Applications said it uses "a unique methodology." Its process is to collect data "from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on-demand network of live stats customers," which, the company added, represents about 160 million visitors each month.
By browsers, the report shows the iPhone's Safari with about a 77.5 percent share, followed by Opera Mini at a little over nine percent. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is at five percent,...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Microsoft Slashes Contract Worker Rates by 10 Percent
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64972
Microsoft Corp. is slashing overtime, hours and pay for U.S. temporary workers as part of an overall push to curb expenses during the recession.
Microsoft will cut what it pays the staffing agencies by 10 percent for current projects and won't raise the rate it pays for temporary workers who return after a mandatory annual 100-day break. The company also plans to reduce overtime and the total number of hours clocked by temporary workers.
In a statement Thursday, the company said it talked with some employment agencies before making the decision.
The move, first reported Wednesday by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, comes a month after the software maker resorted to its first mass layoffs and said it would trim travel costs, freeze wages and scale back expansion plans for its Redmond, Washington, headquarters.
As the recession has deepened, consumers and businesses have reined in spending on new computers and software. Because Microsoft sells the operating system that runs on the vast majority of computers around the world, it is feeling the pinch, particularly in its lucrative Windows and Office desktop software businesses.
Online advertising spending is also on the wane. Microsoft's online search and ad business was already losing money despite heavy spending to beef up the underlying technology. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said this week that the company would continue to pour money into competing with Google Inc. on this front.
Microsoft does not disclose how many contract workers it uses, and analyst estimates vary. Sid Parakh, an analyst for McAdams Wright Ragen, said he believes the number is somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 worldwide. The company employs an additional 95,000 permanent workers globally.
The company relies on skilled contract workers for all sorts of jobs, from developing and testing software to designing Web sites to writing technical documentation. And it's not alone. Tech companies including...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Sony Centers Power at Top in Stringer
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64968
Sony sent a message of change Friday in centering power in Chief Executive Howard Stringer, who will also become president and gain greater say over its core electronics business as Japan's iconic electronics maker tackles a painful global slump.
Welsh-born American Stringer, the first foreigner to head Sony Corp., replaces Ryoji Chubachi, who steps down as president April 1 but remains on the board as vice chairman to oversee quality and ecological strategy, and support the new management team.
Chubachi, 61, has overseen the electronics business, which has been battered by shrinking consumer demand and the strong yen. The problems in electronics, including losses in TV operations, are a main reason Sony is tumbling into its first annual net loss in 14 years.
Stringer, 67, introduced a team of four younger executives, three of them in their 40s -- including Kazuo Hirai, 48, head of Sony's game unit -- to spearhead efforts to bring together Sony's sprawling empire, spanning TVs, games, movies and semiconductors, to develop products and services for the digital age.
At a news conference at Sony's Tokyo headquarters, Stringer acknowledged Sony had not been quick enough, and had lost to American rivals like Apple Inc. as well as Asian ones like Samsung Electronics Co. And Sony had to do more to integrate its hardware gadget strengths with software businesses like Internet services, video gaming and movies and other entertainment content, he said.
"We must drive change along several fronts," Stringer told reporters. "We must regroup and rationalize our important core electronics product business. We must accelerate the introduction of innovative network product and service offerings."
But besides references to the company's PlayStation 3 businesses, such as the "Home" virtual community, and Net-linking TVs and other such devices, the executives offered little that was overly specific or surprising.
Sony's gaming business has had mixed results,...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Microsoft Official Urges Better Use of Web Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64967
Microsoft Corp. may be the biggest technology giant around, but one of its representatives on Thursday said those in business can learn a tech lesson by looking at another company: one that sells stuffed-animal toys.
Chris Henley, professional information-technology evangelist for Microsoft, told a crowd at Utah State University that Ganz epitomizes business success using technology by combining elements of community, content and commerce.
Ganz sells plush toys that include a tag with a code used to access parts of the company's Web site. Children from ages 3 to 10 dive into the Webkinz picture-based content to discover their toy's "personality," play games, shop for and "buy" virtual food for their toy and chat with other toy owners. Parents can use the site to buy clothing and other accessories for the toys and their children.
