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Is Google Poised To Announce Nexus One Phone?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70828
Speculation about Google's hardware plans is reaching a fever pitch, as the company has invited members of the media to an "Android press gathering" on Jan. 5 at the company's "Googleplex" headquarters.
News of the press event comes as the rumor mills have been churning with details of a Google-branded, HTC-built, Android-based cell phone. Previously, Google execs had hinted that a Nexus One device was being produced for internal research only, maintaining that it was a "mobile lab" utilizing the Android platform that was shared with Google employees. Leaked details from people claiming to have gotten their hands on the device indicated they were impressed with the phone's high-resolution screen and super-fast web browsing.
If that weren't enough, Google watchers also say the company plans to sell its own branded Android-based netbook to consumers in the 2010 holiday season.
While some analysts pooh-pooh the idea that Google is looking to compete with the likes of Apple in the consumer hardware business, it's increasingly looking like consumers will be able to purchase a Google phone, if not a Google netbook.
If nothing else, the timing of the event -- just hours before companies start holding press briefings on their announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show, which opens Jan. 7 -- suggests Google is not going to talk about a new SDK. The early announcement also beats to the punch Apple's Jan. 26 press event, where CEO Steve Jobs is expected to announce the "iSlate" -- rumored to be an iPhone, Kindle and Mac laptop in one thin, large-format tablet.
"It looks like they are ... planning to position against the iSlate," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group. "They are apparently trying something unique. The problem for the platform model has been ownership of the customer and thus...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Nokia Takes Apple Battle To U.S. Trade Commission
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70827
In a patent drama just getting under way, Nokia has added a new twist in its case against Apple. On Tuesday, Nokia said it filed a new complaint against the iPhone maker for infringing on its patents in virtually all of Apple's mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.
Nokia filed the new complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that, among other things, directs actions against unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement. The commission has the authority to order U.S. customs officials to block goods from entering the U.S., and many Apple components are manufactured in Asia.
Nokia has one of the strongest patent portfolios in the wireless industry with more than 10,000 patent families. Nokia has invested 40 billion euros (US$57.4 billion) in research and development in the last two decades. Many of Nokia's patents undergird industry standards and Nokia licenses its patents to about 40 companies.
The seven Nokia patents in the new complaint relate to Nokia innovations that the company alleges Apple is using to create key features in its user interfaces, as well as camera, antenna and power-management technologies. The patents also cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption, and Nokia said they are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.
More specifically, Nokia alleges Apple infringed on intellectual property that relates to technologies fundamental to making devices compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA), and wireless LAN standards. Nokia argues that these patented technologies are important to Nokia's success, as they allow better user experiences, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size, and longer battery life for Nokia products.
"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in small electronic devices," said Paul Melin, general manager...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Hackers Will Focus on Adobe Products, Social Networks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70826
If you use a social network or Adobe Reader products, beware in 2010. Security researchers say these vehicles will see more malicious attacks from hackers in the months ahead.
On Monday, McAfee Labs released its 2010 Threat Predictions report to outline the tech threats enterprises and consumers should be wary of. Social networking and Adobe products are in the spotlight, along with banking Trojans, botnets and HTML 5.
"Sites such as Twitter and Facebook have changed the way we communicate, interact and share on the web," said David Marcus, security research manager for McAfee Avert Labs. "As user bases for the top online social destinations reach record highs, cybercriminals are building out their criminal toolkits, taking advantage of new technologies, third-party applications, and hot spots of activity to exploit users."
What does this mean for the average surfer? According to Marcus, it means the next time you receive an invite from one of your Facebook friends to play a game that looks like it's shaping up to be the next Farmville, you should think twice before you click.
"In 2010, users are going to be more vulnerable to attacks that blindly distribute fake apps across their networks. The same goes for bit.ly's and TinyURLs," Marcus said. "As abbreviated URLs become more ubiquitous, it will be even easier for cybercriminals to mask and direct users to malicious sites."
Ken Dunham, director of global response for iSIGHT Partners, said social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter will continue to gain media attention and be the focus of innovation, data mining, and targeted attacks in 2010.
"If you were to go in a room and ask how many people have social-networking accounts, pretty much the whole room is going to have their hands up," Dunham said. "We are in the information age and a lot of information about...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Mobile-Phone GSM Encryption Has Been Cracked
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70825
The most widely used mobile-phone technology -- Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) -- has been cracked. The more than 20-year-old encryption, which protects mobile-phone calls and texts from being intercepted, was cracked by a computer hacking group called the Chaos Computer Club.
The encryption based on the A5/1 and A5/2 algorithm offers over-the-air privacy by scrambling the communications link between a handset and a radio base station. Serious weaknesses were discovered in both algorithms.
In February 2008, Pico Computing announced plans to commercialize devices that allow A5/1 to be broken. In 2007 a hacking group claimed to be building an attack on A5/1 by constructing a large look-up table of approximately two terabytes -- equivalent to the data contained in a 20-kilometer-high pile of books. Another group announced similar plans this year.
Before a practical attack can be attempted, the GSM call has to be identified and recorded from the radio interface, according to Claire Cranton, a spokesperson for the GSM Association. The association, which has a security group that looks at all issues regarding security, said the matter is not something it is taking lightly.
"We have a new security algorithm that is being phased, as the protection and privacy of customer communications is at the forefront of [wireless] operators' concerns," Cranton said. "So far, this aspect of the methodology has not been explained in any detail and we strongly suspect that the teams attempting to develop an intercept capability have underestimated its practical complexity."
A hacker would need a radio receiver system and the signal-processing software to process raw radio data, Cranton added. The complex knowledge required to develop such software is subject to intellectual-property rights, making it difficult to develop a commercial product.
"All in all, we consider this research, which appears to be motivated in part by...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
iPhones, Other Devices Strain U.K.'s Largest Network
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70824
The United Kingdom's largest mobile network said Tuesday that it was having problems keeping up with the increased demands placed on its system by Apple's iPhone and other advanced smartphones. The admission follows on the heels of recent statements by AT&T executives that the heavy data demands of iPhone users are straining the carrier's ability to serve users in U.S. metropolitan markets such as New York City and San Francisco, Calif.
O2 CEO Robert Dunne told the Financial Times newspaper Tuesday that an "explosion" in data demand from smartphone users is hindering the ability of some network users to transmit data as well as place or receive telephone calls in London.
"Where we haven't met our own high standards, then there's no question, we apologize to customers for that fact," Dunne said, according to the Times. "But it would be wrong to say O2 has failed its customers en masse."
Dunne told the Times that O2 is in the process of installing 200 additional mobile base stations in London. Meanwhile, the carrier is consulting with smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion about what can be done to reduce the strain placed on its network by the latest handset apps.
One of the ways in which handset makers can make a vital contribution is through the introduction of more efficient software technologies, noted Lisa Pierce, an independent wireless analyst at the Strategic Networks Group. "For example, RIM has specifically developed a proprietary capability where it supports compression over the air today, so handset makers can help," she said.
Dunne also said O2 -- which has 46.7 million customers in the U.K. -- is currently working on software modifications with infrastructure supplier Nokia Siemens Networks. The goal is to make it possible for the carrier to better manage the...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Snowbound Ordeal Shows GPS Can Be Dangerous
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70822
Choosing the road less traveled, at the behest of their GPS system, led a Nevada couple to a frightening, snowbound Christmas ordeal in Oregon. John Rhoads, 65, and his wife, Starry Bush-Rhoads, 67, used their Toyota Sequoia's navigation system to guide them home to Reno from Portland, and were unable to call for help when they became stuck on a deserted road.
Their experience is raising questions about the trustworthiness of automated navigation systems, and experts are encouraging drivers not to solely rely on them in unfamiliar terrain. Instead, drivers should double-check to avoid potentially dangerous areas.
"You have to keep your brain on," said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesperson for the New York chapter of the American Automobile Association. "Totally depending on these devices can send you on some really out-of-the-way journeys."
The couple was traveling through the Winema-Fremont National Forest in Eastern Oregon on Christmas and apparently selected the option for the shortest route on their navigation system, according to media reports. That led them to turn right onto a secluded road they followed for 35 miles.
They were just outside the town of Silver Lake when they drove into 18-inch snow too deep for their four-wheel-drive SUV to handle. They dug out once, but soon became trapped again. They didn't see another soul all weekend.
The Rhoadses had enough food, water and warm clothes to survive the chilly, isolated weekend unharmed. But they were unable to get a signal on either of their GPS-enabled cell phones for more than two days. Weather changes seem to have eventually allowed a weak signal to 911, where a sheriff's dispatcher was able to pinpoint their location. A deputy soon towed their vehicle out of the snow.
"GPS nearly did them in, and GPS saved them," Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger told the...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Karmic Koala: What's New in Ubuntu
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70805
Ubuntu strikes many people in the western world as an odd name for an operating system. They may not know that in the African languages of Zulu and Xhosa the word means roughly "humanity towards others."
It's a name that sums up the concept behind the Linux distribution known as Ubuntu -- especially since it was South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, one of the key financial backers of its development, who selected it.
The makers of Ubuntu have made it their mission to make an operating system that is as easy to use as possible -- and to provide it for free. Version 9.10, also known as Karmic Koala, was recently released. Does it live up to its programmers' lofty goals?
Unlike Windows or Mac OS, it's very difficult to determine how many users are running any given Linux distribution. After all, the software is licensed for free copying and redistribution. A check with Google Trends does show, however, that interest in Ubuntu among Internet users has grown significantly in recent years in comparison with other popular Linux variants like Open Suse or Fedora. The system is far ahead of the competition when it comes to that kind of search query.
Why Ubuntu instead of other variants? "The developers are attempting to adapt to the needs of private users as much as possible," explains Kristian Kissling from Ubuntu User magazine. There is also a lively community of users who make their experience and knowledge available to other Internet users.
The new Karmic Koala contains more updates than any Ubuntu release in some time, reports German computer magazine c't. Users will certainly notice one thing from the start: the system boots up much quicker. The reworked design also stands out. While it still features the brown tones for which Ubuntu is known, it also reminds one...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Online Data Backups: From Your Hard Drive To the Web
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70797
Where's the best place to store your personal data? For most users the decision comes down to the PC itself or an external hard drive. The underlying motto: my data belongs here under my own roof. More adventurous souls can also opt for a variety of web hosting providers and online backup services that allow for files to be stored on external servers. The costs are quite low. But are they safe?
The disadvantage to physical storage media is that it can age or be lost, says Strahinja Zuljevic from the online magazine Netzwelt. That doesn't happen to data stored on the net. Another plus: it's available at any time.
"Users don't have to spend their money on expensive hardware," says Sven Rohkamm from the webhosting provider Dogado Internet in Germany. Storing the files is also uncomplicated. There are even automated solutions available to eliminate the need to actively copy the files. The user doesn't have to constantly worry where a given file is stored.
The choice between manual copying of data to the service or automated synchronization usually comes down to the price and features. On the one side is simple storage space. Files or folders are manually selected and dragged onto the online storage repository. The services providing automated backup make their copies of selected folders at specific, pre-determined times.
The best services provide software for the user to install, Zuljevic says. Rates for the recommended services start at around five dollars per month, with a minimum two year contract often required. Web-based mail services that offer data services as a side feature should be regarded with caution: their upload speeds are frequently too slow.
The big names in the field currently include Mozy, Carbonite, and Dropbox, Zuljevic says. The first two provide unlimited storage space, while Dropbox offers two gigabytes. Availability is...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
New Generation of Computer Tablets on Way
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70796
We might have caught a glimpse of the future.
In San Francisco, a startup company called Fusion Garage is showing off the JooJoo, a touch-screen device that looks like the iPhone's big brother.
The JooJoo is one of the first of a new generation of tablet computers expected to hit store shelves in the coming year.
Much of the buzz around tablet computers has focused on the one Apple has reportedly long had in development and is widely expected to unveil early next year. But similar devices are expected to arrive in coming months as well, many running Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, which supports multitouch gestures common on touch-screen devices.
Back in August, with rumors about Apple's so-called iTablet reaching a crescendo, we were skeptical about the potential of such a device -- and the whole concept of tablet PCs. We couldn't see anyone trading out a notebook or a cell phone for such a device, which meant tablet makers would have to convince consumers to buy yet another gadget -- something we figured they'd be reluctant to do.
But after playing with the JooJoo, we're less dubious. Maybe these types of gadgets will find a market after all.
The JooJoo, which is scheduled to ship in February and can be pre-ordered from Fusion Garage, is designed as a "living room" device. By that we mean you can use it to surf the Web, read electronic books, check e-mail, watch Web videos and even place video calls -- all while leaning back against the comfy cushions on your couch.
That's a lot different from the typical Web surfing experience today, which usually involves being stuck in the study with a desktop or being hunched over a laptop.
Unlike a laptop, the JooJoo doesn't have a keyboard. Instead, it's got a 12-inch touch screen through which you can...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
In with New Windows, But Keep the Old
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70795
Q. I have several programs that were written for Windows XP. I have recently upgraded to the Home Premium Edition of Windows 7 and find that the older software no longer will install or run. Are there any solutions to this problem?
A. If an older program will not run automatically in Windows 7, you can try adjusting its compatibility settings. This feature sometimes allows software written for previous systems to work with the current version of Windows.
In Windows 7, right-click on the icon of the older program and choose "Troubleshoot compatibility" from the menu. When you click on the "Troubleshoot program" option, a wizard walks you through a few screens and asks for basic information, like what version of Windows the program used to work with.
Based on your answers, the troubleshooter adjusts your system settings and attempts to run the older program. You can also try the troubleshooter in the setup files on the installation discs from older programs if they will not install properly.
The Windows 7 compatibility settings can be adjusted manually as well. To do this, right-click on the older program's icon and select Properties from the menu. In the Properties box, click the Compatibility tab. In this box, you can select the version of Windows the program was intended for and make other changes to settings like screen resolution.
Microsoft has full instructions and a video demonstrating how to use the Windows 7 compatibility mode at bit.ly/4MFF05. The company also advises against changing the settings for security and utility programs that were designed to work with a specific version of Windows.
The Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions can use the Windows XP Mode software to run programs written for Windows XP right in Windows 7. Microsoft has the details on Windows XP Mode at bit.ly/p6Zy.
Adjusting the compatibility settings...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Budgets, Telecom Among Top CIO Headaches in 2009
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70734
If you ask a dozen CIOs what their top 10 headaches were in the past 12 months, they'd probably offer up a few dozen different answers. But there are a few headaches that seem common to CIOs no matter what industry or what part of the world they work in.
Beyond the ongoing Microsoft Patch Tuesdays, keeping up with the latest technology standards, and the proliferation of diverse mobile gadgets, CIOs report headaches around the unexpected and newly encountered tasks that fell in their laps in 2009. The most common answer: Accomplishing more with a smaller budget.
"In a stagnant or shrinking economy -- which is what we were facing going into 2009 -- CIOs are frequently asked to accomplish technology delivery in the context of efficiency but also budgetary limits or even shrinkage," said Laef Olson, CIO for RightNow Technologies, an on-demand customer experience software developer in Bozeman, Mont., with customers like Electronic Arts, eBay and Virgin. "The headache comes when the business needs are pressing -- say executing on improving customer experience to retain existing customers -- but the budget is fixed."
Indeed, business productivity and cost reduction was the number one concern among CIOs and IT executives, according to the Society for Information Management's (SIM) 2009 IT Industry Trend Survey. That's a change from years past, when IT and business alignment were considered the biggest headaches.
In 2009, 52 percent of respondents said their IT budgets decreased compared to 2008. The good news is the pain may subside, at least a little, in the coming months. Looking ahead to 2010, 27 percent expect budgets to increase and another 45 percent expect them to remain the same -- practically mirroring pre-recession levels.
"The results of the study confirm that the economic downturn has caused a significant shift in priorities," said Jerry...
Wed, 30 Dec 09
Managing Enterprise Wireless Costs Yields Big Savings
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70355
Are you spending too much on your enterprise wireless service? If you're like most large companies, the answer is an overwhelming yes.
About 80 percent of enterprises will overspend on wireless service costs by an average of 15 percent through 2014, according to Gartner. As mobility has grown among enterprises, Gartner said, costs have also grown. The good news is you can curb wireless costs if you understand contracts, data usage, roaming and mobility management.
"Our research shows that the majority of companies are not adequately managing their mobile users or services," said Phil Redman, research vice president at Gartner. "They need to look more closely at their key user segments and requirements in order to match those needs with the right services and optimize their spending."
How much can you save? The Aberdeen Group reports best-in-class companies can decrease wireless voice and data costs by implementing a wireless enterprise management solution. Best-in-class companies saw data costs drop by 32 percent and voice costs drop by 26 percent, while laggard companies actually saw a 16 percent increase in data charges, according to Aberdeen's 2009 Wireless Expense Report.
About half of companies Aberdeen researched are either using an in-house solution or no solution at all to manage their wireless expenses. Without a program, practical tasks like retrieving smartphones from terminated or transferred employees fall through the cracks. In large companies, it's not uncommon to find a closet full of cell phones that were tossed in a box without thought about the ongoing service contracts, according to Hyoun Park, a research editor in the Aberdeen Group's Technology Markets Group.
"A typical billion-dollar company will end up spending about $5 million a year on wireless costs. In an unmanaged environment, there's probably $1 million to $1.5 million in potential savings available," Park said. "That's...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
New Versions of Firefox Browser Delayed
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70812
Mozilla is pushing back deadlines for new versions of Firefox, calculating that taking a little more time to deliver new software will be worth the risk.
Unlike in years past, when Firefox was the only serious, free alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the browser landscape is especially crowded these days, and browsers that fall too far behind the upgrade race risk losing substantial market share.
In the past year, Google has released Chrome for Windows and beta versions for Mac and Linux; Apple has been aggressively promoting Safari; Microsoft has been putting some new energy into Internet Explorer; and Opera has been working on building new, speedy JavaScript engines.
The next version of Firefox, version 3.6, was slated for a 2009 release, but now that won't happen until at least the first quarter of 2010. And plans for the major 4.0 release have been pushed back until the end of 2010 at the earliest, and more likely the first quarter of 2011.
That delay could be good news for Microsoft, says Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. Recent numbers show Firefox 3.5 with a larger percentage of users than either Internet Explorer 7 or 8, but the trends also show a relatively rapid transition to Microsoft's latest browser due to market adoption of Windows 7.
"With the delay of the next version of Firefox, Microsoft has a window to take back some market share," King said. "A lot will depend on how well Microsoft gets the word out about IE 8 -- how different and better it is than IE 7 and the current Firefox offering."
One of the big additions in 3.6 is the Personas plug-in, which will allow users to easily customize the appearance of the browser. Personalization is something that's popular with end users, although...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Nvidia May Delay Fermi Again Until Later in First Quarter
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70811
Nvidia have delayed the last piece of its GPU puzzle. After two delays in getting its Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) out the door in November and then again in January, reports say Nvidia has pushed the architecture code-named Fermi later into next year.
Fermi was the last piece in Nvidia's GPU computing puzzle, analysts say. The CUDA architecture brings the high-performance piece to the table. High-performance computing applications are expected to benefit from the first GPU to have an on-chip cache and off-chip shared memory.
Fermi's graphics capabilities are expected to bring improvements in game play, multimedia encoding and enhancement, and other PC applications, according to the company.
Nvidia first demonstrated Fermi's power at its GPU Technology Conference in September and again at the SCO9 event in November. Observers believed Fermi would be ready for mass production in January to coincide with the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.
Nvidia executives, however, said the architecture is not delayed.
"I don't believe there are any changes from anything we've already said, which was the first quarter," said Henry Marinez, a Nvidia spokesperson. "We are still on schedule for shipping in Q1."
Analysts believe Fermi is worth waiting for.
Fermi has increased performance startup by eight times over Nvidia's last-generation GPU. The increase is critical for high-performance computing applications such as quantum chemistry, linear algebra, and numerical simulation, according to Nvidia. Fermi also provides supercomputing features and performance at one-tenth the cost and one-twentieth the power of other CPU-only servers.
Performance increases are seen in ray tracing, physics, high-precision scientific computing, sparse linear algebra, and sorting and search algorithms, according to Nvidia.
Fermi's arrival was expected to coincide with two new industry standards, including one driven by Apple and Nvidia called Open Computing Language (OpenCL). Nvidia was also behind a second Direct Compute...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
$700 iSlate Hype Drives Apple Stock To All-Time High
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70810
With no official encouragement from Apple, speculation continues to flourish about the touchscreen tablet computer the company is expected to release next year. The hype has been great for business, sending Apple's stock price to an all-time high of $213.95 on Monday.
Long referred to in rumors as the iTablet, it's now possible the device will be called the iSlate, similar to the Newton MessageSlate prototype Apple experimented with, but never released, in the 1990s.
A Delaware-based company called Slate Computing LLC, possibly an Apple-owned firm, trademarked the name iSlate in August. The name on the trademark application, Regina Porter, may be the same person who is Apple's senior trademark specialist. The domain iSlate.com has been registered with the company since early 2007, according to a blog that closely follows Apple products.
Slate Computing has also trademarked the term Magic Slate, which reminds many Apple watchers of the Magic Mouse.