"I encourage you to think about your business," Henley told about 130 people at the 25th annual Information Technology Seminar, part of USU's Partners in Business seminar series. "The guys at Ganz who did this, I promise you, they are a happy group of people. They have changed the plush-animal or stuffed-animal toy business forever with the integration of content, commerce and community. Do the same in your environment."
That applies to every business, including those who believe they are too small for Internet commerce, he said.
"I don't care what your business is -- if you are going to provide some product, you have a community that buys it, you provide content about that product, and you want to sell as much of it as you possibly can," he said. "The area where those three overlap is going to be called the 'cloud,' and if you do business in there, your ability to exponentially grow not only knowledge of your product and the size of your community but the...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Technology Promises Speedier San Diego Crossing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64966
New technology at the nation's busiest border crossing can read chip-enabled travel documents up to 30 feet from an inspection booth, promising shorter waits but raising concerns about targeting by computer hackers.
San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing is a key test for the devices, known as radio frequency identification readers, because the facility is used by about 150,000 people daily.
It's the 13th land crossing to get the technology in recent months, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to have it in place by June at the 39 busiest crossings with Mexico and Canada.
The chips already are contained in about 40,000 drivers licenses in two Canadian border states -- 32,000 in Washington and 7,700 in New York.
Arizona, Michigan and Vermont begin issuing the enhanced drivers licenses this year.
In unveiling the technology here Thursday, U.S. authorities said the technology will shave six to eight seconds off each inspection because information will appear on an officer's computer screen before a motorist even arrives at the booth.
That would be a welcome development at the 24-lane San Ysidro crossing, where waits exceed three hours in Tijuana, Mexico, during peak times.
"If you save a few seconds, you will reduce the (waiting time) enormously," Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Ralph Basham said at the San Ysidro crossing, where motorists flashed documents out their windows as they reached the front of the line.
But some privacy advocates said the document readers lack safeguards, referring to a hacker who reported lifting information from travel documents in the streets of San Francisco with the aid of a $250 gadget.
"Someone with a fairly low-tech device, using off-the-shelf technology from some place like RadioShack, can snag (your information) out of the air," said Brock Meeks, spokesman for the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.
Paul Henning, a Customs and Border Protection...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Call Centers Are Hidden Hiring Gems
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64772
Throughout past recessions, call centers picked up the slack and hired what amounted to millions of Americans to make and take calls. From 1990 onward, economic development agencies worldwide began to court contact centers to help them solve their job loss problems. Typically they recruited outsourcers from the TMC Top 50 Teleservices list as well as smaller, faster-growing companies.
Now 20 years later, the call center climate has changed dramatically. IP communications allows agents to be located anywhere -- even outside our borders. In addition, the Internet (e-mail, etc.) is a viable marketing alternative to speaking on the phone.
And let's not forget outbound telemarketing, a practice that employed millions, has been wiped out by do-not-call regulations and with it billions in commerce and millions of jobs.
Remember -- there will always be the need to speak over the phone when buying products -- regardless of whether these calls are going over IP or not.
The inbound side of the contact center industry continues to grow and although there are obviously layoffs in the contact center space, I have seen precious little hiring anywhere besides a recent announcement that IBM will hire 1,300 support center agents in Iowa.
In addition, General Electric plans on hiring 1,400 new people in Guatemala for a new call center in that country.
And economic development agencies are beginning to realize once again they need to focus on contact centers to get people employed rapidly. As opposed to manufacturing where there are substantial water and electric demands, any office building with sufficient broadband can serve as a contact center location.
In addition, you can get a call center up and running in a matter of months -- not 1+ years like other jobs/industries.
If you ask me, the best way to get hiring going in this country is to give tax breaks to...
Tue, 3 Mar 09
Strengthen Your Brand During the Recession
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64671
"How's business?" Let that be the question of the year -- or perhaps of the recession. Ask it aloud and you're sure to be greeted with an "ehh," an "ugh," and maybe even a guttural growl or two.
The fact is, the business landscape has changed due to financial constraints. Anyone who says the economy isn't weighing hard upon them is lying. What Americans have been feeling for the past year was finally confirmed in December, when the government officially announced we were in a recession -- that we'd been in one since December 2007, in fact, and it might not lighten up anytime soon.