Some reports cited Innolux, a division of FoxConn, which makes the iPhone and iPod, as a provider of the glass panels for the tablet, which may have a seven- or 10-inch screen.
A key concern for the new device is the strength of the glass, and Taiwan-based G-Tech Optoelectronics is said to have developed a process to reinforce the glass. The company specializes in glass for scanners, copy machines, and LCDs.
The price estimate for the tablet is in the $500-$700 range, slightly higher than the limited-feature netbooks now offered by such companies as Dell and Samsung.
But whether it's called the iTablet or iSlate, the tablet, like the iPod and iPhone, is expected to appeal more to single purchasers for personal use, rather than large companies.
"Corporate America uses the PC more than Macs," said Stephen Slamowitz, a services architect at Computer Associates. "[The tablet] will be great for graphic artists and...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Amazon Says Kindle and E-Book Sales Set Records
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70809
Amazon.com said Monday that its Kindle e-reader has become the most gifted item in the company's history, but didn't provide specific sales numbers. The company said the Kindle, Apple's 8GB iPod touch, Garmin's nuvi 260W personal navigation device, and the BlackBerry Bold were among the most popular gadgets that customers purchased during the holiday shopping season this year.
The online retail giant also noted that its customers purchased more Kindle e-books than physical books on Christmas Day -- a first for the company. However, not everyone buying e-books from Amazon this holiday season will be reading them on dedicated Kindle devices.
Amazon has unleashed a Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod touch that users in 60 countries can download from Apple's App Store. Moreover, in November the online retailer released a free Kindle for PC application that enables customers to read Kindle books on notebooks, netbooks and desktop PCs.
The reason for Amazon's adoption of a cross-platform platform strategy is clear. Less than one percent of U.S. consumers read digital content on dedicated e-readers, mobile phones, or netbooks today, noted Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. "Consumers are reading books digitally on multiple devices, and they will continue to do so," she observed in a recent blog.
According to a recent Forrester survey of 4,711 respondents, about three percent of U.S. consumers read e-books on their desktop computers, and two percent read them on their laptops. "Going forward, 19 percent of U.S. consumers say they are interested in reading e-books on their desktop PCs, 14 percent on e-readers, 11 percent on netbooks, and five percent on mobile phones," Rotman Epps added.
Amazon said its cross-platform moves are part of an evolving strategy under which the company also expects to release Kindle apps for BlackBerry smartphones and the Mac. All these...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Google Phone, Rumored Netbook May Be Just Research
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70808
Is Google looking to compete with Apple in the consumer hardware business? Even before the Google-branded Nexus One smartphone has been officially announced, news comes that Google is preparing a muscular Chrome OS-based netbook for release in 2010.
The current speculation is that the machine will run on a Nvidia Tegra chipset and an ARM CPU, not Intel's Atom. Other rumors indicate a 10.1-inch TFT HD-ready multi-touch display, a 64GB solid-state drive, 2GB RAM, and a full set of toys: Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, an Ethernet port, USB ports, a webcam, a 3.5mm audio jack, a multi-card reader, and so on.
Google has reportedly sent out requests for proposals to various fabricators to make the machine according to Google's specs and design and is shooting for an end-of-year release. It's expected to have a sub-$300 price point and, in the U.S., to be bundled with wireless carriers' 3G offerings.
Not everyone is convinced that Google will actually release these machines as consumer products. A brief blog post by Mario Queiroz, Google's vice president of product management, mentioned no specific products but seemed to hint that the Nexus One is only being produced for internal research.
With the idea that the company should eat its own dog food, Queiroz wrote, "We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it."
Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, said Google's primary interest is in improving the Android platform. "Google is responding to the age-old chicken and egg problem," Bajarin said. "While they hope to get a...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Consumer Groups Oppose Google's AdMob Acquisition
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70807
After 59 acquisitions, Google has hit a roadblock with one of its latest purchase attempts. Consumer groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission to block the search giant's $750 million acquisition of AdMob, a mobile advertising company.
The Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog said Google's acquisition would be anticompetitive. Acquiring AdMob gives Google the tools it needs to more effectively create and analyze mobile-ad formats.
The groups want the FTC to not only investigate, but block the deal. They want the FTC to consider whether Google's access to AdMob's technology will give it an unfair advantage in selling mobile advertising.
"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution," said John Simpson, consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, and Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the CDD, in a joint letter to the FTC. "Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees, this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled."
Google was quick to respond to the complaint.
"We're confident that the FTC will conclude that the rapidly growing mobile-advertising space will remain highly competitive after this deal closes," said Adam Kovacevich, Google's senior manager of global communications. "There are more than a dozen mobile-ad networks, and this deal is similar to mobile-advertising acquisitions that AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo have made in the past two years."
The consumer groups' letter charged, "Consumers will face higher prices, less innovation, and fewer choices." But Google said its acquisition of AdMob will do the opposite.
"The deal will provide users with more free mobile applications, in some cases as an alternative to pay-to-download apps, since it will allow developers to subsidize their products through effective mobile advertising," Kovacevich said.
Consumer privacy is also a concern for the consumer groups. Google responded that it has a track record of providing strong privacy-protection tools...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
AT&T Stops, Then Resumes iPhone Sales on Web in N.Y.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70806
AT&T temporarily stopped selling the iPhone on its web site for the New York City area during the weekend, reportedly including the Westchester County and northern New Jersey suburbs. The sales blackout appeared to be a further indication of wireless network strains for AT&T, which has hinted at imposing a data surcharge for iPhone users.
As of noon Eastern time Monday, entering a zip code for one of the city's five boroughs resulted in the message, "We're sorry, there are no Packages & Deals available at this time. Please check back later." The iPhone was still being sold in AT&T and Apple retail stores in New York. AT&T resumed web sales later on Monday.
The web blackout was first reported by The Consumerist, which said a consumer support representative named Daphne told it that "New York is not ready for the iPhone." She added, "You don't have enough towers to handle the iPhone."
Other reports had AT&T offering alternate reasons, and even Daphne reportedly changed her story, telling two publications, including The New York Times, that the sales blackout was "due to increased fraudulent activity" in the New York City area.
Meredith Adams, a spokesperson for AT&T, in an e-mail to us said only, "We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels. The iPhone is available in our New York retail stores and those of our partners."
Competitors, including Verizon Wireless, have been pointing out shortcomings in AT&T's 3G network, and the company has promised to invest up to $18 billion in its network, including $65 million for new cell towers in San Francisco, Calif., where the network is also strained.
AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. and has asked customers to report network problems through a free iPhone app called AT&T Mark the Spot.
As we...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Chrome OS Promise for PCs Greeted with Skepticism
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70769
Google and Microsoft have long competed for talent and the attention of Wall Street, but the two have never taken each other head on. Google's main business is search. Microsoft's is Windows and Office software.
This year, Google signaled it is ready to take Microsoft on on its home turf with an operating system called Chrome OS. Microsoft is like Starbucks when McDonald's started selling espresso.
Built for netbooks, Chrome OS is a free operating system designed to take users to a Web browser. It promises to turn a computer into a Web-only machine, much like a television that shows only video.
"We're dealing with legacy systems when all people need is the Web," said Caesar Sengupta, product manager director for Chrome OS at Google.
So Google is betting Chrome OS will ride the explosion in cloud computing -- where software will be stored on the Internet instead of on a computer.
While observers see Web-based cloud computing as the way of the future, however, some question whether Chrome OS has come too soon.
"I do think it's the future. I just don't think it's the near-term future," said analyst Rob Enderle of The Enderle Group, a consultancy in San Jose, Calif.
Microsoft declined to talk about Chrome OS in interviews. The company put out a statement reiterating how Windows 7 sells twice as many copies as other operating systems.
"From what was shared (about Chrome OS), it appears to be in the early stages of development. From our perspective, however, our customers are already voicing their approval of the way Windows 7 just works -- across the Web and on the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs," the statement said.
No computer-makers have announced plans to sell computers with Chrome OS yet, but Google is planning on netbooks with Chrome OS to start selling...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
'Augmented Reality' Is Tech Industry's Next Step
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70765
"Augmented reality" may sound like indecipherable technobabble, but the concept behind this technology is familiar to anyone who has seen any of the "Terminator" movies.
In the sci-fi films, a cyborg is able to scan its surrounding area and superimpose data on what it sees, allowing it to get background information on humans. Now, after years of use in academic and industrial circles -- not to mention science fiction -- augmented reality is coming to consumers, who can expect to see it in their everyday lives in 2010.
The technology overlays computer data on the real world when viewed through a live video feed. Consumers can see the early results of mainstream augmented reality in entertainment, interactive shopping experiences, magazines and even mobile phone applications. As a promotion for the movie "Coraline" earlier this year, pedestrians who stopped in front of special window displays saw their reflections with their eyes transformed into buttons.
But this year was a "real tipping point" for augmented reality, said Greg Davis, general manager for North America at Total Immersion. "We've seen it proliferate onto multiple screens, computers and mobile screens, in home and out of home."
Earlier this year, Total Immersion created baseball trading cards for Topps Co. that, when held in front of a Web camera, make a three-dimensional avatar of the player appear on the screen. It also designed product tie-ins for the film "Avatar" for McDonald's and Mattel, with technology embedded in Big Mac packages and action figures that makes animated 3-D landscapes and characters come to life when scanned by a Web camera.
These consumer-oriented applications are possible because Web cameras are a standard feature of most new desktop and laptop computers. The software in the applications also works with current Web browsers and does not require a cumbersome download.
The next wave of new programs...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
In Search, Microsoft May Race To the Bottom
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70745
The world is finally waking up to the full implications of Google's business, and they're not all pretty.
Leading the rebellion is News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, who is threatening to keep his newspaper content beyond the reach of Google searches. Murdoch wants to keep Google from reaping so many of the financial benefits of advertising placed adjacent to News Corp. content. He's being aided and abetted by Microsoft.
In a scenario under consideration, Microsoft would pay News Corp. for making articles from The Wall Street Journal and other Murdoch-owned publications searchable exclusively through Microsoft's Bing search engine. If the effort encourages other powerful content providers to demand compensation from Internet companies that generate revenue from online ads, the Murdoch-Microsoft partnership could create a big problem for Google.
Search is not Microsoft's core business, but it generates a lot of tech industry revenue -- and funds Google, Microsoft's No. 1 competitor. So the best play for Microsoft in the Web search market could be to diminish the revenue stream for everyone involved. If Microsoft could reduce the overall market value of Web searches, it could protect its own software revenue while hurting Google.
Blogger and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis recently suggested a strategy whereby Microsoft could gain search market share by paying content providers more than they're getting from search referrals.
Google's threat to Microsoft and other software and telecom companies is manifold. Google is competing not only in search engine software, but also in mobile phone services, personal navigation, and operating systems.
In concept, it wouldn't be especially difficult for Microsoft to change the economics of the Web search market, as long as the company can tolerate losses. Microsoft could take advertising revenue generated by Bing and pass it along to media providers, in return for exclusive arrangements to make their content...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Is a Cloud Service Broker Right for Your Business?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70491
Cloud computing is all the rage, one of the growing sectors of a struggling IT industry. But cloud computing is far from mature. Indeed, it's evolving with combinations of complex cloud services too difficult for end users to integrate with any assurance of success.
That's why Gartner is predicting that, as cloud services are adopted, cloud-service brokerages (CSBs) will offer services to govern their use, performance and delivery. Gartner predicts these brokerages will use several types of brokers and platforms to enhance service delivery and, ultimately, service value.
Gartner predicts that worldwide cloud-services revenue will surpass $56.3 billion in 2009, a 21.3 percent increase from the $46.4 billion generated last year. The market could reach $150.1 billion in 2013.
Although cloud services may be delivered through technology, Gartner sees a clear need for brokerage businesses. Gartner defines a brokerage as a service where a broker may simply be a business-to-business (B2B) technology provider. The firm believes CSBs, which will broker relationships between a service consumer and a service provider, are one of the most necessary and attainable opportunities for cloud-service providers.
"The future of cloud computing will be permeated with the notion of brokers negotiating relationships between providers of cloud services and the service customers," said L. Frank Kenney, research director at Gartner. "In this context, a broker might be software, appliances, platforms or suites of technologies that enhance the base services available through the cloud. Enhancement will include managing access to these services, providing greater security, or even creating completely new services."
Gartner isn't putting any numbers against its predictions, but it does have industry support. The integration between cloud-computing and on-premise systems is on a critical path, as is cloud-provider to cloud-provider connectivity, according to David S. Linthicum, author of Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A...
Tue, 29 Dec 09
Top 10 Best Ways To Scare Off Your Customers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70372
Most of us are involved in some form of business acquisition for our respective companies. We all know that winning business often requires a significant investment in time, resources and energy, and that the thrill of the chase is an exciting one.
It is a shame that, having worked so hard to win new business in the first place, we then become complacent and allow our enthusiasm to diminish -- just when the customer's enthusiasm for our products or services would hopefully be increasing.
Unfortunately, customer care is still regarded by many as a costly activity or a burden on resources. Some organizations have already recognized the importance of customer care, and a few are very advanced in its practice. But often it seems that companies just don't care enough about their customers after the sale has been made.
If your company seems to be determined to lose its customers, here are 10 tongue-in-cheek tips that will most certainly help speed the process.
Whatever you do, make it virtually impossible for the customer to get what they want when they call you. Voice jail is great. Callers love that. Or, if you have a live person answering the phone, be sure to make your callers repeat themselves to multiple people. Add that extra bit of oomph by accidentally cutting off the call when you make a transfer.
Find a complicated system that your own people cannot understand or utilize, so there's no possible way they can use it to improve customer relations. Feel good that you've purchased the best possible system, and just hope your staffers appreciate the investment.
Forget the people and buy the best automated technology, then put it in front...
Sun, 27 Dec 09
Should Employers Ban Facebook at Work?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70758
Should employers ban access to social networking sites like Facebook at work? If you look at the potential security risks alone, the answer would be resounding yes for most enterprises. Aside from the security risk, there's the huge hit that social networking has had on employee productivity. One estimate -- from IT consulting company Morse -- figures employee use of social-networking sites cost employers $2.25 billion a year in lost productivity.
Yet even with the productivity and security challenges caused by social media, there is no still easy answer to the Facebook ban question. There are, however, plenty of opinions and guidelines that can help your company make a sound decision around the use of social networking from 9 to 5.
First, it helps to consider how other small businesses as well CIOs at large companies are handling the social-networking phenomenon. More than half of CIOs in a Robert Half Technology survey said their firms don't allow employees to visit social-networking sites for any reason while at work.
"Using social-networking sites may divert employees' attention away from more pressing priorities, so it's understandable that some companies limit access," said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes."
Public-relations and marketing firms -- or PR and marketing divisions within larger enterprises -- are among those who believe employees should be able to update their Facebook status at work.
As a PR firm, social media is a way of life for HMA Public Relations. Abbie Fink, vice president and general manager of the firm, said social networking is a critical component of how the company does business. In fact, she added, clients expect the...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
Recent Crashberry E-Mail Outages Anger Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70787
BlackBerry users are still fuming over the near-total collapse of e-mail this week, and the impact on manufacturer Research In Motion could last a lot longer than a New Year's Day hangover. Users got an early piece of coal in their stockings Tuesday when many BlackBerry smartphones -- now deemed "Crashberries" by some wags -- stopped sending and receiving e-mails.
BoxTone, a mobility management software provider, said the outage started between 3 and 4 p.m. Tuesday and reached a critical state by 7 p.m. "At each of our customers, BoxTone detected a greater-than-normal quantity of users with messages pending, based on our learned baseline of what is normal for each server and carrier, and immediately generated a warning alert to our customers before the flood of user calls," the company said.
On Wednesday, RIM released a status update, explaining the outage and apologizing to users. The problem appeared to be a software glitch in new versions of BlackBerry Messenger. Users are advised to download the latest version, 5.0.0.57, which solves those problems.
"A service interruption occurred Tuesday that affected BlackBerry customers in the Americas," RIM's statement said. "Message delivery was delayed or intermittent during the service interruption. Phone service and SMS services on BlackBerry smartphones were unaffected. Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure."
BlackBerry users weren't mollified by the announcement, judging from angry comments on the popular Crackberry blog. In a post entitled "WOW ... just WOW," one user wrote, "BBM causes a system-wide crash?!?! Glad RIM isn't responsible for y'know, security or Wall Street or something."
Indeed, a major outage on the eve of Christmas...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
Twitter Buys GeoAPI Team To Improve Tweet Locations
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70783
Twitter has acquired Mixer Labs, whose GeoAPI service helps developers build location-aware applications. The financial terms were not disclosed. Twitter CEO Evan Williams said the company wants the Mixer Labs team to work on location for tweets.
"We want to know, 'What's happening?', and more precisely, 'Where is it happening?'" Williams wrote Wednesday in a blog. "As a dramatic example, twittering 'Earthquake!' alone is not as informative as 'Earthquake!' coupled with your current location."
Several former Google employees are in Mixer Labs' workforce, including cofounders Othman Laraki and Elad Gil, the original product manager for Google Mobile Maps. The startup recently launched a new GeoAPI engine to help developers build location-based services for Twitter and other social-networking sites.
Although developers previously could annotate Mixer Labs' database of 16 million businesses and points of interest, the new GeoAPI lets them create and annotate their own areas -- intersections, neighborhoods, parks and other locations -- as both points and polygons covering specific areas around the globe.
"The purpose of a fully formed location API is to allow developers to build a robust set of location services using the API as the data source and data store," Gil wrote in his blog.
Complementing Mixer Labs' previous layers for Twitter and Flickr, GeoAPI enables developers to query the company's entities for further information from other sources, such as data from Foursquare, videos from YouTube, and weather from Weatherbug.
"You can now search for entities by name and find the neighborhoods, cities and states that contain them," Mixer Labs said. "This simple forward geocoding can help with search or other apps."
For Twitter, the acquisition is expected to let the social-networking service further enhance its already expanded location support for developers. "Our efforts in this area have just begun,"...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
Apple's Tablet Computer May Be Launched in January
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70780
The most eagerly awaited tablet since Moses delivered the Ten Commandments may be only weeks away from launch. Speculation about Apple's touchscreen reader and viewer -- essentially a big iPod mated with a Kindle -- exploded after the computer giant rented the Yerba Beuna Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the site of previous product launches, for a few days in late January.
Because new versions of the iPod and iPhone were released in the past year, analysts expect the January event will showcase a brand-new product.
"We believe there is a 75 percent likelihood that Apple will have an event in January and a 50 percent chance that it will be held to launch the Apple tablet," wrote Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster in a widely quoted research note. "If Apple announced the tablet in January, it would likely ship later in the March quarter."
While there are reports that a fourth-generation iPhone is being tested, Apple's handset launches have typically been slated for June or July, said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret.
Published reports say an "iTablet" will likely have either a seven-inch or 10-inch display, and the device could break new ground with a color display that rivals the appearance of printed photos, which would require a lot of battery power.
But Gartenberg noted that in 2006, rumors about the iPhone were as persistent as the current chatter about the tablet, and most of the details about its features didn't pan out.
"Apple may or may not have a tablet planned, but most predictions will likely be wrong in the ways that matter," Gartenberg said.
But even without any significant details, Gartenberg said the unseen iTablet is a sensation. "Apple, without announcing any feature, service or price, garners more mindshare about a tablet than competitors with shipping and...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
iPhone 3G Sales Soar, But RIM and LG Still Lead Market
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70779
The 3G version of Apple's iPhone was the single top-selling mobile device in 2009, according to a new study by Nielsenwire. Since Apple only makes one smartphone, the top ranking is impressive. But the company still falls behind Research In Motion and LG in overall market share.
Three RIM devices made the top 10, amounting to 6.3 percent of all phone usage from January through October, while four LG devices amounted to 6.4 percent of the market.
At number two on Nielsen's list, the 8300 BlackBerry series, which includes the Curve and four other models, were the most popular RIM devices. The VX9100 topped LG's inventory. Other companies that made the list are Motorola, whose RAZR V3 series snagged third place, and Samsung, whose Rant series came in sixth.
In news that could boost both Apple and RIM sales, broadband phone company Vonage announced this week the release of VoIP applications that will allow low-cost long-distance calls for users of both platforms. An unlimited calling plan costs $24.99 a month, with a $10-a-month discount for existing Vonage customers.
For an insight into the iPhone's growth, Roger Entner, Nielsen vice president for telecom research, recently studied responses from the firm's monthly consumer surveys from 2006, before the iPhone was introduced, to the first quarter of 2009. He found that loyalty to a particular phone as one of the top reasons for selection did not substantially change during that time.
"Even with the prominence of the iPhone, surprisingly the availability of a specific phone stayed flat as the seventh most important factor," Entner wrote on the company's web site. Price, however, remained number one, and the availability of a family plan moved from number five to the third spot, even surpassing network quality, which had been the number-two reason.
Entner surmised that because family plans...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
Want Privacy on Facebook? Here Is How To Get Some
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70696
Over the past week, Facebook has been nudging its users -- first gently, then firmly -- to review and update their privacy settings.
You may have procrastinated by hitting "skip for now," but Facebook eventually took away that button and forced you to update your settings before continuing to use the site.
After finally accepting Facebook's recommendations or tweaking the privacy settings yourself, though, you might have made more information about you public than what you had intended.
At the same time, Facebook has given users many granular controls over their privacy, more than what's available on other major social networks.
So if you want to stay out of people's view, but still want to be on Facebook, here are some things to look out for as you take another look at your settings.
1. Some of your information is viewable by everyone.
Everyone can see your name, your profile photo and the names of work and school networks you're part of. Ditto for pages you are a fan of. If you are worried about a potential employer finding out about a quirky fetish or unorthodox political leaning, avoid becoming a Facebook fan of such groups. You can't tell Facebook you don't want those publicly listed. Your gender and current city are also available, if you choose to specify them. You can uncheck "Show my sex in my profile" when you edit your profile if you don't want it listed, and you can leave "Current City" blank.
2. Your list of friends may also be public.
Facebook also considers your friends list publicly available information. Privacy advocates worry that much can be gleaned from a person's list of friends -- even sexual orientation, according to one MIT study. But there is a way to hide the list. Go to your profile page and click on the little blue...
Fri, 25 Dec 09
Undiscovered Tech Products of 2009
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70648
There's no doubt that Windows 7 and the iPhone 3G will top the list of the most-remembered products of 2009 -- and deservedly so.
But the shadow cast by those headline-grabbing superstars obscured the emergence of several other products that were groundbreaking in their own right. The good news, though, is that those relatively undiscovered products are still around, just waiting to make your life easier. Here's a rundown.
Many people today have multiple phone numbers, and that's a problem when it comes to keeping up with messages. Google Voice (https://www.google.com/voice) solves this problem in an elegant way.
Google Voice's headline feature is that it can aggregate your calls and messages from multiple numbers. But it has more tricks up its sleeve as well.
It can free you from voice mail altogether, if you wish, by transcribing messages received into email, allowing you to "read" your voicemail messages on your iPhone or BlackBerry while you're sitting in a dull meeting.
Google Voice also provides very low-cost international calling, custom greetings for individual callers, and, if you opt for one of Google Voice's free telephone numbers, the ability to have one number for all of your telephones and the ability to receive SMS messages by e-mail.
Password management is the bane of Internet users everywhere. At every turn online, you're reminded that strong passwords -- those with a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols -- are the safest.
Yet strong passwords are next to impossible to remember, so few actually use them. There have been plenty of password managers that promised to make the job of creating, remembering, and storing strong passwords easier, but they all fell short in way or another.
Lastpass (https://lastpass.com) is different. Not only is it easy to use from its browser-installed toolbar, but it's also been built from the ground up with easy...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Hacker Breaks Kindle's Proprietary E-Book Protection
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70778
Internet retailer Amazon.com had all the luck in getting its family of proprietary Kindle e-book readers into the hands of consumers while its rivals were faced with delays, but its luck may have turned. The Kindle's copyright protection has been hacked.
An Israeli hacker who goes by the name Labba says he has been able to break the Kindle's digital-rights management protection, allowing its electronic books to be viewed on non-Kindle devices.
A U.S. hacker has also reportedly created a program called Unswindle that converts books stored in the free Kindle for PC application into other formats.
DRM prevents making copies of DVDs and music downloaded from online stores, blocks users from recording TV programs, and much more. DRM is backed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In this case, DRM prevents Kindle users from copying the 390,000 books and 100 newspapers and magazines available through Amazon.
Labba didn't work alone. The hacker recruited help on an Israeli web site, hacking.org, according to published reports.
Igor Skochinsky, a hardware hacker, had already provided clues to cracking Kindle's DRM. On his blog, Skochinsky said he has known for some time that Amazon's proprietary AZW files were actually Mobi files, and Amazon didn't share information that would allow people to buy encrypted Mobi books for Kindle.
"Well, I've discovered the algorithm used to generate the (Mobi) PID and was able to use it on Fictionwise, but there was another catch," he wrote. "AZW files have a flag set in the DRM info which is not present in books bought from other vendors. After fixing that, I could read the book on Kindle."
This is bad news for Amazon, which has dominated the e-reader market. Amazon not only pushed sales of Kindle, it has also offered free expedited shipments of the devices to get them into the...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Google's Nexus One Phone Could Be a 'Droid Killer'
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70777
Just a few weeks ago Motorola's Droid, available exclusively on Verizon Wireless, was raising the public's awareness of Google's Android mobile operating system. Now Google is preparing to release its own branded handset, the Nexus One.
By all accounts, the new phone, manufactured by HTC but prominently branded as a Google phone, is a "Droid killer." Describing his brief experience playing with the new phone, Jason Chen of Gizmodo said the Nexus One will "certify (Google) as the premium Android phone brand out there right now. Even though it doesn't have a hardware keyboard, it basically beats the hell out of the Droid in every single task that we threw at it."
Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, agreed. "For sure, it's a Droid killer," he said. "Droid is just a really clunky design in my view."
Two things stand out on the Nexus One, Sterling said: Screen quality and speed. "It has a really big screen, even though the handset itself is not much bigger than a conventional handset," Sterling said. "And it's noticeably high-resolution."
Even more striking, "It's really, really fast," Sterling said. In Chen's testing, the speed difference was most noticeable in loading web pages.
"In loading a web page over Wi-Fi, the Nexus One loaded first, the iPhone 3GS came in a few seconds later, and the Droid came in a little while after that. This was constant throughout many web-page loads, so it's indicative of something going on inside with the hardware," Chen wrote.
While Google's search business and free online and desktop apps have been consumer-oriented, conventional wisdom has been that Android was a platform play, not a consumer one. So the news that Google will sell its own phone has confused some observers.
"I'm not sure what to make...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Netbooks Are Hot, But Are They Worthy?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70776
Netbooks have been flying off store shelves all year long, driven by consumers looking for ways to save money during economically challenging times. According to the latest figures from DisplaySearch, netbook revenue is poised to rise 72 percent year-over-year to $11.4 billion in 2009, even as sales of portable PCs overall decline 12 percent to $109.4 billion.
With the economy now on the mend, however, netbook sales are expected to be challenged next year because of continuing declines in the average selling price (ASP) of standard notebooks, which offer significant performance advantages. As a result, notebook makers are steadily "increasing the performance gap" in comparison with netbooks "while narrowing the price gap," noted DisplaySearch Director John Jacobs.
Dell hopes to mitigate this performance gap by offering a high-definition display, HD accelerator, and HDTV tuner on its revamped Inspiron Mini 10, which will run a new Intel processor for netbooks that combines an x86 CPU with a graphics processor. On the downside, however, the new Atom N450 chips feature a relatively slow clock speed of just 1.66 GHz, which means netbook users may experience noticeable performance declines when running multiple applications.
"They aren't for 3-D gaming and multitasking," said Bill Calder, a corporate communications manager at Intel. "For that, Intel offers a wide range of full-featured [chips for] laptops -- including some exciting new Intel Core systems based on our latest 32nm process technology coming soon."
Netbooks don't incorporate built-in DVD players, so users are unable to play movies stored on standard discs. Moreover, rising adoption rates for Windows 7 may pose an additional problem for netbook makers in the year ahead.
As consumers become more familiar with Windows 7 on standard machines, the capabilities missing from the netbook version -- known as Windows 7 Starter -- are likely to become more obvious. For...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Microsoft Posts OEM Word Patch To Remove XML Code
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70775
Citing advance planning, Microsoft says it will have modified versions of Office 2007 available for sale before the court-ordered deadline next month to remove a disputed feature. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling that the software giant violated the patent of Toronto-based i4i when it included custom XML technology in the 2003 and 2007 versions of Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Office, of which 2007 is the most recent version, is estimated to be worth some $3 billion in annual global sales for the company founded by Chairman Bill Gates. In addition to Word, it includes Excel, PowerPoint and Groove, a collaboration program.
"We have been preparing for this possibility since the district court issued its injunction," last May, Microsoft spokesperson Kevin Kutz said. "Therefore, we expect to have copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Office 2007 with this feature removed available for U.S. sale and distribution by the injunction date."
That date is Jan. 11.
Kutz also said beta versions of Word 2010 already available for download do not include custom XML.
The custom XML feature enables Word to manipulate format and content separately, which can be used by some companies to incorporate company data and templates into documents.
In response to the ruling, Microsoft has made available on its OEM Partner Center a 12.9-megabyte Office OPK Master Download Kit patch, noting that it is now required for companies using the product in the United States, and optional for other customers.
It's unclear who, if anyone, will enforce compliance with the court order among end users of the software.
But Microsoft said the patch will not affect most users.
"After this patch is installed, Word will no longer read the custom XML elements contained within DOCX, DOCM or XML files," reads a Microsoft announcement on the Partner Center page....
Thu, 24 Dec 09
OLPC Vision Points Toward a $75 Tablet Computer
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70774
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the nonprofit organization that created a radical, inexpensive laptop for children in developing countries, is working on another vision. It wants to build a $75 tablet computer to succeed its XO laptop.
Called the XO-3 and targeted for release in 2012, the 8.5-inch by 11-inch concept is entirely a thin touchscreen with no physical buttons. The tablet was designed by Yves Behar, founder of FuseProject, which also designed the XO.
Behar told news media that OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte "asked for something extremely simple and practically frameless," with the content "the prime visual element." The XO-3, with an eight-gigahertz processor, is intended to be rugged, all plastic, waterproof, half the iPhone's thickness, and requiring less than a watt of power.
Other planned features include an ultra-low-power screen, a camera on the back, and a fingerhold ring in the corner. Instead of a charging port, wireless induction through the rubber frame is envisioned.
OLPC's original vision, the XO, has had some impact in the developing world, although not the huge footprint once envisioned. Originally touted as a $100 laptop, its price is now closer to $170, and it hasn't reached its original goal of placing computers in the hands of tens of millions of schoolchildren.
Negroponte blamed Intel, among others, for undercutting OLPC's efforts in the third world by offering its own low-end model. Costs, third-world politics, and issues of long-term support have also impacted the organization's sales.
OLPC is trying another route for its newest vision. The XO-3 will have an open architecture and other PC makers will be encouraged to make the device. "We don't necessarily need to build it," Negroponte told Forbes magazine. "We just need to threaten to build it."
In the history books, OLPC's success might be weighted...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Update Fixes Another BlackBerry E-Mail Outage
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70759
Undoubtedly, it wasn't the holiday break that Research in Motion had in mind for its BlackBerry customers. On Tuesday night, a second e-mail outage hit BlackBerry customers -- following another one a week ago.
RIM acknowledged that "some BlackBerry customers in the Americas are currently experiencing delays in message delivery." It apologized "for any inconvenience," adding that its engineers were "actively working to resolve this issue for those impacted."
On Wednesday, RIM released a new version of its BlackBerry Messenger that apparently solved the outage problem. RIM manages the messaging network itself, so a problem can affect millions of users. An earlier update to the service was apparently the cause of the outage.
While RIM's statement specifically mentioned customers in the Americas, there were also reports of problems for BlackBerry users in China, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, India and Singapore.
According to hundreds of messages posted on Twitter and other social-networking services, RIM watchers estimated the outage was large and impacted users on a variety of carriers.
The outage follows one last Thursday, when some BlackBerry customers reported they weren't able to receive messages over a period of several hours. The previous reported outage was in February 2008, following a software upgrade, and there was one in April 2007.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said "it isn't clear what's going on." He noted that the outage affected him and his coworkers.
Given the highly competitive environment for smartphones, where a slipup by one platform can lead to a perceived advantage for others, Greengart said the outage didn't appear to be something that will help the competition.
"Similar problems in the past have not yet affected BlackBerry sales one iota," Greengart said.
Recently, RIM announced a 59 percent increase in third-quarter income, the result of more...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Apple Considering Ad-Free Network TV Offering
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70756
Apple is drumming up interest for a plan to launch an Internet TV subscription service. CBS and Walt Disney may participate in the move to compete with satellite and cable-television operators, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Published reports indicate Apple is working to organize a subscription service that would offer consumers programming from television networks for a monthly fee similar to what customers are used to paying for cable. Apple reportedly plans to launch the service in 2010 once it strikes licensing deals with content providers.
Apple already sells individual television shows on its iTunes Store, but a full-fledged subscription service would put the iPod maker head-to-head with the likes of Comcast and DIRECTV. A subscription service would give users of Apple's rumored tablet computer something to watch on a screen larger than an iPod but smaller than a laptop.
Apple may be hoping to tap into what Adams Media Research pegs as $1.14 billion in spending on Internet movies and television shows in 2010. Published reports indicate consumers could pay as much as $30 a month for the service, while Apple pays between $1 and $4 a month to the various content holders.
How big of an impact could an Apple TV subscription service make on the cable and Internet television industry? It could be enormous, according to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
"This could establish an advertising-free subscription model that represents the next big move of television. When cable emerged many years ago, we certainly saw cable channels that were distinct from the commercial channels," Enderle said. "Apple could offer programming from both traditional television and cable sources advertising-free and on-demand. It could quite literally bypass cable and move us into the next phase of television."
Although Hulu.com has been discussing the possibility...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
AT&T Mulls Plans to Deal with iPhone Data Demand
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70746
When AT&T Mobility President Ralph de la Vega was asked at a Dec. 9 investor event in New York about iPhone users who consume large amounts of data, he had no idea that he was about to set off a firestorm.
De la Vega said that AT&T is looking at various ways to get these demanding users to curtail their consumption. Within hours the Web was filled with articles that said Ma Bell was about to raise prices or slap consumers with restrictive monthly usage limits. "There were no follow-up questions, so I figured everyone understood what I was saying," de la Vegas said in a Dec. 16 interview. "I guess I should have been more clear."
In an effort to explain his thinking, de la Vega told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that AT&T is knee-deep in a market research project that asks consumers in focus groups to give their opinions on a range of potential tactics to free up network bandwidth for Apple iPhone users and other AT&T subscribers.
Industry analysts have been figuring that AT&T would inevitably move from its $30-a-month, unlimited data plan for iPhone users to a "tiered pricing" model that charges according to usage. De la Vega says that no such move is imminent. "There are things people say I said that I didn't say. We have not made any decision to implement tiered pricing," he says -- repeating the last part for emphasis.
Instead, AT&T wants to craft "incentives" that would compel iPhone owners to reduce demands on the company's overworked 3G cellular network. The most obvious solution is to get them to switch to wireless Wi-Fi networks whenever possible.
Wi-Fi access points, found everywhere from customers' homes to coffee shops, move bits of information directly to a wired broadband Internet connection. That's cheaper than transmitting the...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Global Spam King Fined in Australia
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70742
A New Zealander was fined by an Australian court Tuesday after a guilty plea over his part in a syndicate capable of sending 10 billion spam e-mails a day.
Lance Atkinson, was fined 210,000 Australian dollars (189,000 US dollars) for breaching the Spam Act 2003 in a case brought by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Atkinson, 26, sent more than 100,000 unsolicited e-mails to Australians advertising penis enlargement treatments, weight loss pills and prescription drugs.
"The Parliament has made its intention plain that unsolicited distribution of electronic e-mails is to be discouraged," the authority said in a release, quoting Justice Andrew Greenwood.
Atkinson has also been ordered not to send unsolicited e-mails for seven years.
Atkinson's assets are currently frozen by US authorities, who earlier this month fined him 15.5 million US dollars over an operation he ran with his New Zealand-based brother, Shane Atkinson, and a US accomplice.
The Australian agency said it took court action after receiving complaints from 140,000 Australians over unsolicited e-mails he sent.
The syndicate had operations in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Russia and Canada and was said to account for up to one-third of the world's junk e-mails.
The syndicate was uncovered by British investigative journalist Simon Cox, who tracked down spam e-mails he received for penis enlargements to Shane Atkinson in Christchurch, New Zealand.
New Zealand authorities raided the Christchurch operation, seizing 22 computers.
Thu, 24 Dec 09
White House Picks New Cyber Coordinator
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70740
The White House has tapped a corporate cyber security expert and former Bush administration official to lead the effort to shore up the country's computer networks and better coordinate with companies that operate 80 percent of those critical systems.
Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, will become the government's cyber security coordinator, weathering a rocky selection process that dragged on for months, as others turned the job down.
In a letter posted on the White House web site Tuesday, John Brennan, assistant to President Barack Obama for homeland security and counterterrorism, said Schmidt will have regular access to the president and play a vital role in the country's security.
Schmidt's selection comes more than 10 months after Obama declared cyber security a priority and ordered a broad administration review.
A senior White House official said Obama was personally involved in the selection process and chose Schmidt because of his unique background and skills. Schmidt will have regular and direct access to the president for cyber security issues, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the selection process.
Obama released the findings of the cyber security review nearly seven months ago, vowing that the White House would name a cyber coordinator to deal with one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation."
U.S. government computer systems are being attacked or scanned millions of times a day. Hackers and cyber criminals pose an expanding threat, using increasingly sophisticated technologies to steal money or information, while nation-states probe for weaknesses in order to steal classified documents or technology or destroy the networks that run vital services.
Corporate computer security leaders have openly expressed frustration with the White House as movement on the job post stalled.
At the same time, cyber experts and potential job candidates...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Report: FBI Probes Hacker Attack on Citigroup
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70737
The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Citing anonymous government officials, the Journal reported that the hackers were connected to a Russian cyber gang. Two other computer systems, at least one connected to a U.S. government agency, were also attacked.
Citigroup denied the report. "We had no breach of the system and there were no losses, no customer losses, no bank losses," said Joe Petro, managing director of Citigroup's Security and Investigative services. "Any allegation that the FBI is working a case at Citigroup involving tens of millions of losses is just not true."
The Journal reported that the attack on Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary was detected over the summer, although it may have occurred up to one year earlier. The FBI, the National Security Agency, the Homeland Security Department and Citigroup worked together to investigate the attack.
Cyber crime is of increasing concern to businesses and the federal government, with President Barack Obama calling it one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face."
On Tuesday, Obama announced the appointment of Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, as the government's cyber security coordinator.
Internet attacks on banks are very common, said Tom Kellermann, a former senior member of the World Bank's Treasury security team and now vice president of security awareness for Core Security Technologies.
While he said he has no knowledge of an attack specific to Citigroup, Kellermann said Tuesday that large financial institutions are "consistently targeted" by criminal organizations in Eastern Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he said, adding that the industry is "hemorrhaging funds" as a result.
Banks that accept deposits made more than 53,000...
Thu, 24 Dec 09
Security Firms See a Mobile Opportunity
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70720
Mobile phones are becoming ever more like personal computers. That means they are also becoming more vulnerable to traditional computer menaces like hackers and viruses.
This year, the Russian anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab reported on a new malicious program that stole money by taking over Nokia phones and making small charges to the owners' wireless accounts.
Then last month, an Australian student created an experimental worm that hopscotched across so-called "jailbroken" iPhones, which their owners have altered so they can run software Apple has not authorized.
The mischievous worm did not cause any damage -- it just installed a photo of the '80s pop star Rick Astley. But to security experts, it suggested that more serious attacks on iPhones were possible.
Jeff Moss, a security expert, said mobile viruses had recently become more common in Asia.
"The tipping point will be when we're using the phone to shop and conduct banking," Mr. Moss said. "The more you do with the phone, the more valuable a target it becomes."
Where there are perceived security threats, there are always entrepreneurs and investors looking to capitalize on them -- and build profitable businesses. This month Khosla Ventures, a respected Silicon Valley venture capital firm, led an investment group that injected $5.5 million into a security start-up called Lookout.
Lookout, based in San Francisco, was previously a consulting firm called Flexilis run by recent graduates of the University of Southern California. Now it wants to be the security giant of the mobile world, similar to the role Symantec plays in the desktop computer market.
This year, Lookout began testing security software for phones running the Windows Mobile and Android operating systems, and it will soon introduce security applications for the BlackBerry and iPhone. The software protects phones against rogue programs and gives phone owners the ability to remotely back up and erase...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Ford's In-Car Wi-Fi Is a Trend Toward Internet Everywhere
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70754
Considering the limited reach of AT&T's 3G network, Apple iPhone users on the go are frequently stymied by being reduced to the Edge network. How great would it be to have ready access to Wi-Fi, wherever you go?
Ford thinks it would be pretty awesome. The next generation of its SYNC in-car entertainment system will include a port for a USB modem that turns your car into a Wi-Fi hot spot at highway speeds. The system will be available next year on selected models, but Ford isn't yet saying which ones.
And Ford customers won't have to keep updating their modems because the system will automatically download updates to keep it compatible with future devices, the company said. "The speeds with which technology is evolving, particularly on the wireless front, makes obsolescence a real problem," said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford's Connected Services Solutions Organization.
"We've solved that problem by making SYNC work with just about any technology you plug into it. By leveraging a user's existing hardware, which can be upgraded independent of SYNC, we've helped ensure 'forward compatibility' with whatever connectivity technology comes next."
"It's just one more step in the process toward Internet ubiquity," Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, said in a telephone interview. "There's this growing expectation of getting on the Internet wherever you are." Having it in your car clearly enhances that expectation.
"Eventually, we will get to near-ubiquity," Sterling said. "I think this is being driven by this notion that the Internet is a daily part of our daily lives. It's so wound up in the texture of our lives, and the carriers and vendors are feeding off of that."
While in-car Internet may only be available in 2010 for people with a certain income, in time Internet...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
App Store Business Is Booming for iPhone Developers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70752
Developers are making money from Apple's App Store, and one is sharing just how much success it has had developing for the iPhone -- a success story that provides a clear indication of how Apple is bearing fruits from its own labor and the labor of the developers behind its more than 100,000 apps.