In talking to analysts, vendors, and corporate decision-makers, a distinguishable, repeatable strategy emerged: You can't afford to do nothing. The idea was echoed throughout conversations -- now is not the time for CIOs to sit upon their hands. It's time to act -- to be proactive, in fact -- and to make changes that will ensure your business will still be around come 2010.
For many business leaders, the economic downturn has rung a few bells. Dot-com bubble and Y2K, anyone? In a recent report on technology in a recession, AMR Research President and CEO Tony Friscia wrote that the recessionary blip in the 1990s paved the way for a less-than-rocky path in the current day. He writes, "Recovering from the bad dot-com/Y2K hangover changed how companies approached [technology] spending and management. The biggest result has been that [technology] is now a core part of the business strategies of the best-run companies, which means technology spending won't be hit nearly as hard as it was in 2001." Still, organizations are tightening budgets and reallocating spending.
Even before the official word came down, public relations firms began throwing around the "recession" buzzword-even though optimists hoped it might only be a...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Hearst Could Develop Its Own Electronic Reader
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64982
Amid low advertising revenue and higher operating costs, publishing giant Hearst is looking at other ways to generate revenue. The employer of 20,000 workers in six different media groups is contemplating competing with Amazon.com and Sony in the electronic-reader market, an executive told Fortune.
While Hearst has been tight-lipped about an electronic reader, including what it might look like, what kind of content it would include, and how much it might cost, executive Kenneth Brofin told Fortune the company is interested in the reader market and expects the devices to be a big part of the publishing giant's future.
For decades, the Hearst name has been associated with news -- whether through one of its newspapers, such as the San Francisco Chronicle, or its magazines like O, the Oprah magazine -- not technological devices.
Plummeting revenues, however, including the Chronicle, which had more than $50 million in losses last year with losses to date even worse, have Hearst looking to be creative.
"It is certainly a way of maintaining the presence," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy for Interpret. "The question is what it will look like. When it comes to these types of devices and services, it is all about the details and how to execute things such as pricing, distribution and type of content."
While Hearst isn't a device manufacturer, the company has had a hand in technology to some degree. It provided financial backing to E Ink, a Massachusetts-based company that provides the core technology behind Amazon.com's Kindle and Kindle 2 electronic readers and Sony's Reader.
Hearst was one of the lead investors in the startup and was part of the company's $15.8 million round just more than a decade ago.
Brofin led the investment and said the technology to produce electronic paper has many compelling ramifications for...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Dell Optimistic Despite 48 Percent Income Drop
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64981
Dell said its revenue declined 16 percent year-over-year to $13.4 billion in its last business quarter, which ended Jan. 30. The company also reported its quarterly net income fell 48 percent to $351 million when factoring in previously announced pretax expenses of $277 million.
To counter what is proving an increasingly "uncertain and challenging IT market," Dell executives told investors on Thursday that the company will implement an additional $1 billion in cost cuts within the next 24 months.
"The cost actions we took this past year made us more competitive and delivered value to customers in a challenging economic environment," said CFO Brian Gladden. "We now have a clear view to additional opportunities, and are raising our cost-reduction target to $4 billion" from $3 billion.
Dell's operating-expense cutbacks are being driven by industry-wide PC sales declines both at home and abroad. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the worldwide PC industry suffered its worst growth rate since 2002, noted Mika Kitagawa, a principal analyst at Gartner. "The fourth quarter started out with a relatively optimistic view, but then it got worse every month," Kitagawa said.
One bright spot for Dell was the Asia-Pacific region, where sales grew 16.3 percent compared to a year ago, even as the overall Asia-Pacific market declined 2.4 percent, Kitagawa said. In particular, the PC maker enjoyed "strong growth in China, where Dell expanded channel business, reaching new markets through channel partners."
To address Dell's falling sales in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, the company must confront its biggest challenge: Find ways to boost enterprise technology sales. "We saw deteriorating demand for IT spending in the second half of the year -- the deferring of IT spend[ing]," Gladden said. "The CIOs around the world really do need our IT, and the challenge is that they are...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Google Tweets on Twitter Amid Acquisition Rumors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64980
Google integrated its Blogger Following feature with Google Friend Connect this week, but the search giant put a damper on its own launch by signing up for a Twitter account. Google began Tweeting Wednesday evening. Its first post was strings of 0's and 1's, binary code for "I feel good."