Developer Tapulous has raked in more than $12 million from some of its most popular applications, including Tap Tap Revenge (the first gaming franchise on the iPhone), Collage, and the music-based Weezer, according to the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company.
Tapulous has more than 17 million users, and it has been number one on the App Store three times with its Tap Tap Revenge 3. At one point the application was number one for 20 consecutive days.
Other iPhone developers, including Marina del Ray, Calif.-based Gogii, are also benefiting from their acceptance into the App Store. Gogii's app, TextPlus, has been downloaded more than three million times to date, according to Margaret Bensfield, Gogii's spokesperson. TextPlus allows several users to jump on to one texting session and communicate with one another in a chat room-like environment. The application has also maintained a Top 50 or Top 100 chart position for six months.
"Based on the metrics we've seen, it's safe to say our TextPlus app has achieved an exceptionally high degree of success compared with other apps," said Scott Lahman, CEO of Gogii. "Consider the fact that only the top five percent of apps in the Apple App Store reach 100,000 unique monthly visitors."
The privately held, angel-funded Tapulous may be generating $1 million a month in sales, but it may not be a fair example of how the rest of the iPhone developers are doing. Analysts say without Apple coming forward with more information on the...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Dell Revamps Inspiron Mini 10 with HD Video Options
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70751
Dell has unveiled modifications to its popular Inspiron Mini 10 netbook with 10.1-inch display, which will sport a new visual look and feel. Moreover, consumers looking for more advanced video capabilities will have the option of choosing models featuring bundles that include a 1366x768-pixel high-definition display and HD media accelerator as well as a built-in HDTV tuner for receiving local HD broadcasts.
"The Inspiron Mini 10 continues to offer some of the best mobile entertainment options available in a great-looking, compact and lightweight design," said Brian Pitstick, general manager of Dell's mobile products. "With an even better look and great battery life, we think Mini 10 is the perfect companion PC for anyone who wants to be entertained and connected wherever they go."
Slated to begin shipping in early January at prices that begin at $299, Dell's refreshed Inspiron Mini 10 will sport Intel's next-generation Pineview chip for netbooks, which represents the chipmaker's first combination of a graphics processor with a x86 CPU. The low-power chip is expected to help boost battery life in Dell's Mini 10 to as much as 9.5 hours of operation from the device's optional six-cell battery.
To differentiate the new Mini 10 from rival offerings, Dell expects to offer location-enabled GPS features that deliver real-time information about nearby restaurants, landmarks, maps and local entertainment. The refreshed device also will feature built-in speakers with SRS surround-sound capabilities.
Dell's revamped netbook will offer 1GB of DDR2 memory and the user's choice of a 160GB or 250GB hard drive. And in addition to the device's standard Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) capabilities, consumers will have the option of buying models featuring Bluetooth as well as cellular broadband.
Dell said the Mini 10's face-lift will include sculpted keys for better tactile response and a textured, smudge-resistant palm rest. Consumers also will be able...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
HP Offers Cloud Scaling with Cost and Risk Management
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70750
Hewlett-Packard is moving deeper into cloud computing with recent announcements of three new ways to help businesses and telecommunications providers. The announcements were made at the HP Software Universe event in Hamburg, Germany.
The company said a survey it conducted of chief information officers found that 75 percent "acknowledge the need to invest in more flexible technology" and to "be able to scale it up and down rapidly." The new HP offerings respond to these needs with elasticity of services, cost management at the "right size," and risk mitigation.
Thomas E. Hogan, HP executive vice president of software and solutions, said CIOs know about the benefits of cloud computing, "but are challenged with how best to manage the risks." The new services from HP, Hogan said, are part of the company's efforts to address those concerns as well as the needs.
HP said the benefits of cloud computing and pay-as-you-need pricing include access to up-to-date communications services, operating costs that reflect needs, a reduction in the need for capital investment, and lowering the risk of adopting new technology. HP's Operations Orchestration and Cloud Assure programs are intended to help businesses manage cloud services.
Operations Orchestration provides automation to provision services as needed inside an existing infrastructure. The program utilizes the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud to increase capacity on a pay-as-you-go basis.
These automation services, HP said, improve service quality by lowering the need for escalations and repair time because of automated diagnosis and resolution. In addition, efficiency is increased by automating repetitive tasks and coordinating changes across systems.
Cloud Assure offers cost controls for various "compute footprints," with service levels provided at what HP called "the most optimized and predictable cost."
A third HP program, Communications as a Service (CaaS), enables service providers to provide small and midsize businesses with...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Google Targets Microsoft Office with DocVerse Deal
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70749
Google is moving in on yet another acquisition. This time the search giant reportedly has its eye on a plug-in that lets people collaborate around Microsoft Office documents.
According to published reports, Google is acquiring a San Francisco-based startup called DocVerse for about $25 million. The acquisition could undergird Google's recent Appjet purchase. Appjet is the maker of Etherpad, which also offers Microsoft Office collaboration capabilities.
DocVerse officially launched on Oct. 28 to serve the 600 million Office users looking for a better way to edit and share Microsoft documents. DocVerse is a plug-in for Microsoft Office that turns the suite of productivity applications into web-enabled collaboration tools and allows real-time sharing and simultaneous group editing of documents.
With DocVerse, Google would not only pick up a product to help its users bridge the Office gap. It could also pick up two Microsoft veterans, Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui.
The duo founded DocVerse in 2007 to eliminate the constant back-and-forth e-mail attachments required to share and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents. Sinha oversaw Microsoft's product strategy for the $1.6 billion SharePoint business and $3 billion SQL Server business while DeNeui oversaw Microsoft's SQL Server web strategy.
Sinha is no stranger to entrepreneurship. He cofounded two venture-backed startups, one of which has already been acquired. He also has fund-raising skills. DocVerse raised its first round of investment in 2008, $1.3 million from Baseline Ventures, Naval Ravikant, and Harrison Metal Capital.
DeNeui also brings experience to the startup. Before his tenure with Microsoft, he founded a Kleiner Perkins-backed enterprise software company delivering IT automation services. It's not clear whether the duo will join Google or move on to another startup if their company is acquired.
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, called the reported acquisition "interesting." Although DocVerse...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Texting Drivers Are Six Times More Likely To Crash
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70736
If you had any doubts about the dangers of driving while texting, a new study from the University of Utah should dispel them. A team of psychologists found that drivers who text while driving are six times more likely to get into a crash.
The researchers said the reasons are not only because eyes are away from the road -- some texters, of course, can basically touch type -- but because of a shifting between the two realms of attention.
The team, led by psychologists Frank Drews and Dave Strayer, has been conducting studies on driver distraction caused by cell phones and texting. The study, published in the journal Human Factors, used test subjects in a high-fidelity driving simulator.
Twenty men and 20 women, aged 19 to 23, were monitored as they either just drove or drove and texted. The researchers measured their brake onset time, following distance, lane maintenance, and collisions. The test subjects had an average of 4.75 years of driving.
The researchers reported that "drivers apparently attempt to divide attention between a phone conversation and driving," which means they are continually "adjusting the processing priority of the two activities, depending on task demands." Continually paying attention to such activities as composing, reading or receiving a text substantially lowers overall reaction times below what they might be during a phone conversation.
The result of the attention delay means that texting drivers respond more slowly when brake lights flash on the car immediately ahead, and there was impairment in forward and lateral control.
The kind of texting activity also makes a difference, the researchers found. For instance, reading a text message has a bigger effect on braking times than writing a message.
The researchers found that the median reaction time of drivers was 30 percent longer when texting, but only...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Content-Search Deals Make Twitter Profitable
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70724
Twitter is ending 2009 on a high note. The microblogging site has reached profitability after inking $25 million of deals that make its content searchable by Google and Microsoft, Bloomberg BusinessWeek has learned.
In October, Twitter said it had struck multiyear arrangements that make users' short blog postings available on Google.com and on Bing, which is run by Microsoft. Those agreements carry sufficient value to help Twitter achieve a small profit for 2009, say two people familiar with the company's finances, who asked to remain anonymous because Twitter's books are not a matter of public record.
Like many social media startups, three-year-old Twitter focused early on adding subscribers rather than generating revenue. That's left many analysts and investors wondering how and whether the company -- often cited as a candidate for an initial public offering or acquisition -- would make money. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone declined to comment on the company's finances, but wrote in an e-mail that the company is proud of the work it accomplished in 2009. "We're thrilled about the partnerships we've formed this year and we're looking forward to opening Twitter even more in the future," Stone wrote.
In exchange for making short blogs, known as tweets, searchable on Google, Twitter will receive about $15 million, the two people say, adding that the Microsoft partnership is worth about $10 million. "The deals were huge," says one. "With two scoops of the pen, a lot of revenue came in."
Representatives of Microsoft and Google declined to comment. When the arrangements were announced, none of the companies involved disclosed their value. Tech blogs, including AllThingsDigital, had said only that the deals were worth several million dollars apiece.
Twitter also achieved profitability by reducing expenses, the people say. The company used to pay a lot of money to telecommunications companies for...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Tips for Boosting Your Computer Speed
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70721
It's never fun working with a slow computer. Typically, if a computer user can leave his desk and return with a cup of coffee before his computer has even booted up, he'll decide that his PC is over the hill.
But it's usually the operator, not the computer, who is responsible for the lack of speed caused by overflowing hard drives, full of hidden programs and unnecessary ballast. Indeed, the quickest way to get a hard drive back up to speed is to re-establish a little order by tidying up just like one would do with a messy living room.
Programs that automatically start when a computer is booted up are a standard drag on a system.
Automatic startup makes sense with virus scanners, says Markus Hermannsdorfer of Chip, a German computer magazine. But Office functions, or media players like QuickTime or WinAmp, don't need to be up and running from the get-go. It's better if most programs are only activated when they are actually needed.
"If too many functions are activated when the computer is booted up, that delays the whole process," says Thomas Baumgaertner of Microsoft in Munich. A Windows application called msconfig can review auto-start programs, removing unneeded or seldom used applications from the auto-start menu.
However, not every program displays its icon in the auto-start folder. But they will leave tracks in the Registry, the central data bank of the operating system, unnecessarily bloating that file. Registry Cleaner programs can be used to remove unnecessary or seldom used programs from here, says Hermannsdorfer. One recommendation is the freeware program Crap Cleaner.
It's also worthwhile to have a look in the PC's System Services, found in the System Controls. Some options for trimming fat from computer operations are available here.
"Not all services are absolutely necessary for operations," says Ralf Haerter, a college professor...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Bargain Hunters Get Advice from Smartphones
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70719
For Americans, the mobile phone is quickly becoming Santa's biggest helper.
Powerful software applications for devices like the Apple iPhone are making it easy for bargain-hunting consumers to see if another retailer is offering a better deal on a big-screen HDTV or pair of shoes and to use it to haggle at the cash register.
Online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their sites so consumers can make purchases without tedious typing. And offline retailers, battling for every last dollar, are sending cell phone users electronic coupons to lure them away from competitors.
Online coupons have been popular for several years in countries like South Korea. And in Japan, more than 50 million people already carry devices that can serve as wallets -- the phone can be waved over a scanner at a cash register, and the price is either deducted from a prepaid account or charged to a credit card.
Now, Americans are stepping up their use of their mobile phone to shop, albeit in slightly different ways. One in five U.S. shoppers said they intended to use their cell phones to shop this holiday season, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm. Of those, 45 percent said they would use their phone to research prices, 32 percent said they would use it to find coupons or read reviews and 25 percent said they would make purchases from their phones.
"We are at the cusp of this technology really driving a lot of activity during the shopping season," said Stacy Janiak, United States retail practice leader at Deloitte. "It is both an opportunity and a challenge for a retailer, because you can have a consumer who can cross-shop your store with other bricks-and-mortar stores or online, all from the convenience of your aisle."
Heather Reed, a mother in Cypress,...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Maine To Consider Cell-Phone Cancer Warning
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70709
A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.
The now-ubiquitous devices carry such warnings in some countries, though no U.S. states require them, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. A similar effort is afoot in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require the warnings.
Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said numerous studies point to the cancer risk, and she has persuaded legislative leaders to allow her proposal to come up for discussion during the 2010 session that begins in January, a session usually reserved for emergency and governors' bills.
Boland herself uses a cell phone, but with a speaker to keep the phone away from her head. She also leaves the phone off unless she's expecting a call. At issue is radiation emitted by all cell phones.
Under Boland's bill, manufacturers would have to put labels on phones and packaging warning of the potential for brain cancer associated with electromagnetic radiation. The warnings would recommend that users, especially children and pregnant women, keep the devices away from their head and body.
The Federal Communications Commission, which maintains that all cell phones sold in the U.S. are safe, has set a standard for the "specific absorption rate" of radiofrequency energy, but it doesn't require handset makers to divulge radiation levels.
The San Francisco proposal would require the display of the absorption rate level next to each phone in print at least as big as the price. Boland's bill is not specific about absorption rate levels, but would require a permanent, nonremovable advisory of risk in black type, except for the word "warning," which would be...
Wed, 23 Dec 09
Review: Netbooks Meet Luxury in Ultra-Light Sony
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70668
Netbooks have been a hit among laptop buyers because they're cheap and they're easy to carry. Now there's the option to pay a lot more and get a lot less -- a lot less weight, that is.
Sony's Vaio X is the runway model of netbooks: stylish, super-thin and without an ounce of weight to spare. It's expensive too: the base model is $1,300 at Sonystyle.com and Sony Style stores. The price is nearly four times as much as a standard netbook.
Its carbon-fiber body, just over half an inch thick, houses an 11.1-inch screen and weighs just 1.6 pounds. How light is that? Well, it nearly blew out of my hands one day when I was walking down the street with it opened. I'm not kidding. It makes 2.5-pound netbooks feel heavy. It makes the 3-pound MacBook Air seem like a dumbbell.
Sony says it's the world's thinnest, lightest laptop with a screen larger than 10 inches diagonally. Whatever the state of the competition may be, the light weight means that carrying the Vaio X around never really felt like a burden. It was a great companion on my commute, with a screen large enough to read comfortably on, and light enough to hold in one hand when standing, at least for short periods of time. For the ultimate in mobility, the computer has a built-in modem for Verizon Wireless' cellular broadband network. Service costs an extra $60 or so per month.
Of course, a mobile laptop isn't much good if it has poor battery life and constantly needs to be tethered to an outlet. The Vaio X does pretty well in this regard, at least if you consider the weight. On battery power, it lasted 1 hour and 47 minutes when playing high-definition video nonstop and accessing the Web via Wi-Fi. In...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
French Court Rules Against Google's Book Scanning
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70704
Internet search giant Google has hit a roadblock in France that could halt its book-scanning project. Google Books wants to scan more than 50 million books into digital versions.
Google partnered with libraries around the world to include their collections in its Book Search. The company's search results will act like a card catalog, offering snippets of text from books that remain in copyright. Searchers can read and download entire books from the Google Books Library Project that are out of copyright.
A French court on Friday convicted Google of copyright infringement and ordered the company to pay $430,000 to French publisher La Martiniere Group. The publisher, the owner of U.S. publishing house Abrams, filed a complaint against Google in June 2006.
Google was not only ordered to pay the hefty fine, but also to pull all the scanned works off of its web site. For each day that excerpts of the books remain on the web site, Google must pay an additional $14,300.
La Martiniere Group is backed by France's Syndicat National de l'Edition.
Google plans to appeal the ruling and is expected to base its argument on the fact that it has permission from U.S. libraries to scan and post excerpts the books without permission from authors. Google also plans to argue that its indexing and displaying of books does not break French copyright law.
"We disagree with the judge's decision and will appeal the judgment," said Gabriel Stricker, a Google spokesperson. "We believe that displaying a limited number of short extracts from books complies with copyright legislation both in France and the U.S. -- and improves access to books."
"French readers now face the threat of losing access to a significant body of knowledge and falling behind the rest of Internet users," Stricker added. "If readers are able to search...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Operation Chokehold Chokes, But Puts Spotlight on AT&T
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70703
Regardless of the results of Operation Chokehold -- blogger Fake Steve Jobs' call to overwhelm AT&T's wireless network at Friday afternoon -- the point has been made, at least according to the site that spearheaded the effort. Reports on The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs blog and at the Operation Chokehold Facebook page reported some slowdowns, but they weren't overwhelming and couldn't be attributed to the protest.
At 4:29 p.m. Eastern, a user called Lastangelman posted this comment, "Appearance-wise, it looks like a fail. The network is holding, at worst it's about the same as before. On the other hand, the Twitter feed is going nuts, lots of people united on this. Now can we please switch from AT&T? Nothing gets a company chairman's attention [quicker] than 30 million users opting out of the revenue stream, especially in one day."
An AT&T spokesman, in response to an e-mailed question, said the network "saw no impact" from Operation Chokehold.
Bill Ho, research director for wireless service at Current Analysis, said the protest was a reaction to AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph de la Vega's comments at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference last week. De la Vega appeared to blame the well-documented difficulties AT&T is having supporting the iPhone on a minority of users, and hinted at a surcharge.
De la Vega said about three percent of iPhone users consume about 40 percent of network usage. Columnist Dan Lyons, aka Fake Steve Jobs, and protesters appear to think the company's strategy is to blame the victim.
"Certain people believe they have the right for something for free or to say it is overpriced, that it should be cheaper," Ho said. "They are really angry that the network is not performing to the level for what they are paying, and I guess they...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Windows Mobile Losing Ground as Competitors Grow
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70702
Is the end in sight for Windows Mobile? A number of recent surveys show that market penetration for Microsoft's mobile platform is stagnant, even as support for Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry, and mobile devices based on Google's Android are growing by leaps and bounds.
New numbers from comScore show precious little interest in Windows Mobile. The platform had seven million users in May, 6.6 million in July, and 7.1 million in October. Those numbers compare unfavorably with the iPhone, up 50 percent since May, and market leader RIM, up 20 percent. Android, while still a small player, is up nearly 30 percent.
"Windows Mobile has not captured the imagination of the public and people are not buying those phones," Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, said in a telephone interview. "The attention is not on Windows Mobile -- it has been crowded out in the press and the public mind."
In the smartphone business, excitement is a key part of marketing success. The market has dramatically shifted since the introduction of the iPhone. Mobile operating systems used to create a level playing field -- with manufacturers delivering hardware enhancements on top of platforms like Windows Mobile.
Now the market is controlled by companies like Apple and RIM who control both the OS and the hardware. And with the iPhone and Android supporting a rich ecosystem of third-party development, the ground has shifted again.
Microsoft may be counting on the release of Windows Mobile 7 to make a difference, but it's still an open question about when consumers will be able to buy Mobile 7 phones. "There is no question that Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform is way behind their competitors and they need to do a lot of work if they are to catch...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Borders Backs Kobo in E-Book Challenge To Amazon
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70701
Online e-book seller Shortcovers has changed its name and is in the process of revamping its web site to better compete with rivals Amazon.com and Sony. Operating under the name Kobo following its spin-off from Indigo Books & Music, the online seller is being backed by investors that include Borders, Instant Fame, and REDgroup Retail.
"Kobo is an anagram of 'book', and a name that we think will resonate globally," wrote Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis in a blog. The company also has "assembled a strong syndicate of investors and partners across key categories -- retail and mobile distribution."
Serbinis thinks the best way for Kobo to challenge e-book leader Amazon.com is to offer support for open standards so customers can read e-books on any digital device they choose, whether a smartphone, a computer, a tablet, or an e-reader. "You can buy from us and use [content] on other devices or software -- not just ours," Serbinis wrote.
But Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst James McQuivey observed that later market entrants or smaller players like Kobo always argue for format independence. The implication is "that Amazon's approach is not in the best interest of the market," McQuivey said. "But Amazon will continue to push its proprietary format and delivery solution for as long as they can in the market."
He noted that it took Apple four years to pull the plug on digital rights management. "Once it no longer worked and publishers gave in, Apple made the change," McQuivey said. "The same will happen with Kindle, but not until Amazon feels the heat from Kobo, Sony and others who pursue an open solution."
Amazon will have at least a year before it will have to worry much about competitors, McQuivey thinks. "In the meantime, they'll turn their attention to publishers,...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
iPhone Sweeps Across World Markets at a Fast Pace
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70700
Apple's iPhone isn't only gaining fast on the company's U.S. turf, but sweeping across the international market at an amazing pace, according to the monthly Mobile Metrics report from mobile advertising network AdMob on Friday. The application-rich and user-friendly handset gained an astonishing 350 percent in market share in Japan this year and 300 percent in France.
While growth in North America was considerably slower at around 100 percent, AdMob, a division of Google, said that was likely because of a larger existing user base at the start of the year.
"This really shows the iPhone is not just a U.S. phenomenon," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "Apple has been doing a really good job getting into other markets beyond the core U.S."
After Japan and France, the fastest growing market for Apple was Australia, followed by China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the U.K.
What's most surprising about the statistics, Gartenberg said, is Apple's success in markets that aren't necessarily beholden to U.S. technology.
"They are catching on in places already considered sophisticated," he said. "Europe and Asia are way ahead of us. Apple was able to penetrate those markets because of the cachet of the device. They have redefined the mobile user experience."