But Google's second post may be the company's real motive for launching on Twitter. Google tweeted this message 20 minutes later: "Check out the new Google Apps Status Dashboard." After a data-center fiasco earlier this week that put Gmail out of commission for a couple of hours, Google has moved to be more transparent. The dashboard is one move, and Twitter is the other.
Google's Twitter tells the story: "News and updates from Google." In less than three days, Google has attracted nearly 28,000 followers. It has posted 100 updates, mostly surrounding its products. There are tweets about Google Toolbar, Google Friend Connect, and Google Translate.
Google may be late to the Twitter party, and its sudden entrance has many speculating about whether it plans to purchase the micro-blogging service that allows 140 characters to tell people what you're doing. If it's more search assets Google is after, Twitter would be a prime candidate.
John Battelle, author of The Search, called real-time, conversational search the most important and quickly growing form of Web search today. Then he called Twitter the YouTube of real-time search. If Google bought Twitter, it wouldn't be the first company it acquired from Twitter cofounders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. Google bought Blogger from the duo.
"YouTube was the single fastest-growing new form of search on the Web, and Google pretty much outflanked (and outspent) everyone to buy it. Not to get into video monetization, per se, but to harvest and control the most important emerging...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
CBS Makes Television Shows Available on iPhone
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64977
CBS Interactive wants to be sure television viewers don't miss their favorite television shows when they aren't able to sit in front of the tube. Select full episodes, news updates, and clips from CBS can now be viewed by iPhone and iPod touch users by downloading a free TV.com app from Apple's App Store.
The app uses the iPhone's Quick Time Player to enable users to watch streaming video. Companies such as CBS need to make their content available in H.264 format if they want it to be viewed on the iPhone, since the device doesn't support Adobe Flash, the format used by most online sites and Microsoft's Windows Media DRM.
CBS Mobile and partner Veveo developed the application using vTap video-search and personalization technology.
Some of the network's top shows are available via the TV.com app, including The Young and the Restless, the Late Show with David Letterman, and hits such as CSI. More than 20 shows from the CNET iPhone site, including Today on CNET, the Buzz Report, and Loaded, are also available through the application as well as the CBS Radio Channel, according to CBS.
"CBS Mobile is excited to be on Apple's App Store with our application for TV.com, where TV lives online -- and now on iPhone and iPod touch," said Jeff Sellinger, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Mobile. "Fans can now watch their favorite shows, great clips, and create custom channels whenever and wherever they want through the iPhone and iPod touch application."
Busy families may no longer have time to gather around the television, and many viewers rely on DVR and TiVo devices to catch their favorite show when they can't be home to watch it. So the move to offer content on the iPhone isn't surprising, as companies are competing for...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Japan's NTT DoCoMo Pulls Overheating BlackBerry Bold
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64976
Research in Motion wanted its BlackBerry Bold to be a hot item, but not the way it's happening in Japan. NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, stopped selling the Bold on Friday because of overheating problems during battery recharging.
According to news media, DoCoMo reported about 30 customers had complained about the keyboard heating up, out of about 4,000 devices sold. The company added that there were no reports of injury or fire.
RIM and DoCoMo told news media that "a small number of BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan were at times reaching warmer-than-usual device temperatures during charging."
Although the "temperatures appear to have remained within the safety range of regulatory standards," the companies said, they voluntarily halted sales in Japan until the issue has been examined. RIM added that its initial analysis ruled out a battery problem.
The companies also said the reports appear to be limited to BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan since its launch there, and it's not affecting sales in other countries.
It was only late last week that RIM and DoCoMo announced the availability of the Bold through DoCoMo's corporate and retail channels.
Avi Greengart, a U.S.-based analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said neither of his two BlackBerry Bolds have had such a problem. But, he added, this is definitely "a black mark on RIM's brand in Japan," and it's worse for the company that it happened there rather than, say, in the U.S.
"Awareness and usage of the BlackBerry in North America is sky-high," he said, "but that is not the case in Japan," a market that RIM is trying to penetrate. Greengart said he expects the companies to soon resolve the issue and return the Bold to the market.
The Bold was introduced to the U.S. last November through RIM's American carrier partner,...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Microsoft Opens Up About Windows 7 Enhancements
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64975
Microsoft on Thursday listed 36 improvements in the upcoming Windows 7 release. The release candidate (RC) will include the latest round of enhancements. Although Microsoft didn't indicate when the RC might be available, observers think the final version of Windows 7 will launch later this year.
Microsoft said it made many revisions -- bug fixes, compatibility fixes, and performance improvements -- that it did not list in its extended blog post on the changes. However, the company did outline some changes three of the Windows 7 feature teams made: Core User Experience, Find & Organize, and Devices & Media.
Microsoft made 10 changes to the desktop experience, including adding its Aero Peek window transparency tool to the Alt+Tab function. The feature lets users know what items are open on the desktop. The Windows 7 team also combined the launch and switch function on the Windows logo button.
"The magic really begins when [Internet Explorer] is running with several windows or tabs -- holding down the Windows logo and tapping the 2 key repeatedly will actually cycle through the open IE items off the taskbar (with Aero Peek, of course)," said Chaitanya Sareen, a Microsoft program manager. "Letting go simply switches to the corresponding window."
The RC will also include more "reliable and resilient" Internet radio playback, according to Microsoft, and offer improved playback for video content from digital camcorders and cameras. Sareen said Microsoft is stopping the practice of interrupting content playing on Media Player if the user inserts a USB drive, because users complained that the "experience is jarring."
Although consumers will appreciate the enhancements, Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, says there are no significant changes coming with the RC. More significant than the changes, he said, may be that Microsoft published...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Facebook Offers Members a Say in Setting Policies
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64974
Stung by user outrage about its policy-making, Facebook is asking its members to help guide the site's terms of use. On Thursday, the popular social-networking site announced "a new approach to site governance that offers its users around the world an unprecedented role in determining the future policies of the service."
The move comes after a storm of controversy when Facebook tried to change its terms of use to give it more control and ownership of user data and uploads.
CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg described the move as creating "a new relationship" between Internet companies and the people they serve. He said it results from an increasing amount of information being shared on Web sites.
"This past week," he added, "reminded us that users feel a real sense of ownership over Facebook itself, not just the information they share."
The first policies subject to the new process are The Facebook Principles, described by the company as "a set of values that will guide the development of the service," and a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that will outline the duties of both Facebook and its users. The company said an updated Privacy Policy will also be up for review by users.
The Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, Facebook said, is a response to issues raised by the Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities Group. When complete, it will replace the existing Terms of Use, the Developer Terms of Service, and even the Facebook Advertising Terms and Conditions.
In particular, the draft statement emphasizes that users, not Facebook, own the content shared through the company's services. Facebook's permission for using the content would expire when users remove the content or their account. The new process also provides for giving users notice, the ability to comment, and, under certain conditions, approval...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
New Yahoo CEO Ushers Out CFO in Executive Shake-Up
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64970
After spending six weeks diagnosing Yahoo Inc.'s troubles, new Chief Executive Carol Bartz started to prescribe a cure Thursday with a management shake-up that will usher out the Internet company's chief financial officer.
Besides pushing CFO Blake Jorgensen out the door, the overhaul will expand the responsibilities of Yahoo's chief technology officer, Ari Balogh, and the company's top advertising executive in the United States, Hilary Schneider.
Bartz also created two jobs: a chief marketing officer and her own chief of staff.
Elisa Steele, who has been working at NetApp Inc., will join Yahoo as chief marketing officer on March 23, while Joel Jones, a former McKinsey consultant who has been Yahoo's corporate strategist, becomes Bartz's chief of staff as of Thursday.
With the new pecking order, Bartz hopes to speed up Yahoo's decision-making and have a senior team that supports her strategy for turning around a company struggling with three years of declining profits -- a downturn that had battered its stock price well before the market's overall decline.
Although Bartz still hasn't specified how she intends to get Yahoo back on track, she has left no doubt about her resolve to recapture the Internet pioneer's glory days.