The report's data is culled from billions of clicks on web ads managed by AdMob, which enables the company to analyze information from mobile devices.
The company said that while the United States remains by far the largest Apple market, half the registered ad clicks from iPhone and iPod touch devices were from abroad, up from 39 percent in January.
At the same time, half of the American users detected by AdMob were using iPhones or Wi-Fi-enabled iPod touch devices. But can Apple sustain that pace?
"The velocity of mobile is the real factor here," said Gartenberg. "Three...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Yelp Acquisition May Boost Local Ad Revenues for Google
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70687
Technology acquisitions continue to make headlines in a down economy. With Google, Apple and Microsoft going tit for tat on the acquisition front this year, Yelp could be the next digital property to get scooped up. Google may pay $500 million or more.
According to published reports, Google is in the advanced stages of Yelp acquisition talks. Yelp was founded in 2004 with a mission to help people find local businesses, and the idea caught on. As of November, more than 26 million people had visited Yelp in the past 30 days.
Users, called Yelpers, have written more than eight million local reviews. Business owners can set up free accounts to post offers, photos and messages to customers. Yelp makes money by selling ads to businesses, and some reports suggest Yelp has about $30 million in annual revenues and could see as much as $50 million in 2010.
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, said the Yelp deal makes strategic sense for Google. Google has increasingly focused on providing content and services to local markets, such as on Google Maps. Yelp would sharpen that focus.
"Yelp is very strong. In many markets it's got the strongest local brand. It also has a very active community," Sterling said. "Google doesn't have a social network. I wouldn't exactly call Yelp a social network, but it has an engaged and active community."
Yelp also offers Google a wealth of content that it can repurpose, Sterling said, and though $50 million in revenues is not meaningful compared to Google's overall earnings, the income demonstrates Yelp has a business model that's working.
Beyond sponsored results, paying advertisers can also promote a favorite review at the top of their Yelp page. And Yelp is mobile. The service is available through the mobile web, or applications for...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Google Is Galloping Way Ahead as Bing Moves Up
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70686
If the search market were a horse race, Bing would be moving up as the venerable Yahoo horse starts dropping behind -- and Google would be far ahead. A new report from comScore, which monitors Web traffic, found Yahoo's portion of U.S.-based searches fell 0.5 percent in November alone, while Microsoft's Bing rose 0.4 percent and Google remained nearly steady.
That puts Bing at about 10.3 percent market share, Yahoo still in second place at 17.5 percent, and Google soaring at 65.6 percent with a 0.2 percent increase over October. The fourth and fifth search engines are Ask and AOL, way behind at 3.9 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
The competition, said Information Technology Intelligence Corp.'s Laura DiDio, is like "everyone being way behind Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes," where the legendary racehorse "looked like he was racing against himself."
In the race for second place, DiDio added, the "momentum goes to Bing." She noted that Microsoft's entry into search has gained two percent since May, Yahoo's has dropped from 20.5 percent, and Google appears to be stabilizing in its way-out-front position.
Measured as query volume, Bing had the largest growth of the top search engines in November, with a six percent increase in volume. Yahoo's dropped two percent, and Google's edged up one percent.
comScore's stats include partner and cross-channel searches, but not searches for mapping, local directory, or user-generated video sites. The actual number of searches was about 9.5 billion for Google, 2.5 billion for Yahoo, 1.5 billion for Bing, 548 million for Ask, and 401 million for AOL.
DiDio attributed Bing's steady growth to marketing, adding that the feature distinctions between the search engines are relatively minor. But the race is not close to being over, she said. "Looking at the search market in perspective," she said, "there is still...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Palm's Results Still Good, and webOS Update Is Coming
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70685
Palm reported a drop in earnings for its fiscal 2010 second quarter, but the handset maker hopes news about an updated webOS will encourage the market. Total revenues for Palm's second quarter were $78.1 million, with gross profits of $5.5 million. The company's stock slid 10 percent as the company's new operating system and phone lineup failed to perform as well as expected.
Palm shipped 783,000 smartphones during the quarter, a five percent decrease from the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. Smartphone sell-through for the second quarter was 573,000 units, down 29 percent from the first quarter and down four percent year-over-year.
But there is good news for Palm. The company had a 41 percent year-over-year increase compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2009.
"Palm clearly did much better than expected in the course of 2009," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "This time a year ago, people were pretty much writing them off. Palm continues to manage to maneuver in those very narrow straits and has delivered new devices this year."
Jon Rubinstein, Palm's chairman and CEO, said the company is continuing to execute strongly against its long-term strategy with the delivery of Palm Pixi, new wireless carrier launches completed this quarter, and the upcoming opening of Palm's full developer program.
"We're still in the early stages of a long race, and we're energized by the opportunity to compete in this exciting market," Rubinstein said. "We remain confident that Palm's innovative product-design capabilities, integrated cloud services, and the differentiated and delightful Palm webOS experience will provide the foundation for our sustained success."
Palm is competing in an increasingly crowded market that's seeing Google Android-powered devices gaining momentum. Motorola launched the Droid with Verizon Wireless in November. Samsung and HTC are also pushing Android devices, and Google...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Buying a New Computer? Tips on Making the Right Choice
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70673
You've had sound reasons for postponing the purchase of a new computer for much of 2009. The economy is in shambles. You wanted to make sure any kinks were addressed before taking the plunge on machines with new operating systems from Microsoft and Apple.
But months after their arrival, there've been no major blowups with Windows 7 or OS X Snow Leopard. And while your budget isn't exactly overflowing, you're finally thinking about replacing your Vista clunker or aging Mac.
Obviously, how you plan to use the machine weighs heavily on your buying decision. Hard-core gamers and video-editing junkies require more robust (and pricey) PCs than more casual users whose chores are primarily Web surfing and e-mail.
Here are other mainstream factors every PC buyer should consider:
*Windows or Macintosh. The religious war endures. I've generally preferred Macs to their Windows counterparts, but Windows 7 is a snappy, polished operating system that narrows Apple's advantage.
Macs have avoided the malware scourge that has afflicted PCs through the years. We'll see how that continues to play out over time. Meanwhile, the peripherals and accessories you connect to Macs generally just work, without the incompatibilities that have historically plagued Windows PCs. Windows 7 reduces such hassles.
You'll still pay a premium for a Mac. The entry-level MacBook laptop starts at $999; the entry-level iMac all-in-one desktop starts at $1,199. You can find decent laptop and desktop PCs for half the price, though the comparisons don't exactly represent Apples to, um, apples, partly because of the dandy multimedia iLife software suite supplied with OS X for such things as organizing photos and making movies.
In the past, some people rejected Macs out of hand because they work at companies whose software required Windows. You may no longer be in that situation. For years now, Macs have been able to run...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Preparing Your Computer for Windows 7
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70670
You don't have to buy a new computer to upgrade to Windows 7. If your PC is relatively young -- no older than four years, say -- chances are good that Windows 7 will run just fine on it.
A few pre-installation upgrades, though, may help you get the most out of Microsoft's new operating system. Read on to learn more.
Q: I have a Windows XP computer with a 3.0 GHz Pentium D chip. The machine also has 1 GB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive. Should I upgrade any components of this machine before installing Windows 7?
A: Although you did not mention the type of graphics card in your computer, your PC as it stands should run Windows 7 without problems. But if you want to get the best performance using your current processor and motherboard, the best upgrade would be adding more memory and, perhaps, upgrading the hard drive.
Running Windows 7 with just 1 GB of RAM will limit the number of applications you can open and run before noticing slowdowns. Those slowdowns will be due primarily to the fact that Windows 7 will need to start using your hard drive to swap out portions of code that it cannot fit in available RAM.
Microsoft says that 1 GB of RAM is the minimum amount required to install Windows 7. Adding at least an extra gigabyte of RAM will be of benefit.
But you'll likely see the most tangible performance improvement by upgrading your hard drive, particularly since, in an older Pentium D computer, your 80 gig unit may be spinning at only 5400 revolutions per minute (rpm), slow by today's standards.
You can pick up a Western Digital VelociRaptor 150 GB unit, which runs at 10,000 rpm, for about 150 dollars. The 300 GB VelociRaptor is only marginally more...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Pentagon: Hackers Intercepted Drone Spy Videos
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70665
Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from Predator drones, a key weapon in a Pentagon spy system that serves as the military's eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence collection.
Though militants could see the video, there is no evidence they were able to jam the electronic signals from the unmanned aerial craft or take control of the vehicles, a senior defense official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence issues.
Obtaining the video feeds can provide insurgents with critical information about what the military may be targeting, including buildings, roads and other facilities.
Shiite fighters in Iraq used off-the-shelf software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The hacking was possible because the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link.
The Defense Department has addressed the issue, first discovered a year ago, by working to encrypt all its drone video feeds from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the defense official said.
Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, said earlier this week that hacking is always a concern.
"Any time you have a system that is operated through command links, and that broadcasts information using omni-directional signals, those are subject to listening and exploitation," said Deptula. "One of the ways we deal with that is encrypting signals."
The Predator, also key to the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for al-Qaida and other militants in neighboring Pakistan, can fly for hours remotely controlled by pilots thousands of miles away. It can fly armed or unarmed and is part of a growing arsenal of such craft that includes the Reaper and Raven as well as a new, high-tech video sensor system...
Sat, 19 Dec 09
Shoppers With Smartphones Squeezing Retailers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70664
The rise of smart phones, with their go-anywhere Web access, is changing the shopping game this holiday season.
Tech-savvy shoppers are finding it easier than ever to work the system to get the best deals.
They're scanning barcodes with their cell phone cameras to load into price comparison Internet sites while standing in store aisles, using GPS to find discounts at nearby stores and flashing electronic coupons straight from their phones.
The ease of real-time price comparisons creates competitive pressure for retailers that pushes prices down for everyone. Retailers who resist risk losing a sale to a rival even while the customer is still in their own store.
Briana Carter, 31, recently spied a $40 pink laptop cooling pad at a Kohl's department store. She scanned its bar code with her iPhone and using an application called ShopSavvy found the same thing for $25 at online retailer Amazon.com.
While still inside Kohl's, Carter, of Tipton, Ind., bought the pad from Amazon through her phone.
Shoppers definitely have discounts on the brain. Unique visits to the top 10 coupon and rewards sites rose 6 percent from October to November to 70.4 million, Nielsen Co. research said.
Merchants, already struggling with weak sales and a mediocre holiday season in this tough economy, are forced to play along, said David Bassuk, a managing director in the retail practice at consultancy AlixPartners.
Macy's Inc., The Gap Inc., and many others are paying a growing list of sites to list deals online.
A few years ago, the Web site savings.com listed coupons for about 1,000 retailers; that's up to 4,000 now.
"The retailers are very, very hungry right now, so the consumer is in the driver seat," Bassuk said.
Sales to people who click through the savings.com site are expected to double to $200 million this year from last.
"Would they rather have every consumer come directly...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
FTC Complaint Escalates Facebook's Privacy Woes
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70684
Facebook's privacy problem is getting worse. Not only is the dominant social-networking company facing ongoing resistance to new privacy controls from users and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), but now it faces a Federal Trade Commission complaint filed by the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Facebook recently rolled out a new privacy protocol that it promoted as giving users more control over privacy settings. With the controls, users can decide whether to make certain aspects of their Facebook profiles publicly available on the Internet, or only available to friends.
But the controls were limited, and certain elements, such as the friends list, were made public by default. As originally released, users had no way to change that setting. After a swell of criticism, Facebook allowed users to make their friends list private.
Another complaint was that too much information was made public by default. The EFF complained that users who didn't get around to changing the defaults or who didn't understand the implications would be injured by the new policy.
In its complaint, EPIC formally requested that the FTC investigate Facebook, enjoin "its unfair and deceptive business practices," and require Facebook to protect users' privacy. Specifically, EPIC asked the FTC to require Facebook to restore the previous privacy settings, allowing users to control disclosure of personal information and to fully opt out of revealing information to third-party developers. EPIC also demanded that Facebook make its data-collection practices clearer and easier to understand.
EPIC took special aim at the dangers in allowing third-party developers automatic access to much of a user's personal information. Facebook permits third-party applications to access user information at the moment a user visits an application web site. According to Facebook, third-party applications receive publicly available information automatically, and additional information when users authorize it or connect a Facebook account.
EPIC...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
'Ease of Use' Boosts iPhone OS Over Windows Mobile
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70683
After the release of the iPhone 3GS in June, Apple gained an estimated 2.2 million users nationwide in subsequent months, pushing it past devices using Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system for the first time, comScore reports. The survey of smartphone users ages 13 and up found Windows Mobile was the only OS to decline during the three months ending in October.
iPhone users reached almost nine million in October, comScore said, or a quarter of the 36 million Americans estimated to be using smartphones. That puts the iPhone in second place behind industry leader Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerrys.
In the survey period, Windows Mobile gained less than half a million users compared to the surge in iPhone users, forfeiting the slight edge of 30,000 units it had in July. BlackBerry users totaled nearly 15 million users and Google's Android platform, with just more than one million users, was third.
Kirk Parsons, a wireless analyst at J.D. Power and Associates, said it was "not surprising" that iPhone usage seems to be booming, given its demonstrated high rate of user satisfaction.
"They do very well in our studies," said Parsons. "From a customer-experience standpoint, [users like] the navigation, the OS design, the features, that kind of stuff. If you look at the Windows OS, they get the lowest score. So from a sales perspective, the trend is probably going to continue because [the iPhone is] clearly leading in the area of ease of use."
But another wireless analyst, Jeff Orr of ABI Research, said the constant development of new devices makes predictions unreliable.
"In emerging technology, things always happen in waves, so there is expansion and contraction," Orr said. "Windows Mobile certainly should be able to compete effectively against Apple, which is the only provider of the iPhone OS, whereas Windows Mobile can...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
RIM Says BlackBerry Consumer E-Mail Outage Fixed
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70680
An outage that impacted non-corporate BlackBerry e-mail services, apparently on multiple wireless carriers, was in the process of being rectified Thursday afternoon, according to Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. The outage didn't affect corporate e-mail, Internet access, or voice services, according to Sprint spokesperson Crystal Davis.
The problem, she said, probably occurred overnight. "Apparently, there was some maintenance last night," she said. "Starting around 2 A.M. central time we became aware of some issues being experienced on our e-mail service for general customers. General e-mail, and even Gmail or AOL mail [if routed through Blackberry] experienced problems."
Davis said it's too early to say precisely what the problem was. There are early indications, however, that it happened during routine maintenance. "They were trying to reboot the system after some maintenance and something went wrong," she said. "It could be a number of factors. These things happen."
The problem was on the way to resolution by early afternoon. "I'm hearing from our network people that it looks like it is about 75 percent done," Davis said. "E-mails in the queue are starting to patch through. The issue is slowly but surely being resolved."
That assessment was shared by Verizon spokesperson Debra Lewis. "We knew of the issue and worked [with RIM] to help resolve it. I believe services are restored to our customers."
RIM didn't make a spokesperson available, but issued a statement via e-mail: "RIM has isolated and resolved the issue that was impacting some BlackBerry customers earlier this morning. Some customers may still experience delays as e-mail queues are processed. RIM is continuing to investigate the cause of the issue and apologizes for any inconvenience."
Fri, 18 Dec 09
National Broadband Plan Sees a Need for More Spectrum
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70679
The Federal Communications Commission revealed broad outlines Wednesday for the national broadband plan it is scheduled to submit to Congress early next year. One of the major challenges is to more effectively use the nation's existing telecommunication assets -- including the available wireless spectrum, which is facing impending shortages -- according to a report from the FCC's broadband task force.
The pressure is on because the clock is ticking down to release the final plan to Congress on Feb. 17, noted FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. "But the cause of universal, affordable broadband is worthy of this Herculean effort," he said. "We believe that broadband is a critical infrastructure challenge of our generation."
Demand for wireless broadband service will soon exceed the supply of spectrum, according to the FCC. The problem is that it takes a long time to address spectrum gaps, which means the commission must start now, the task force said.
"A large, new spectrum allocation is essential to improving broadband competition," the task force wrote. "The country should review spectrum allocations and management practices periodically going forward to ensure the most productive use of this national asset."
The FCC said it's moving to resolve pending regulatory proceedings governing the use of frequencies already allocated for advanced wireless services (2155-2175 MHz) and other wireless communications services (2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz). The task force also also recommended developing tools to better manage and monitor the nation's wireless spectrum.
More controversial proposals from the task force include providing broadband operators with access to the white space between channels in the TV spectrum and making use of TV frequencies to simultaneously maintain over-the-air television broadcasts. However, the broadcasting industry is adamantly opposed to sharing or relinquishing any spectrum to broadband providers.
National Association of Broadcasters CEO Gordon Smith said there is sufficient...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
New Blu-ray 3-D Spec Means Replacing More Gear
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70678
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) said Thursday it has completed work on the 3DTM specification. The new spec will make way for the home-entertainment industry to deliver a 3-D movie-watching experience to consumers from the comfort of their living rooms.
The Blu-ray 3-D spec promises unmatched picture quality as well as compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3-D products. Every Blu-ray 3-D player and movie will be able to deliver full HD 1080p resolution. The spec is also display-agnostic, regardless of whether the display is LCD, Plasma or other technology.
"Throughout this year, moviegoers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3-D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3-D or 2-D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman of the BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3-D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality full HD 3-D experience to the living room."
The Blu-ray 3-D specification calls for encoding 3-D video using the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec, an extension to the ITU-T H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec currently supported by all Blu-ray Disc players. Blu-ray promises full 1080p resolution backward compatibility with current 2-D Blu-ray Disc players. But analysts said many consumers may have to replace both their Blu-ray players and their television sets to get the full 3-D experience.
"You are going to need a 120-hertz TV or better to get the 3-D, and the vast majority of the TVs sold over the past few years are not to that standard," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "That means people who have bought TVs -- and TVs typically have an eight- or nine-year service life -- are going to be asked to buy another one. And...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Publisher Will Display Content on Two E-Readers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70677
Sony Electronics, which has delayed the delivery of its electronic book reader, is hoping a deal with News Corp. will make it worth the wait for consumers. The companies sealed a deal Thursday that will enable Sony Reader users to view content from The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. The deal comes after reports that News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch was unhappy with the company's deal with Amazon.com for the Kindle.
Consumers will have to choose between two different subscription models to access the publications' digital content, and News Corp. will reportedly get better control of subscriptions. A monthly digital subscription to the Journal will cost $14.99. The price for MarketWatch news and columns is $10.99, and a monthly subscription to the Post will be set at $9.99, according to Sony.
While Sony believes it has the edge in being one of the first to offer the News Corp. subscriptions, observers say more publishers will align content with multiple devices.
"Bets are being made by the publisher that their brand and content has a stronger tie to the consumer than the device or manufacturer, and the device itself becomes a platform," said Jeff Orr, an ABI Research analyst.
The timing of the Sony/News Corp. deal may be good for both companies. Sony needed an edge against rival Amazon, and News Corp. has found another way to make people pay to read its content.
The deal is expected to result in a bigger cut for News Corp., compared to its deal with Amazon.
Sony and News Corp. are banking on analyst predictions that put sales of e-readers at three million this year, with 30 percent of those sales taking place in November and December, according to Forrester Research.
Current e-reader vendors, including Sony, Amazon and Barnes...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Operation Chokehold Seeks To Force AT&T Changes
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70662
A countdown continues as the wireless world waits to see if thousands of AT&T customers will bum-rush the network and choke off service. The movement started when Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons, aka Fake Steve Jobs, teased about a plan to clog AT&T's network on Friday at noon Pacific time.
In a blog post, Fake Steve outlined a plan he calls Operation Chokehold and encouraged iPhone users to use data-driven apps at the same time on the same day to cause a wireless traffic jam of sorts.
"The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data-intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network and sick of their abusive comments," Fake Steve wrote. "The idea is we'll create a digital flash mob."
AT&T called Fake Steve's plan "irresponsible and pointless." That statement elicited another response from Fake Steve, who said AT&T has a much bigger problem on its hands than a failure to reliably connect calls in New York City. The problem, as he sees it, is that the wireless data explosion is just beginning.
"The fact that AT&T is already bonking, here in the first five minutes of a 60-minute game, is terrifying," Fake Steve wrote. "It's their own fault, of course. Go look at their financial statements and open up the financial operations and statistics summary and look at capital expenditures over the past eight quarters."
"I'm no math whiz, but it looks like capex has gone down by about 30 percent over the time period. Scroll down a bit to the wireless section and check out data revenues -- they're up 80 percent over the same period," he continued. "Irresponsible? Pointless? Yes, that sounds familiar."
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Apps Growth Makes Android a Strong Mobile Contender
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70656
If you're trying to decide which -- if any -- phone platform your IT department will support, Google's open-source Android is likely moving into your sights very quickly. A key reason is that the Android Market now has a critical mass of third-party applications.
While there are new estimates by industry observers that the market has collected more than 20,000 apps in five months, Google says the number is closer to 16,000. Whatever the figure, the market is clearly booming.
The Android Market, the online store for the platform's mobile applications, is still only about 20 percent the size of the industry leader, Apple's App Store. Apple's and Google's stores are both under two years old, although Apple's is older by a few months.