"I'm singularly focused on providing you with awesome products. Period," Bartz wrote in a blog posting Thursday addressed to Yahoo's 500 million worldwide users.
Yahoo's previous two CEOs, co-founder Jerry Yang and former movie studio mogul Terry Semel, also attempted to revive Yahoo in recent years by reshuffling executives, but those moves never paid off. Bartz's reorganization is meant to last two to four years.
Investors appear to be betting that Bartz will deliver on her promises. Yahoo shares gained 50 cents, or 4 percent, to close Thursday at $12.98.
Yahoo hired Bartz, 60, last month to replace Yang, who exasperated many investors and employees with his wishy-washy management style. Yang...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Review: TrialPay Can Help You Get Freebies Online
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64954
With the economy in the dumps, you might hesitate before buying discretionary goodies like video games or pizza. But what if you could get those things for free by doing something you might already be inclined to do -- like signing up for a trial of Netflix or buying coffee from Starbucks.com?
Mountain View, Calif.-based TrialPay offers just that kind of a deal, which it bills as a win-win-win for consumers, merchants and advertisers. It probably won't change your buying habits dramatically, but it could help you get a (sort of) free lunch.
Here's how it works: Let's say you're perusing a movie ticket Web site. If that site is working with TrialPay, you might be presented with the option to get tickets not by paying for them directly, but simply by completing a purchase or trial offer with another company. If you're game, you can click to see a list of participating companies, such as Starbucks or Netflix. And if you agree you'll receive e-mailed instructions on how to get your free movie tickets.
As TrialPay's 27-year-old co-founder, Alex Rampell, describes it, the service is "kind of like PayPal for people who don't pay."
Rampell began building his own business in high school and college by selling shareware -- software that you can generally download and try for free but are later prompted to pay for. He came up with the idea for TrialPay in 2004 as a way to get more consumers to "pay" for his software, after talking with a marketer friend who helped him realize how much companies are willing to shell out to acquire customers.
People might not be willing to pay for software, but they might be willing to pay for cat food, he mused. And if a cat food seller is willing to pay the software seller for...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Stop Thief! Software Lets Stolen Laptops Speak Up
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64953
Stolen laptop? Now you can tell those thieves exactly what you think of them.
Front Door Software Corp.'s Retriever program displays your contact information as your computer boots up. There's even space for a plea to a Good Samaritan -- "$50 for my safe return," maybe.
In most cases, that's enough to help an honest person return the machine, said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the five-person company based in Evergreen, Colo.
But in the darkest scenarios, Retriever takes off the kid gloves.
You can log on to a Web site and check a box indicating the computer is missing. Now during start-up, a big yellow and red banner appears on the screen, boldly declaring the laptop lost or stolen. This message is set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes the window.
You can remotely switch on a second password prompt if you fear the thief has also stolen your regular Windows, Macintosh or Linux login.
Behind the scenes, Retriever uses built-in Wi-Fi to sniff out nearby networks, then suss out what Internet service providers power them. With that information in hand, Hafeman said, you can file a police report and get help locating the criminal.
While waiting for law enforcement to come through, you can even let off steam by sending new messages to the nagging "Stolen Computer!" screen.
"You are being tracked. I am right at your door" was one, Hafeman said, adding that she could not bring herself to say others that came to mind. Customers have also tried to induce fear or guilt by switching their contact info to "Secret Service" and "Catholic church."
The latest version of Retriever, which costs $29.95 for three years of use, is even more aggressive.
Now, when the "stolen" screen pops up, the laptop cries for help. Use a canned message ("Help, this...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
A Guide to Google's Off-Hours Wizardry
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64951
Unless you're just off the shuttle from Alpha Centauri, you're already aware of the product that made Google famous: its Search box. It's become the card catalog for the Internet (and a whopping moneymaker for Google).
But any time you cram about 20,000 of the world's smartest people into one company, you can expect to grow a garden of unrelated ideas. Especially when you give some of those geniuses one day off a week -- Google's famous "20 percent time" -- to work on whatever projects fan their passions. And especially when you create Google Labs (labs.google.com), a Web site where the public can kick the tires on half-baked Google creations. Some Labs projects go on to become real Google services, and others are quietly snuffed out.