But even at the lower number from Google, the market's estimated current number of application offerings is a substantial increase from the 12,000 apps reported in November.
Some industry observers are predicting the market will reach about 50,000 apps next year, while Apple's App Store hits about 300,000. Increasingly, mobile platforms are becoming vehicles for applications, as computers have long been, and the number and kinds of apps become key selling points for businesses as well as consumers.
The third-party developers who are creating the applications are driven by the growth in the number of devices, as well as by the tools and capabilities for the Android platform.
The recent launch of Motorola's Droid through Verizon Wireless, for instance, has resulted in favorable reviews, high visibility for Android, and sales expectations of a million units by the end of this year. Other Android-based models have also been released, such as the HTC Hero, and at least a dozen additional models are expected within a few months.
Google is also expected to directly get into...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Cloud 'Catastrophe' To Dawn in 2010?
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70646
Cloud computing enthusiasts be warned. Next year, computing services handled remotely and delivered via the Internet may undergo some kind of "catastrophe" that alerts companies and consumers to the risks of relying on the so-called cloud, says Mark Anderson, chief executive of Strategic News Service, an industry newsletter circulated to senior executives at technology companies including Intel, Dell, and Microsoft.
A growing number of businesses and individuals are handing storage and various other tasks to outside providers, from photographers archiving pictures with Yahoo!'s Flickr to companies turning over complicated computing operations to Amazon. Tech prognosticator Anderson suggests that the tendency could backfire in some high-profile way in the coming year. "It could either be a service-outage-type catastrophe or a security-based catastrophe," he says. "In either case, it will be big enough. It will be the kind of disaster that makes you say, if you're a [Chief Information Officer]: 'That's why I didn't get involved with the cloud.'"
The warning on cloud computing is one of a handful of predictions from Anderson, who in December makes forecasts for the coming year. He also says computing wars will intensify in hardware and operating systems, especially in the mobile arena. Growth in netbooks and smartphones and increased reliance on cloud computing will continue to transform personal computing from the market dominated by Microsoft's Windows and to a lesser extent Apple's Mac. "The desktop will seem like a calm island that is surrounded by chaos, where all these opportunities are with no clear winners," he says.
Anderson is particularly bearish when it comes to the cloud. "My hunch is that there will never really be a secure cloud," he says. Businesses will view cloud services more suspiciously and consumers will refuse to use them for anything important, he says.
Cloud computing experts note that...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Take a Little Care While Christmas Shopping Online
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70645
I once gave a vacuum cleaner as an anniversary gift.
Despite my good intentions that proved to be an ugly mistake.
My judgment isn't the only shaky thing. My gift-wrapping skills are so bad that, when I'm done with the paper and ribbons, the finished product often looks as if it has been attacked by a large dog.
So today we'll talk about a shopping topic where I can truly help -- showing you how to dodge some of the hazards of shopping online. This is the peak time of the year for online shopping and, for those of us who get a little dizzy just thinking about navigating mall crowds, online shopping can be an attractive notion.
There are ways to do it that reduce the chance of broken hearts and busted bank accounts.
Do not be creative: This is not the time to try out odd little Web sites -- places with names like Crazy Ivan's Incredible Bargains. While some might end up being great finds, you also take the very real risk of poor customer service, products that only slightly resemble what you see online and outright fraud. So, especially this time of the year, stick to brand name stores and Web sites where you've had success in the past.
Give yourself credit: Using a credit card gives you protection under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act. Checks and some debit cards do not. By paying with your credit card you have the right to dispute mistakes by the merchant and, if the card ends up in the hands of crooks, you're only responsible for the first $50 of the charges.
Look for a bit of security: Legitimate businesses use encryption that protects your credit card data as it travels from your computer to the merchant. This means the Web address for sending in...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Confronting China's Quality Gap
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70637
My daughter returned to college in New York this fall. During the summer she kept many of her belongings in an off-campus storage facility. Everything was secured with a new "Made in China to U.S. quality specifications" lock from a well-known U.S. company.
When we went to retrieve her stuff at the beginning of the semester, the lock wouldn't open. Though we couldn't detect anything wrong with it, we were afraid she might have accidentally bent the key. So we tried the key on another lock nearby manufactured by the same company, just to see if the key was bent. Surprisingly, not only did my daughter's key fit, it opened the other lock, giving us access to somebody else's stash. We immediately closed the other lock, since it wasn't ours, and left to deal with our problem.
Fifty dollars later, with newly purchased bolt cutters in hand, we liberated my daughter's belongings.
I later called the lock company's customer help line and was told they had received other such complaints about this same model of lock. They offered an apology and a brand-new lock of the same model. I accepted the apology but turned down the replacement. When we need another lock, we'll get it from another company.
There is a simple lesson here: Quality matters, even when you're talking about a simple, everyday keyed lock costing just a few dollars.
Many companies have successfully outsourced production to China, achieving cost savings of 30 percent or more and quality standards equal to or even exceeding their U.S. production. These successes have not always come easy. They often have involved significant investments in quality control -- building quality into the entire production system, from design to manufacture, assembly, and inspection.
Some companies have focused excessively on cost savings, shortchanging quality. And as sure as Monday follows...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Callers of All Incomes Ditching Landlines for Cell
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70633
The number of households with cell phones but no landlines continues to grow, but the recession doesn't seem to be forcing poor cellular users to abandon their traditional wired phones any faster than higher-income people are.
The finding, from data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests that when it comes to telephone habits, peoples' decisions are affected more by age and where they live than by their economic situations.
The latest CDC study, released Wednesday, is consistent with its past reports: Overall, the poor remain likelier than higher earners to live in households that only have cell phones, and the proportion of wireless-only homes at all income levels continues to grow.
Yet surprisingly, the rate of growth of cell-only homes is consistent across all income lines despite the economy's recent swoon, the report shows. Whether households are poor, near poor or not poor, the proportion with only cells has about doubled between the first half of 2006 and the first half of 2009, according to the most recent statistics available.
"I think it indicates that economic considerations are not the primary considerations when deciding to drop a landline and become wireless only," said Stephen Blumberg, a senior scientist at the CDC and an author of the report. "We see where people live, who they live with and how old they are are stronger predictors than income."
Overall, 23 percent of U.S. homes have only cell phones, up from 11 percent in 2006.
Among the poor, the proportion of wireless-only households has grown from 16 percent in 2006 to 33 percent this year. During that same period, the number of cell-only homes has grown from 14 percent to 27 percent among the near poor and from 9 percent to 19 percent among those who are not poor.
The study considered people to be...
Fri, 18 Dec 09
Adobe Systems Posts 4Q Loss But Says Demand Rising
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70629
Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday that although it booked a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter, consumer demand improved and allowed the maker of Photoshop and Flash software to post an optimistic outlook for the current period.
The recession has dampened demand for Creative Suite 4, the latest version of the software package targeting professional designers and developers that brings in the bulk of Adobe's revenue. It happened to launch in the fall of 2008, right as the financial meltdown hit.
But the company said Tuesday it saw demand pick up in the fourth quarter, especially in its final month. Chief Financial Officer Mark Garrett said this November uptick -- across many of the company's product lines, mainly in North America and Europe -- was more than what the company had expected. Even so, CS4 will likely end up with sales about 20 percent below its predecessor.
Adobe on Tuesday reported a loss of $32 million, or 6 cents per share, for the three months that ended Nov. 27, compared with a profit of $245.9 million, or 46 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Stripping out special items such as restructuring charges and an income tax adjustment related to its October acquisition of Omniture Inc., Adobe earned 39 cents per share, surpassing Wall Street analysts' expectations.
The quarter's revenue fell 17 percent to $757.3 million, but still topped the $752.5 million expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said he expects Creative Suite 5, which will launch sometime in the current fiscal year, to be a "must-have upgrade" for customers. Creative Suite includes many of Adobe's applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and the Web design software Dreamweaver.
Because of the timing of CS4's launch, many customers put off buying the costly package, opting to save money and wait for...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Amazon Adds Streaming To CloudFront Content Delivery
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70657
The increasing amount and more demanding nature of Internet content has led Amazon Web Services to add streaming capabilities to its Amazon CloudFront content-delivery network. The company said content will stream from 14 edge servers located around the world. The goal, according to Amazon, is to empower users and ease the cumbersome and inefficient procedure of downloading entire files to end user's devices.
Amazon says streaming -- in which content is viewed as it is received -- gives end users more control and reduces costs. Costs shrink because once the user stops the session, delivery ceases immediately. In traditional approaches, an entire file is downloaded -- making the cost of the operation higher.
Content-delivery services have been mainstays in the Internet infrastructure for years. The idea is that strategically placing content nearer to users will cut down on delays and network congestion and reduce costs simply by limiting the distance that data has to flow.
Initially, the goal was to provide small remote updates to large files. A CDN used by a sports site could drive efficiency, for instance, by updating scores without resending the entire game description.
Amazon CloudFront, which launched in November 2008, is a newer entrant. It currently has eight servers in the United States, four in Europe, and two in Asia, said Tal Saraf, Amazon CloudFront's general manager.
Amazon said content owners can make their content available to the streaming service by storing it in the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and triggering a simple command at the AWS Management Console or through the CloudFront application-programming interface. Saraf added that many third-party applications -- aimed at things such as encoding, decoding and managing content -- are available on a page at the CloudFront site.
Users requesting streamed content will automatically be directed to the most appropriate of...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
YouTube List Shows Entertainment Tops News Stories
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70655
President Barack Obama's historic inauguration was the most searched-for topic on YouTube in January. But it didn't make the video site's most-watched list for 2009. More people were interested in Susan Boyle, the unglamorous Scottish vocal sensation whose flawless rendering of I Dreamed A Dream on Britain's Got Talent made her an unlikely star.
Boyle's wowing of Simon Cowell was viewed online an astonishing more than 120 million times, taking the top spot on YouTube's first popularity roundup since the site's debut in 2005. The distant runner-up was David Goes To The Dentist, featuring a spacey kid on novocaine being interviewed by his dad, which was viewed more than 39 million times.
The list was posted Wednesday on Broadcasting Ourselves, the official YouTube blog. Rounding out the top five was the JK Wedding Dance (33 million-plus views), in which bridesmaids in Minnesota sashayed down the aisle to Chris Brown's Forever; the trailer for the hit vampire movie New Moon (31 million-plus); and a commercial for Evian water featuring computer-generated, but highly realistic, roller-skating babies (27 million-plus views).
"All of them inspired, entertained and connected millions of people around the world via YouTube," the blog says.
No clips of the year's top news events -- from Obama's oath of office to the death of Michael Jackson, the landing of an airliner on New York's Hudson River, or the Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor -- made the list.
That means despite the information potential of the enormously popular YouTube, which was acquired by Google for $1.6 billion in 2006, it is still being used primarily for fun and entertainment.
"By and large, we live in the bubble of consumerism," said Prof. Basilio Monteiro, who teaches mass communications studies at St. John's University in New York. "The myth of success, and the sense...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Embarrassed Microsoft Apologizes for Code Theft
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70654
Microsoft, famous for prosecuting infringements on its intellectual property, got some mud in the eye this week. Amid charges that its Juku micro-blogging service for China contained code and design elements stolen from Plurk.com, Microsoft issued a formal apology on Wednesday.
Microsoft said it "assumes responsibility for this situation" and would suspend "access to the Juku beta indefinitely."
Microsoft said the Chinese vendor of the software has "acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied. This was in clear violation of the vendor's contract with the MSN China joint venture, and equally inconsistent with Microsoft's policies respecting intellectual property."
The statement emphasized that Microsoft insists its vendors strictly respect intellectual-property rights. "Our practice is to include strong language in our contract that clearly states the company must provide work that does not infringe the intellectual-property rights of others. We are a company that respects intellectual property and it was never our intent to have a site that was not respectful of the work that others in the industry have done."
The company said it would "reach out" to Plurk "to explain what happened and the steps we have taken to resolve the situation." It also said Microsoft and MSN China would examine practices in acquiring application code from third-party vendors.
Plurk was less than content with the apology. Cofounder Alvin Woon said the company is likely to sue over the breach. "We are definitely looking at all possibilities on how to move forward in response to Microsoft's recent statement," Woon said. A "lawsuit is definitely one of the many options we have considered and will continue to look closely to."
A lawsuit may be unavoidable, but Microsoft likely requires its vendors to grant immunity from lawsuits, said Matt Rosoff, a vice president at Directions on Microsoft. The...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
FTC Charges Intel with Stifling Processor Competition
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70652
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Intel Wednesday that accuses the world's leading microprocessor maker of illegally stifling competition for more than a decade. By waging a systematic campaign to prevent competing microchips from gaining full access to the marketplace, the FTC said, Intel has deprived consumers of potentially superior chips at lower prices.
The FTC believes Intel's tactics violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair methods of competition, as well as deceptive acts and practices in commerce. "We take seriously our mandate to find a violation of Section 5 only when it is proven that the conduct at issue has not only been unfair to rivals in the market but, more important, is likely to harm consumers," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz and Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch.
The lawsuit accuses Intel of engaging in an anticompetitive campaign based on "exclusive or restrictive dealing." Among other things, the FTC charges that since 1999 the chipmaker has repeatedly employed a combination of threats and rewards to coerce the world's largest PC makers into foregoing the use of chips from rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices or marketing any machines containing non-Intel computer chips.
"OEMs that purchased 100 percent or nearly 100 percent of their requirements from Intel were favored with guarantees of supply during shortages, indemnification from intellectual-property litigation, or extra monies to be used in bidding situations against OEMs offering a non-Intel product," the FTC lawsuit says.
What's more, the complaint contends that Intel secretly redesigned its key software compiler in a way that deliberately reduced the performance of rival computer processing unit (CPU) products, and deceived its customers and the public by failing to disclose this fact. "Many of Intel's design changes to its software had no legitimate technical benefit and were made only to...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Apple Completes Psystar Crackdown with Final Injunction
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70650
Along with winning its lawsuit against Psystar, Apple on Tuesday won a permanent injunction against the Mac clone maker it has been battling all year. The two companies reached a $2.67 million settlement on Dec. 1 when Apple was awarded relief for copyright infringement and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
U.S. District Court Judge William Aslup ruled that Psystar must stop selling the clones.
Analysts aren't surprised by the decision. "This is what happens when you steal someone
else's intellectual property," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "Users who bought into Psystar unfortunately learned the hard lesson that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This was a case where caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) clearly applied."
Gartenberg said there is an alternative for Psystar buyers. "Users who are looking for the Mac OS experience are best advised to seek that experience on Apple hardware," he said.
Once Apple brought the suit against Psystar, the company fought back by offering Rebel EI, a software product that allowed Mac users to use Mac OS X Snow Leopard on non-Mac computers. The injunction, however, also covers software such as Rebel EI and clearly states that Psystar must refrain from selling products that would infringe on Apple's copyrights.
Psystar's attorney pleaded with the court to leave Rebel EI out of the ruling because it is the subject of a lawsuit against Apple filed in Miami, Fla. The company has until Dec. 31 to file additional information about Rebel EI.
"That is not surprising at all," said Ilan Barzilay, an intellectual-property attorney with Wolf Greenfield. "Courts try to tailor injunctions as narrowly as possible without infringing on someone's rights, but for someone who has been found liable for engaging in infringement, courts may expand the injunction to say, 'Don't do...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
You Want Wi-Fi with That? McDonald's To Make Wi-Fi Free
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70649
Your next business-office-away-from-home could be a McDonald's. The fast-food chain has announced that, beginning in mid-January, it will offer free Wi-Fi Internet access at 11,000 of its 13,000 U.S. restaurants. The service is presented as a partnership with AT&T.
McDonald's already offers free Wi-Fi in some other countries, such as Belgium and Italy. McDonald's currently charges U.S. customers $2.95 for two hours of wireless Internet, although AT&T customers get free Wi-Fi.
McDonald's said that, in addition to no hourly charges, no food or drink purchases will be required. In fact, in some cases users don't even have to be in the restaurant. Some customers report that wireless is often accessible in the parking lot of McDonald's restaurants.
In 2003, McDonald's started offering Wi-Fi in its 75 San Francisco Bay Area restaurants, in 10 New York locations, and in 140 locations in Singapore. Originally, there was a $4.95 charge for two hours of service.
Free Wi-Fi has become a kind of loss leader, where companies provide it to attract customers to locations or services and, hopefully, promote goodwill and up-sell to paid offerings.
For instance, in the fall Microsoft started providing free Wi-Fi at thousands of hot spots across the U.S. if a user tried its Bing search engine at least once. Google is offering free Wi-Fi at nearly 50 airports in the U.S. as part of an arrangement with Boingo Wireless.
This is in addition to Google's free Wi-Fi on all Virgin America flights. The service at the airports and Virgin America, however, only lasts until Jan. 15. Users can donate to specific charities during sign-in, which Google will match up to $250,000. The company noted that about 100 million people will be traveling through airports through January.
And, for one year, Yahoo is giving away free...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Bing on iPhone Moves Apple Away from Google
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70623
Microsoft is getting into iPhone applications. The company just launched a Bing app, approved by Apple and ready for download for the iPhone and iPod touch on Apple's App Store. The application is free and, analysts said, may be yet another sign that Apple is moving to rely less on Google.
"Let's talk about some cool stuff you can do with the Bing app," said Justin Jed of the Bing for mobile team. "Our investments in voice search -- you may have played with them on Windows phones or BlackBerry already -- continues in our iPhone app and works great for map locations as well as old-fashioned web search."
If a user wants to know what the weather is in San Francisco, he or she would speak "San Francisco weather" into the phone or press the mic button. Bing will serve up results on the iPhone's display. Users can also use the voice-search function to say a full address and get results that include a map or directions.
"Bing automatically finds your location. It's also easy to discover a new spot by category such as restaurants, banks, theaters, and choose whether you want walking or driving directions," Jed said. "We've got smooth mapping action. Swipe through each step of the directions, and check out how fast the map pans and zooms ... For times when you only have one hand free and can't pinch, there is a handy zoom-out button."
When the Bing app is in use, the iPhone's home screen shows the Bing image of the day, complete with clickable hot spots to discover related trivia. And for users who want more images, the Bing app makes way for image search with scrolling results. When users find the image they want, they can click on the preview through to...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
European Antitrust Drama Finally Ends for Microsoft
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70622
After more than 10 years of antitrust issues in Europe, Microsoft is finally putting the drama to rest. On Wednesday, the European Commission approved a final resolution of several long-standing competition issues.
"Today's resolution follows years of intensive examination by the European Commission of competition in computer software," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft. "The measures approved today reflect multiple rounds of input from industry participants relating to competition in web browser software and interoperability between various Microsoft products and competing products."
First, the web browser measures. Under the resolution, Microsoft has committed to allowing PC manufacturers and users to install any browser on top of Windows, to make any browser the default browser on new PCs, and to turn access to Internet Explorer on or off.
What's more, Smith explained, Microsoft will send a "browser choice" screen to Windows users who are running Internet Explorer as their default browser. "This browser choice screen will present a list of browsers, making it easy for users to install any one of them," Smith said. "It will be provided both to users of new computers and to the installed base of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 computers in Europe where Internet Explorer is set as the default browser."
Opera Software, one of the companies that filed a complaint against Microsoft with the EC, applauded the commission's decision. Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera Software, called it a victory for the future of the web.
"This decision is also a celebration of open web standards, as these shared guidelines are the necessary ingredients for innovation on the web," von Tetzchner said. "Opera has long been at the forefront of web standards, which ensures that people have equal access to the web anytime, anywhere and on any device. We see...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Missing Bush White House E-Mails Found
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70611
Computer technicians have found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush and the Obama administration is searching for dozens more days' worth of potentially lost e-mail from the Bush years, according to two groups that filed suit over the failure by the Bush White House to install an electronic record keeping system.
The two private groups -- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive -- said Monday they were settling the lawsuits they filed against the Executive Office of the President in 2007.
It will be years before the public sees any of the recovered e-mails because they will now go through the National Archives' process for releasing presidential and agency records. Presidential records of the Bush administration won't be available until 2014 at the earliest.
Former Bush White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the 22 million e-mails already had been recovered while Bush was still in office and that misleading statements about the former administration's work demonstrate "a continued anti-Bush agenda, nearly a year after a new president was sworn in."
"The liberal groups CREW and National Security Archive litigate for sport, distort the facts and have consistently tried to create a spooky conspiracy out of standard IT issues," Stanzel said in a statement.
The 22 million e-mails "would never have been found but for our lawsuits and pressure from Capitol Hill," said Anne Weismann, chief counsel for CREW. "It was only then that they did this reanalysis and found as a result that there were 22 million e-mails that they were unable to account for before."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the Bush administration had been dismissive of congressional requests that the administration recover the e-mails. Leahy said it was "another example of the Bush administration's reflexive resistance to...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Efforts Under Way To Make Web More Accessible
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70607
Imagine not being able to use a mouse to open a Web browser or a keyboard to type an e-mail. What if you couldn't distinguish colors on a computer screen or type the distorted letters in order to buy concert tickets or enroll in a class?
Despite technological advances aimed at making the Internet easy to use, the World Wide Web is not wide open for many people.
But as the number of people with disabilities grows and more of everything is done online, companies are finding it makes good business sense to make their sites more accessible and are hiring consultants and training programmers to make it happen.