Such innovations -- and a number of smart acquisitions -- have led to hits like Google Earth, Gmail, Picasa, Google Docs, Blogger, YouTube, Google Calendar and others.
But the company has also cultivated a vast jungle of lesser-known features. Unfortunately, it's so vast and varied, you would need a professional tour guide to help you find the gems.
Hello, my name is David. Keep hands and feet inside the tram at all times.
iGoogle. Google.com became famous for its white, minimalist look. It loaded quickly in the days when dial-up modems ruled the earth.
Today, at iGoogle (www.google.com/ig), you can dress up all that white space with useful mini-boxes containing additional info. Hundreds of useful displays are available: a clock, local weather, movie listings, incoming e-mail, news, daily horoscope, to-do list, Twitter updates and whatever-of-the-day (joke, vocabulary word, quotation, Bible verse, photo and so on).
The best part: this stuff doesn't slow you down. You can type in and execute a quick Google search before all those widgets have appeared.
Google Reader. Why spend your time finding and navigating to...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Seeking Stimulus and Seeing Broadband
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64950
The broadband race is on.
As policy makers the world over haggle over how to revive ailing economies, one strategy has found widespread support everywhere from Washington and Berlin to Sydney and Seoul: Investing in high-speed Internet access.
In recent weeks, the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Finland have all included measures to expand broadband access and to bolster connection speeds in their planned economic stimulus packages. Australia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Japan and South Korea have announced separate broadband plans, according to a compilation by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
While some of the plans have been in the works for months or years, analysts say it is no coincidence that so many of them are being rushed out now: The perceived popularity of building broadband networks provides political cover for bank bailouts. And, as economies shrink, attracting foreign investment is ever more important.
"The crisis is making countries push forward with their digital agendas much more aggressively," said Charlie Davies, a senior analyst at Ovum, a telecommunications consultancy. "There's this competition internationally to want to be there at the top and say, 'We're the most digitally advanced country, a great place to do business and all that.'"
Most of these plans seek to expand connections to rural areas where they currently are unavailable, in some cases talking about turning broadband into a universal service like electricity or running water. Another common goal is to speed up existing links through incentives to build faster fixed-line and wireless telecommunications networks.
The plans highlight a range of economic benefits, from the small scale and specific to the sweeping.
Ireland, for example, said in January that its "national broadband scheme" would directly create 170 jobs. Germany said last week, as the cabinet approved its broadband strategy, that "universal provision of efficient broadband connections and...
Mon, 2 Mar 09
Hacker Loses New Round of U.S. Extradition Fight
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64948
British prosecutors said Thursday they would not bring criminal charges against a London man accused of hacking into U.S. military computers. The decision is a blow to Gary McKinnon's attempts to avoid extradition to the United States.
U.S. prosecutors allege that McKinnon, 42, broke into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the Department of Defense and several branches of the military soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. McKinnon says he was looking for evidence of UFOs.
British and European courts have rejected repeated legal attempts by McKinnon's lawyers to block his extradition. Last month McKinnon offered to plead guilty to a criminal charge in Britain to avoid facing trial in the United States.
But the Crown Prosecution Service said Thursday that the case was best prosecuted in the U.S.
"The bulk of the evidence is located in the United States, the activity was directed against the military infrastructure of the United States, the investigation commenced in the United States and was ongoing, and there are a large number of witnesses, most of whom are located in the United States," said Alison Saunders, head of the service's organized crime division.
Saunders said the charge McKinnon had admitted -- obtaining unauthorized access to a computer -- was far less serious than the U.S. allegations against him.
"These were not random experiments in computer hacking, but a deliberate effort to breach U.S. defense systems at a critical time which caused well documented damage," she said.
U.S. prosecutors allege that McKinnon's hacks shut down the U.S. Army district responsible for protecting Washington, D.C., and cleared logs from computers at Naval Weapons Station Earle in northern New Jersey, which tracks the location and battle-readiness of U.S. Navy ships.
The hacker was caught in 2002 when investigators traced software used in the attacks to his girlfriend's e-mail account. If he is extradited to the...