"Web sites are nowadays the virtual front door of a business. If you can't get in, you can't get your business done and they just lost a customer," said Dmitri Belser, the executive director of the Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley, which has worked with Intel Corp., Gap Inc. and others.
There are more than 50 million people in the U.S. with disabilities, including blindness, hearing-impairments, mobility difficulties and cognitive and neurological problems.
The World Wide Web Consortium, which develops standards for the Web, has issued guidelines for designers to help them create more accessible sites. They include providing text labels for images, captions on audio and video and making keyboard shortcuts for people who can't use a mouse.
"When the Web is designed well, it is so enabling. It allows people to contribute on an equal plane," said Shawn Lawton Henry, outreach coordinator at the consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative.
While most federal government Web sites are required by law to be accessible, companies have no legal obligation to incorporate the features.
But Jim Thatcher, who developed the IBM screen reader, which blind people use to read the Internet, said the threat of civil rights lawsuits has motivated...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Australian Government To Introduce Internet Filter
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70606
Australia plans to introduce an Internet filtering system to block obscene and crime-linked Web sites despite concerns it will curtail freedoms and won't completely work.
Adopting a mandatory screening system would make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among the world's democracies. Authoritarian regimes commonly impose controls. China drew international criticism earlier this year with plans to install filtering software on all PCs sold in the country.
The government said Tuesday it will introduce legislation next year for the filter system to help protect Australians, especially children, from harmful material on the Internet. Critics say it will not prevent determined users from sharing such content, and could lead to unwarranted censorship by overzealous officials.
Communication Minister Stephen Conroy said the government would be transparent in compiling its blacklist of Web sites, but did not give details.
Conroy said the Australian filter was among a number of new measures aimed at strengthening online protection for families. It aims to block material such as child pornography, bestiality, rape and other sexual violence, along with detailed instructions about committing crimes or using illicit drugs.
Such material is already banned from publication on Australian sites, but the government currently has no control over it being accessed on servers overseas.
Conroy conceded it may not be completely successful.
"The government has always maintained there is no silver bullet solution to cyber-safety," he said in a statement. But, "it is important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from this material."
Critics say illegal material such as child pornography is often traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats, which would not be covered by the filter.
"The government knows this plan will not help Australian kids, nor will it aid in the policing of prohibited material," said Colin Jacobs, vice chairman of Electronic Frontiers Australia, a nonprofit group that seeks to promote online freedoms.
"Given...
Thu, 17 Dec 09
Popularity of Texting Edging Out Cell Phone Calls
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70604
R u kidding me? Americans punched out more than 110 billion text messages last year, double the number in the previous year and growing, as the shorthand communication becomes a popular alternative to cell phone calls.
The nation's 270 million cell phone subscribers each sent out an average of 407 text messages in 2008, according to government statistics released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. That's more than double the 188 messages sent by the average cell subscriber in 2007. The figures did not break down the texting by age, but the overall numbers understate the thousands of texts sent each month by many teens -- balanced out by older folks who don't text as much.
"We are seeing a clear trend of huge increases in text messaging," said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Internet and American Life Project. "If teens are a leader for America, then we are moving to a text-based communication system. For them, there is less interest in talking."
Her research found the average teen currently sends more than 2,000 text messages per month. About two-thirds of all teens use text messaging, mostly due to its simplicity as well as the privacy of being able to communicate without being overheard.
Lenhart predicted that texting would continue to grow as parents begin using it as an easy way to reach their kids.
At the same time, the average length of a cell phone call declined last year to 2.3 minutes. That's the shortest chat time since the 1990s, before mobile devices and cheap calling plans became widely available to everyday consumers. The peak talk time came in 2004, when a caller on average chatted for 3.05 minutes.
The monthly cell phone bill has remained largely flat over the years, at $50.
The data are part of the Census Bureau's annual Statistical Abstract...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Analysts Question How Google's Nexus One Would Work
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70621
There are more questions -- many more -- than answers about the Nexus One smartphone from Google. News about the device broke over the weekend with a vaguely worded blog posting from Google and other bits of information.
Observers think Google will sell the unlocked Nexus One online. HTC is said to be the manufacturer for the phone, which could be available as early as next month.
The first question is simply whether there is a Nexus One, according to Will Stofega, program manager for mobile-device technology for IDC.
"Everything is a bit fuzzy," he said. "It's a very interesting way of generating a lot of hype, but I would love to see details. For one thing, does it actually exist? I would
love to hear confirmation from Google."
Creative Strategies' Tim Bajarin assumes the device is real, but wonders how it will fit in with the rest of the wireless universe.
"The most interesting thing that needs to be answered is how it will work on multiple networks and if it will be truly open," he said. "The original way most of these handset guys work is they design product specifically for a [carrier]. So, for instance, they design for Verizon a CDMA chipset and focus on the Verizon network. One of the questions of the moment is the idea [the Nexus One] would be open, meaning consumers could go to a vendor and just buy a SIM chip or card and put it in."
That, clearly, would be the sexiest approach. But there is uncertainty on this vital point.
"There are secondary reports that Google is meeting with ... vendors to customize the phones," Bajarin said. "From a consumer standpoint, a more open device would be preferable, meaning that the user can control what network he...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Top Court To Rule on Employee Privacy on Work Devices
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70620
Racy text messages from a SWAT team sergeant in California are at the heart of a legal battle that could have a far-reaching impact on employee privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will hear an appeal by the city of Ontario of a lower court's ruling that the officer's rights and those of three other plaintiffs were violated when supervisors read their messages on devices owned by the police department.
The case is sure to be closely watched by companies that increasingly provide network devices for internal communications that can accumulate tens of thousands of daily messages.
"The facts of the case only involve public employees, but it is possible the court's ruling will have implications for private companies, too," said Christopher Wolf, co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington-based public policy group.
In its defense, Ontario's lawyers argued that "It is not objectively reasonable to expect privacy in a message sent to someone else's workplace pager, let alone a police officer's department-used pager."
But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco disagreed, ruling last year that because of a policy stating that officers had the right to pay for overages beyond their 25,000-character monthly text limit, it was reasonable to assume private messaging was allowed. That policy said messages would not be scrutinized if the overages were paid.
The defense attorneys had argued that the lieutenant who came up with that accommodation didn't have the authority to set policy, and the guidelines stated that except for "light personal communication," the devices were for official use only. The rules also warned that messages were subject to inspection without notice.
The case began in October 2004 when Sgt. Jeff Quon, his wife, another officer, and a dispatcher sued the city after the department received transcripts of their messages, some of...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Hack Turns Barnes & Noble's Nook Into a Web Tablet
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70619
According to comments posted at the nookDevs forum, developers have come up with a method for transforming Barnes & Noble's nook e-reader into a web tablet. Demonstrating that where there's a will there's a way, a modification enables the $259 device to become a portable computer featuring free 3G Internet access.
On the downside, cracking the nook's cover voids both the product warranty and the user agreement. Moreover, the modification to the device's internal circuits goes well beyond what the vast majority of consumers may feel comfortable with.
Still, the modification for the nook might become simpler over time. Much the same thing developed with the jailbreaks created to let iPhone users untether their handsets from specific wireless carriers.
With a Samsung S3C6410 processor, a Synaptics touchscreen controller, a 2GB Sandisk microSD card for internal storage, and a Sierra wireless data modem, the nook has the minimum hardware for web-tablet functions. Moreover, software developers should find the modification that nookDevs call "rooting the nook" relatively straightforward.
The first step is to crack the machine's cover and remove the internal microSD card on which the device's Android operating system is stored. Next, the card must be mounted in a microSD card adapter that is connected to a PC running Linux or Unix.
After opening the init.rc file stored on the card, the technically inclined user will need to search for the first occurrence of the word "disabled" and replace it with the word "enabled." Then place the modified chip back in the nook, close the case, and power up the device.
The final steps involve downloading and using the Android software development toolkit to make one more software change. According to nookDevs, the modification will prevent Barnes & Noble from sending updates to the machine that could disable the...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Neon Targets IBM with Unfair-Competition Suit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70615
On Monday, IBM came under legal fire from Neon Enterprise Software. The company filed a lawsuit alleging that Big Blue is blocking System z mainframe owners from using its zPrime software.
Neon Enterprise Software filed its suit in the Austin division of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The company claims IBM is violating the Lanham Act and state unfair-competition laws, and that Big Blue is liable for business disparagement and tortious interference with prospective contracts.
Neon is also seeking a declaratory judgment with respect to claims IBM made concerning the characteristics of zPrime. Specifically, Neon is seeking actual and enhanced damages, disgorgement of IBM profits, a declaratory judgment, and reasonable and necessary attorneys' fees.
Neon zPrime is a proprietary software product that makes it possible for IBM System z business application workloads, such as IMS, DB2, CICS, TSO/ISPF and batch, to run on Big Blue's lower-cost zIIP and zAAP specialty processors. As Neon sees it, consumers would benefit from dramatic cost reductions in processing workloads on mainframe computers by using zPrime -- if IBM would allow it.
Neon points to rigorous testing conducted by nearly 50 organizations that has validated that zPrime can save System z mainframe users 20 percent or more of their annual mainframe costs under conventional-use pricing structures. The company held a webinar in October to emphasize the need for competition in the mainframe market with products such as zPrime.
"zPrime can safely and significantly reduce IT costs while optimizing legacy application investments. It does so without sacrificing functionality or disrupting mainframe environments in any way," said Richard Ptak, principal and analyst at Ptak, Noel & Associates. "The innovative features in zPrime make it even easier for organizations to benefit from the significant cost savings to be achieved by taking advantage of specialty processor...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Microsoft Shuts China Site Amid Plagiarism Accusations
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70614
Just a month after launching a beta micro-blogging web site in the Chinese market, Microsoft has temporarily suspended the Twitter-like blog amid accusations that it copied code from a similar service. Plurk, a startup in China, says the software giant copied 80 percent of its code to create the Juku micro-blog.
Juku was made available to MSN China users to find friends via micro-blogging and online games. In a blog post on Plurk, the startup founders called Juku's user interface and design an exact copy of Plurk's time-line scrolling navigation system. Juku's filter tabs, emoticons, media support, qualifier and verb placements are all mirror images of Plurk's, they said.
"Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but blatant theft of code, design and UI elements is just not cool, especially when the infringing party is the biggest software company in the world," a user named Amix wrote on the company's official blog. "We're still in shock asking why Microsoft would even stoop to this level of willfully plagiarizing a young and innovative startup's work rather than reach out to us or innovate on its own terms."
Plurk's founders said the move was even more ironic considering Microsoft's efforts in fighting for stronger IP laws and combating software piracy in China.
Microsoft executives said the allegations of copying first arose in the middle of the night in China. During the work day Tuesday, the software company had teams working to track down exactly what happened.
Microsoft is working with its joint venture, MSN China, to investigate the allegations surrounding Juku and will provide additional information once more is available.
As of this morning, Microsoft was told that MSN China contracted with an independent vendor to create MSN Juku.
Because questions have been raised about the code base compromising the service, MSN China will be...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
'7 Habits' Deal Could Shake Up E-Book Publishing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70613
When the history of e-books is eventually written, Stephen R. Covey may get an entire chapter. That's because the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Principle-Centered Leadership has moved his e-book rights to those titles from Simon & Schuster to an exclusive arrangement with Amazon.com for its Kindle e-reader.
The move, announced Tuesday by Amazon, is being watched carefully by traditional publishers. They are concerned that more popular authors could make a greater share of profits by licensing their e-book rights directly to e-publishers, rather than by going through print publishers.
According to news reports, Covey will release other titles exclusively as e-books through Amazon. The deal was made with Amazon on Covey's behalf through RosettaBooks, which has said the author will receive half of the net proceeds. Traditional publishers generally offer 25 percent of net from digital publications.
In addition to the higher royalty, Amazon's plans to heavily promote the titles were also reportedly a factor in the author's decision.
One cause for traditional publishers' alarm -- and potentially a big reason why the move could warrant its own chapter in the history books -- is because digital rights are not specifically spelled out in older publishing contracts. Covey's The 7 Habits was first published in 1989 and is a steady seller.
Authors are beginning to contend that any rights not explicitly defined in a contract belong to them, while publishers are maintaining that e-rights are covered. In fact, The New York Times reported Monday that Random House sent a letter this past week to major literary agents, emphasizing that it retains the exclusive right to electronic book publishing.
Although still small by most standards, the e-book market is rapidly heating up. In addition to Amazon's industry-leading Kindle, Barnes & Noble recently released its nook e-reader. While...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Google Challenges Bit.ly with Short URLs for Tweets
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70602
Watch out, bit.ly. Google is moving into your territory. On Monday, Google launched updated versions of the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner, complete with a URL-shortening service.
Dubbed Google URL Shortener, the service aims to make it easier for people to share links online, especially on micro-blogging services like Twitter. Although bit.ly dominates on Twitter, Google may be planning to compete.
"If you're not familiar with them, URL shorteners basically squeeze a long URL into fewer characters to make it easier to share with others," Google software engineers wrote in a company blog. "With character limits in tweets, status updates, and other modes of short-form publishing, a shorter URL leaves more room to say what's on your mind -- and that's why people use them."
Google didn't specifically mention competing for mindshare on Twitter in its announcement. Rather, the search giant focused on Google Toolbar and FeedBurner users' ability to access a tool that makes it faster and easier to share, post and e-mail links. But Google hinted at the robustness of its service, which could be a precursor to broader competition.
Google URL Shortener is built on Google's global infrastructure. That, the company said, means the service is stable, secure and fast. For example, Google automatically checks shortened URLs to detect potentially malicious sites and warn users against them.
"Google URL Shortener is not a stand-alone service; you can't use it to shorten links directly. Currently, Google URL Shortener is only available from the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner," Google engineers said. "If the service proves useful, we may eventually make it available for a wider audience in the future."
Despite Google's soft sell, bit.ly isn't taking any chances. On Monday, the company rolled out bit.ly Pro, a service that provides custom short URLs for publishers and bloggers who want to...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Tech Blog, Singapore Startup Feud Over Tablet PC
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70589
About 18 months ago, a technology blogger got fed up with the industry and forged an alliance with a startup to make his dream computer. It almost worked.
The touch-screen "tablet" device will be available for pre-order Saturday -- from the startup. The blogger is out of the picture, back to producing posts rather than PCs.
But this is Michael Arrington, the often caustic frontman of the TechCrunch blog, and he's determined not to let the story end there. He filed suit in federal court on Thursday, saying the $500 JooJoo tablet is the fruit of his CrunchPad project.
For its part, startup Fusion Garage says Arrington's contribution was minimal, and he didn't manage to fulfill his commitments to the project. Tired of waiting for him to come through, the startup went ahead on its own.
The story begins in July 2008, when Arrington, one of Silicon Valley's best-connected bloggers, posted a manifesto on TechCrunch.
"I'm tired of waiting -- I want a dead simple and dirt cheap touch screen Web tablet to surf the Web," wrote Arrington, calling for collaborators to step forward.
The post caught the attention of Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan, the young founder of Fusion Garage, which had been working for a few months on software that might power such a tablet. Like Arrington, Rathakrishnan envisioned a system that was based on a Web browser rather than a desktop operating system such as Windows. That would allow the tablet to start up quickly and would keep hardware requirements -- and thus costs -- down.
In September 2008, Rathakrishnan tracked Arrington down after a conference. Arrington agreed that Fusion Garage's software might solve part of his tablet puzzle, and said he'd want to acquire Fusion Garage. Arrington said they settled on Fusion Garage owning 35 percent of a joint CrunchPad venture.
"I thought that was exciting. Here...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Hollywood Hopes an Ensemble Cast Boosts Blu-ray
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70587
Although prices for some Blu-ray players dropped below $100 this holiday season, customers are hesitating to jump into the next-generation video format. Even people who already own Blu-ray players are still buying movies on DVDs.
One big reason: Blu-ray discs won't play on standard DVD players found in cars, computers and bedrooms.
Now Hollywood -- which is banking on the pricier Blu-ray discs to help lift sagging home video sales -- is stepping up its efforts to win customers. Studios are packaging Blu-ray discs with regular versions on DVDs, and throwing in so-called "digital copies," which can play on computers and iPods.
Over the past month or so, "Up," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and many other hit movies were released in such combo packs. Universal is releasing its "Bourne" movies on "flipper" discs with Blu-ray on one side and DVD on the other.
Such combos generally cost about $20 -- sometimes 50 percent to 70 percent less than what it would cost to buy a Blu-ray disc and DVD separately.
Movie studios have been pushing Blu-ray for its crystal-clear sound and images, which can be enjoyed even without the best flat-panel TVs. Yet DVDs remain more convenient because players and computer drives that read DVD discs are ubiquitous. Two-thirds of the 92 million U.S. households that have a DVD player have more than one.
There are now Blu-ray players in nearly 12 million U.S. homes. But you still need to think hard about where you'd want to play a Blu-ray disc before you buy one.
"Blu-ray is landlocked. It's home-locked," said Michael Vitelli, a vice president at Best Buy Co.
At a recent industry conference, Vitelli remarked that it shouldn't matter where consumers plan to watch a movie they buy, just as it shouldn't matter where Starbucks customers are going to drink their lattes. But these...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
EU May OK Oracle-Sun Deal With No Sell-Off
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70586
European Union regulators looked closer to approving Oracle Corp.'s takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. when they said Monday that the company's stated commitment to open-source database software was "an important new element."
The European Commission is holding up the $7.4 billion (euro5.05 billion) deal over worries that Oracle would gain too much control over the database software market if it takes over Sun's open-source-based MySQL, which the EU claims poses a threat to Oracle's own database programs.
Oracle moved to soothe those fears Monday, promising it would invest heavily in MySQL and maintain both licenses and the sharing of interface information with developers so that they could continue to make products compatible with MySQL.
Sun's shares rose 9 percent to $9.11 on the U.S. NASDAQ exchange, while Oracle shares traded up 2.3 percent at $23.30 on increased optimism the deal will go through.
European regulators have a Jan. 27 deadline to decide whether to approve the takeover or block it. They earlier said they were concerned that Oracle could refuse to license MySQL to some companies or for some uses to favor its own software -- which could limit customer choice and ultimately hike prices. Sun paid $1 billion for MySQL last year.
Companies often soothe antitrust worries by selling off units or making binding promises to change the way they operate to avoid anticompetitive damage to rivals or customers. EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said Oracle had not so far formally offered any such changes to the deal.
In Monday statements, both Oracle and the EU's executive said they have had "constructive discussions" about the EU's view that MySQL should remain an important competitive force in the database market after Oracle buys Sun.
Oracle also said it was making a series of public commitments "in order to further reassure the commission" -- and to outspend Sun on...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Tips To Raise Your Smartphone-Buying IQ
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70513
Giving someone a smartphone is like giving them a mini computer, with scads of downloadable applications.
If you're shopping for one, you'll first want to see what's available from your preferred carrier, says analyst Michael Gartenberg at researcher Interpret. Then decide what features are important -- do you want a touch-screen? And prioritize what you'll use the device for -- e-mail, music, games, Web browsing and so on.
Nearly 20 percent of all mobile phones are now "smart," up from 14 percent in 2008, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates.
If you're ready for your first (or next) smartphone, or are shopping for someone else, here's a guide:
Apple's iconic iPhone 3G S ($199/16 gigabytes or $299/32 GB with two-year AT&T contract; apple.com) has yet to be topped in the coolness department, thanks to its gorgeous 3.5-inch touch-screen, iPod functionality, integrated Wi-Fi and GPS -- and more than 100,000 downloadable "apps." The iPhone has also morphed into a hot gaming platform. On a budget? The older model iPhone 3G is available for $99. The "S" model, which stands for speed, is faster and has a video camera.
Research In Motion's new BlackBerry Bold 9700 (from $199 with two-year AT&T or T-Mobile contract; rim.com) is powered by a peppy processor, multiple wireless options (3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and stereo Bluetooth) and reliable and fast "push" e-mail that delivers messages straight to your in-box. Navigate through the Bold's features -- high-resolution Web browsing, 3.2-megapixel camera and music playback (stored on memory cards) -- with a touch-sensitive trackpad and traditional keyboard.
Bring on the power of Google-to-go with the thin Motorola Droid ($199.99 with two-year Verizon Wireless contract; motorola.com), an Android-powered phone with integrated Google search, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps and more. The 3.7-inch touch-screen glides open to reveal a keyboard for messaging...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Obopay Turns Mobile Phones into Banks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70480
Computer scientist Carol Realini was planning to take early retirement after Chordiant Software, a customer-relationship management software company she chaired, went public in 2000. Relishing her newfound freedom, Realini went on a social-action mission to Africa. The experience was eye opening, to say the least: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), she saw people haul sacks of devalued currency to local vendors to buy scratch cards that would provide a few minutes' calling time on their mobile phones.
Pondering that image, Realini wondered why mobile phones couldn't become defacto banks, allowing people to move money around in ways they never could before. "I could imagine this transforming into a banking system that could serve billions of people much more easily than [I could see] Wells Fargo branches being built in remote villages," says Realini.
That's the idea behind Obopay, a mobile-payment service that allows users to send and receive money via text messages and the Internet. Founded in 2005 by Realini, now 55 and the company's chief executive, Obopay already offers services in the U.S. and India. Its technology also powers the mobile-payment systems of Mastercard MoneySend in the U.S. and Nokia Money globally.
Its biggest impact, though, is likely to come in emerging economies, where few people have access to basic financial services but a growing number have mobile phones. Obopay plans to expand soon to 10 additional countries, including several in Africa.
To that end, Obopay has partnered with Grameen Solutions, a unit of microfinancing pioneer Grameen Bank, which was founded by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The goal: to use mobile technology to deliver banking services to a billion of the world's poorest people by 2018. Obopay is one of 26 companies named on Dec. 3 by the World Economic Forum as Tech...
Wed, 16 Dec 09
Picture Apps for iPhone Allow Portable Creativity
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70337
A basic tenet of photography is that the best camera is the one you have when you need it. These days, that is likely to be an iPhone.
It is easy to understand why: Not only is the iPhone many people's universal communications tool, its one-button camera is also ridiculously simple to use.
But you can add creative control and functionality with camera tools from the Apple App store. And just as the iPhone is a very basic camera, so too are the camera apps -- none deliver the functionality of Photoshop, nor will they endow your iPhone with DSLR-like powers.
Roughly 2,000 camera phone apps are available at the App Store at prices that start at free and typically top out at $2.99. Here are some that will help you capture, edit, enhance and share your images.
SNAP THE SHOT Camera Genius ($0.99) is a do-it-all app that includes an intuitive digital zoom, a full-screen shutter release that enables you to tap anywhere on the LCD to snap a shot and a photo timer that will automatically capture the action. There is also a grid that helps you level a photo and an anti-shake feature that waits until the phone is steady to release the shutter.
Best Camera ($2.99) includes a full-screen shutter release, anti- shake and a shutter timer. After snapping the shot, you can apply a range of filters and effects. The app's sharing feature enables one- click uploads to Facebook, Twitter and e-mail accounts.
Snapture ($1.99) lets you take three consecutive shots. The app also includes a leveler, full-screen shutter and 5X digital zoom.
Camera Zoom 2 ($0.99) may be the best digital zoom app available. The app provides a 4X digital zoom that is easily adjustable via a scroll bar. It produces slightly sharper images than free apps and includes a full-screen...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
Users Cite iMac Woes as Booming Sales Slow Delivery
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70599
With Mac sales expected to reach as high as 2.9 million this quarter, the last thing Apple needs is bad publicity about its new iMac with 27-inch screen. But YouTube clips of flickering screens on the new units, which went on sale Oct. 20, can't be good news. As of Monday morning there were 45 such clips on the site, with links on Apple user forums. The forums also had links to clips on other video-sharing sites, like gallery.me.com.
The complaints come at a time when Apple is apologizing for production delays, which it attributes to too many orders, without addressing the display issues. "The new iMac has been a huge hit and we are working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible," an Apple spokesperson told CNET News. "We apologize for any inconvenience or delay in delivery this may cause our customers."
Writing on the Apple Discussions forum, Jan Sampermans of Belgium reported that his "Screen will go completely black for a second and then come back on. Sometimes two to three times in a row." He added that in the course of writing his post, "my screen has flickered 13 times and has gone black two times."
According to an analysis by TechNewsWorld, of nearly 800 recent comments on the Web site iMacsqueaked, there were more than 500 complaints about 27-inch iMacs -- 324 about flickering displays; 85 about cracked screens; 61 about yellow screens; 33 complaints of noisy screens; 24 about unbootable computers; and 22 about dead pixels. There were also 628 complaints about issues with the processors.
Another user on Apple Discussions suggested those experiencing the problem connect an input source and use the screen only as a display to determine if the problem lies in the screen or in the processor.
Apple didn't immediately respond to our...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
Seagate Offers Very Thin Hard Drive at $55 for 250GB
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70598
Big things come in small packages for Seagate Technology, which has introduced what it says is the thinnest 2.5-inch hard drive on the market. The addition to its Momentus product line, the Momentus Thin, is seven millimeters high, according to Joni Clark, product marketing manger for notebook hard drives. The drive is aimed at laptops, netbooks, backup devices, and consumer electronics.
While the technical news is the reduced height of the drive -- Seagate says it is 25 percent slimmer than generally available 9.5mm 2.5-inch drives -- the real-world advantage is in the cost/value equation. That's an important element as the Internet becomes increasingly mobile and smaller form factor computing devices, such as netbooks, tablets and mobile Internet devices (MIDs), continue to gain in popularity.
Indeed, the small-device drive sector will develop into a major battleground among disk-drive makers. "Our goal is to blow the doors off thin drives, so that everyone can enjoy the advantages of thin computing," Clark said.
She said currently 8mm, 1.8-inch drives with 40 gigabytes of capacity cost about $80. A 1.8-inch 100GB unit runs about $170 and a 100GB solid-state drive can run as high as $936. Against this backdrop, Seagate is betting that its $55 Momentus Thin with 250GB of capacity will have a significant impact.
The Momentus Thin, according to Clark, mainstreams more slender drives. "Today, if you want a slimmer laptop or netbook, one that is very slim, you are going to pay a premium because to get the smaller size all the components are more 'nichy' and harder to come by," Clark said. "So [the Momentus Thin] is incredibly affordable compared to the other options that are out there today."
The Momentus Thin comes in 250GB and 160GB models. Both have 8MB cache, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) bus...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
Synaptics Unveils Next-Generation Mobile-Phone Concept
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70597
Synaptics and several partners on Monday introduced a new mobile-phone concept to demonstrate future possibilities for user interaction. Dubbed Fuse, the phone offers multi-touch capacitive sensing, haptic feedback, 3-D graphics, and force, grip and proximity sensing.
Fuse tackles an acute challenge for smartphones today -- single-handed usage and the need to look at the screen. Sensing technologies surround the device so a single hand can execute commands such as pan and scroll. Fuse also introduces the concept of 2-D navigation from the back of the phone so users don't have to obstruct the display.
Fuse uses Synaptics' ClearPad, NavPoint and TouchButtons solutions to offer two-finger input, proximity sensing, grip sensing, text entry, and high-resolution finger input. Synaptics says the technologies offer navigation that can dramatically improve and enhance the touchscreen user experience.
"The best touch experience requires the expertise and collaboration of ecosystem leaders to optimize what the user sees and feels," said Gopal Garg, senior vice president of the Synaptics handheld business unit and corporate marketing. "The improved sensory experience of Fuse will drive handset innovation to evolve, taking the current generation of touch-based interaction to the next level of human-device interaction."
The Fuse mobile-phone concept is the result of a collaboration between Synaptics and four global partners: TheAlloy, The Astonishing Tribe, Immersion and Texas Instruments. The partners believe future handset innovation will rely on the relationship between technology design and designers to unlock the potential of mobile phones as an ideal computing platform.
"The Fuse project has demonstrated the power of multiparty collaboration to deliver experience-led innovation," said Gus Desbarats, chairman of TheAlloy. "Each partner within the Fuse project has helped to show the effect that leading-edge technology can deliver when applied with design thinking."
Craig Vachon, senior vice president and general manager of Immersion's touch business, said an...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
App Store Redesigned To Focus on Apps and Sales
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70596
Apple has redesigned the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, bringing the online store in line with the rest of the iTunes shopping experience, emphasizing screenshots and logos and downplaying developer marketing copy. The previous version of the store had a brushed silver background, with developer copy at the top of the page and screenshots at the bottom. The new site is brighter with a white background and includes links to other apps by the same developer. But developers now only get three lines to describe their products.
Other than harmonizing the appearances, does Apple have a hidden agenda in the changes? Some observers speculate that the smaller space for marketing copy is an attempt to stop developers from loading up descriptions with keywords designed to improve their results in search queries.
"Last July, the company gave developers the ability to add search keywords in hopes that it would reduce that practice, but if this latest move is any indication, it seems likely that hasn't worked out as well as Apple had intended," Macworld's Dan Moren wrote.
Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, doubts that was a guiding motivation. "The goal of updating the App Store is to make it simpler for people to understand what the app will do and then highlight its price and make it easy for one-click purchases," Bajarin said.
"This does bring all of the apps in line with the new remodel concept, and it should help people make more informed buying decisions in the future," Bajarin added.
Whether the redesign was aimed at helping developers or just customers is largely irrelevant, as the change looks like it will be a net boost for software makers. "Ultimately, it is great for the developer in that it more accurately highlights the benefits of their product and...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
U.S. Reported Ready To Join U.N. Cyberattack Talks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70595
The Obama administration has decided to join United Nations talks on cyberwar and Internet crime. After several years of staying out of talks between the U.N. and other countries, the U.S. will participate in discussions with Russia and the U.N.'s Arms Control Committee, sources told The New York Times.
The committee has been leading the talks between nations that wish to tackle cybercrimes. The U.S. is interested in reducing cybercrimes and limiting military use of cyberspace, while other countries such as Russia are interested in talks on cyberterrorism.
Observers say U.S. participation in the talks indicates the Obama administration wants to clamp down on cybercrime. The talks come amid rising cyberattacks on banks, government agencies, and businesses.
On July 4, more than two dozen U.S. government and business web sites were attacked, including those of the Federal Trade Commission, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Department.
Large-scale attacks took place between Russian and Georgia last year, and Estonia's government was crippled after a cyberattack. These attacks have increased in number and severity over the years and will continue unless something is done, according to Jose Nazario, a security expert at Arbor Networks.
Cybercrime has a devastating effect on the nation's economy and is increasing each year. In 2008, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 275,234 complaints, a 33.1 percent increase from 2007. Attacks cost $264.6 million, up from $239.1 million from in 2007, according to IC3.
In August a Miami, Fla.-based hacker, Albert Gonzalez, pled guilty to stealing 130 million credit- and debit-card numbers from some of the nation's biggest retailers, including 7-11, Hannaford Brothers, and a slew of others from 2006 to 2008. He was part of an international crime ring and had coconspirators in other nations, including Russia. Earlier in the year he was indicted for his part in steeling...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
TeliaSonera Opens First Commercial LTE 4G Networks
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70592
TeliaSonera has launched the world's first commercial mobile services based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) -- the final stage in the development of fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard. Starting Tuesday, laptop users equipped with dedicated 4G modems in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, can access super-fast mobile broadband connections that are 10 times faster than turbocharged 3G networks can deliver now, the company said.
The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity, noted TeliaSonera President Kenneth Karlberg. "This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo," Karlberg said. "Being first out with new technology gives us unique experience that we can use on all our markets" and "we will continue the rollout to offer our customers new communication services for the future."
Ericsson is supplying the infrastructure for TeliaSonera's 4G city network in Stockholm, while China-based Huawei is delivering the same for the carrier's 4G city network in Oslo. The 4G modems for use in both cities, which are being offered as USB dongles, are being supplied by Samsung Electronics. Though TeliaSonera initially will be targeting laptop users, the company said handheld 4G mobile devices are expected to become available in the next stage of its LTE rollout.
The Nordic carrier also has plans to roll out LTE services in Finland next year using frequencies awarded to the carrier as a result of last month's Finnish 4G frequency auction. TeliaSonera says it will start building its LTE infrastructure in Finland immediately with the aim of opening the network for the first pilot customers during the first quarter of next year.
Though TeliaSonera is first out the gate with LTE, ABI Research noted that other overseas...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
Google's Nexus One Could Shake Up Wireless Market
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70591
Nexus One. That's the name of the long-awaited, much-hyped, overspeculated Google phone that is coming to market. In what appears to be a deliberate leak, Google employees started tweeting during the weekend about testing a new Android-based mobile device.
The tweets were followed by a Google Mobile Blog post. In the blog, Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management for Google, explained the search giant's "dogfooding" concept, the process of employees testing products for feedback, and suggestions that will improve a product.
"We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe," wrote Queiroz, who declined to share specific product details.
Despite Google's mysterious stance, The Wall Street Journal reports the company plans to begin selling a smartphone to consumers next year. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal reported that the Nexus One, built by HTC, was designed inside Google and will be sold without a subsidy from a wireless partner, a dramatic departure from the way the industry typically operates.
Mike Disabato, a senior analyst at the Burton Group, responded strongly to the news. He said he would trash his iPhone to buy a Google phone because it will give him the freedom the iPhone can't on AT&T.
"When I go to Europe, I can actually put in a European SIM card and drive down my phone costs, because now instead of being a slave to AT&T's crappy service and soon-to-be-increased rates, I can go to T-Mobile and take my phone and my data with me," Disabato said. "This severely bends, folds and mutilates the business model that's existed forever between...
Tue, 15 Dec 09
Sony Ericsson Announces 'Green' Phones and Headset
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70584
Like many companies, Sony Ericsson sees green dollars in green, environmentally friendly products. On Monday, the handset maker announced two new mobile phones and an accessory as part of its GreenHeart initiative, so consumers can "make an educated green choice without compromising on design and functionality."
The phones are the Hazel and the Elm, and the accessory is the Noise Shield Handsfree VH700. The green claim stems largely from the reduction in CO2 emissions. The GreenHeart strategy was announced in June, and, according to Sony Ericsson, is "a testament of our continued commitment to the environment" and to helping customers reduce their carbon footprint.
As part of GreenHeart, Sony Ericsson committed to 20 percent CO2 emissions reduction across internal operations by 2015, and a reduction of 15 percent for full life cycle CO2 emissions for all of its products by 2015. The first devices in this initiative, the c901 GreenHeart and Naite phones and the MH300 headset, were released as part of the June announcement. The headset, and the just-released Noise Shield, are part of the company's commitment that all of its accessories will comply with the GreenHeart standards.
The company said its three new products benefit the environment and help to reduce CO2 emissions by using recycled plastics and "minimized packaging," by offering the manual as an e-document in the phone instead of as a printed version, by not using hazardous chemicals, and through a low-power-consumption charger.
In addition to their green credentials, the company is touting the Elm and Hazel phones as "designed for life" with clear voice and intelligent volume adaptation, an ergonomic keypad that fits into the palm of a hand, backup over the air to the Sony Ericsson site, and a five-megapixel autofocus camera with up to 4X digital zoom and face detection.
The...
Mon, 14 Dec 09
On-the-Go CRM: The Latest Developments
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70308
The days of being tied down and/or rushing back to desks to manage customer relationships are fast drawing to a close thanks to new and rapidly evolving mobile CRM tools, aided and abetted by powerful netbooks and smartphones operating on 3G and very soon 4G/LTE networks. Mobile CRM apps are delivering functionality that is quickly approaching that of CRM solutions used at fixed locations.
Here is a sample of the latest developments in mobile CRM from leading suppliers:
Maximizer Mobile CRM has been certified for Bell Mobility, Sprint Smartphone and AT&T networks. The AT&T certification validates that Maximizer Mobile CRM solutions for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smartphones that are fully supported on the AT&T network and devices. Maximizer Software is also a RIM BlackBerry ISV Alliance Member and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Maximizer Mobile CRM, which is aimed at small-midsized businesses, gives users instant access to information in the field, including customers' history, leads, sales opportunities, dashboards, customer service cases, documents and schedules.
NetSuite has developed what it says is the first cloud computing mobile ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite to Apples iPhone and iPod touch. The app delivers on-the-go access to NetSuite's integrated business management suite, including real-time dashboards that deliver key ERP, CRM and e-commerce operational data.
The dashboards are interactive, allowing users to drill down and explore trends with the touch of a finger. The calendar supports accepting or declining events and marking tasks complete. Lead, prospect, and customer records are tailored to mobile sales, service, and executive leadership. They get access to associated contacts, marketing campaigns, opportunities, quotes, orders, purchase history, financial history, cases, and issues. There are productivity tools that leverage the wireless devices' native capabilities. These include click-to-call from any NetSuite record containing a phone number, click-to-c-mail from any record containing an e-mail address, and click-to-map...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Facebook Backs Off as Founder's Pictures Go Public
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70579
In a not-uncommon development for the social-networking leader, Facebook's recently released privacy controls are leaving the company a bit red-faced. As a result of a new policy that by default makes users' profiles, photos and friends lists available on the web, almost 300 personal photos of founder Mark Zuckerberg became publicly available, a development that had gossip sites like Gawker yukking it up.
Kashmir Hill, a blogger for True/Slant, first reported Zuckerberg's new exposure, noting, "Either Mark Zuckerberg got a whole lot less private or Facebook's CEO doesn't understand the company's new privacy settings." Under the new privacy regime, user profiles are exposed to the web unless users are proactive about limiting access.
Hill reported that while Zuckerberg has in the past offered very limited access to his Facebook information, his profile is now "uber-public." Hill reported: "I can see his wall, his photo albums, and his events calendar. Zuckerberg recently became a fan of Taylor Swift, uploaded graphic photos of The Great Goat Roast of 2009 three months ago, and plans to attend the Facebook holiday party on Friday night. I can even tell you where it's going to be held."
Such revelations suggest that privacy concerns about the new settings may be justified. "Is Mark Zuckerberg's reaction to privacy complaints to lead by example and let 350 million Facebook users peruse his Facebook activity? Or is the company's own CEO confused by the changes and exposing more to the world than he intended?" Hill asked. If it's the latter, what chance do Facebook's millions of younger and less sophisticated users have?
Meanwhile, Facebook is already facing user push back on a related topic -- the new policy's forced publishing of friend lists. As originally rolled out, the policy sets everyone's friend lists to be publicly viewable --...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
AT&T Is Moving To Limit Public Perception of Problems
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70578
The disparity in usage between smartphone users and other subscribers -- and the stress it puts on the network -- is a problem that AT&T intends to deal with, according to Ralph de la Vega, head of the company's wireless unit. Speaking at the UBS 37th annual Global Media and Communications Conference this week, he reportedly addressed the issue of disproportionate traffic by iPhone users.
Tole Hart, research director for Gartner, said AT&T acted "to get out in front" of the issue of poor service. "They admitted that they have bad service in New York and San Francisco," he said.
The key is to avoid letting rampant grumbling about poor iPhone performance transform into an overall and permanent condemnation of the carrier. "They don't want this to lay and fester," Hart said. "I thought it was interesting that (de la Vega) said that they want people to voluntarily limit their service. I don't know if that's plausible. He went ahead and said that they may have to make an adjustment in the future."
The precise correctives have almost certainly not been determined. Bill Ho, a research director for Current Analysis, said the carrier undoubtedly will see how the situation develops.
De la Vega "hinted that they aren't looking to slam anybody," Ho said. "They may say, 'Here are incentives, such as tiered plans going forward.' Or [in some cases] they may lay out harsh penalties. They will probably wait to see what happens. It is not in their best interests to have a PR nightmare. To a service provider, a customer is valuable."
In general, wireless carriers are caught in a bit of a dilemma. Consumers haven't stopped spending on smartphones and other wireless devices -- indeed, wireless is one of the few bright spots of the past year....
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Approval Policy for App Store Appears To Be Easing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70577
Most iPhone users have no idea what an API is, let alone the difference between a public and a private one. But developers know that an application programming interface is not only important to how a smartphone app interacts with other software, but whether it will make the cut into the all-important, exponentially growing Apple App Store.
As recently as last month Apple was aggressively weeding out apps that use a private API because they can cause compatibility problems. The Apple licensing agreement specifically notes that using a non-documented API is a violation of its terms.
Now, there seems to be a crack in the armor. First came word that a Google app for the iPhone was allowed into the inventory with a private API. Now Apple has apparently approved a much smaller developer, Vimov, maker of iSimulate, with just a warning.
AppleInsider reported Friday that Apple's memo to Vimov states only that "Applications may only use documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. While your application has not been rejected, it would be appropriate to resolve this issue in your next update."
iSimulate duplicates some features of the iPhone in a simulator for Mac computers.
If an API is private, or unpublished, it raises concerns that it will not be updated quickly enough to keep up with new operating systems. Public APIs allow developers to keep up to date with changes.
The iPhoneblog reported earlier this month that Apple was using static analysis tools to detect private APIs.
Apple has also cited security reasons for blocking private APIs, dumping games made by Unity out of concern that the APIs could be collecting personal information.
But when Google released its mobile application with voice search, enterprising analysts found that there was no public API for...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Apple Rolls Out Patent Guns in Response To Nokia's Suit
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70576
On Friday, Apple responded to Nokia's patent-infringement suit with a countersuit. Apple charged that Nokia is infringing 13 Apple patents.
"Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours," said Bruce Sewell, Apple's general counsel and senior vice president.
Apple's move comes in the wake of Nokia's Oct. 22 compaint in the U.S. District Court in Delaware alleging the iPhone infringes on Nokia's patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards.
Did Apple violate Nokia's patents with the iPhone? It's possible. Nokia has one of the strongest patent portfolios in the wireless industry with more than 10,000 patent families. Nokia has invested 40 billion euros (US$58 billion) in research and development in the last two decades. Many of Nokia's patents undergird industry standards and Nokia licenses its patents to about 40 companies.
Nokia alleges Apple infringed on intellectual property that relates to technologies fundamental to making devices compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA), and wireless LAN standards. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption, and Nokia said they are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.
"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," Ilkka Rahnasto, a Nokia vice president, said the day Nokia filed its suit. "Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation."
Apple also has a fairly deep patent portfolio. Part of the reason large technology companies build comprehensive patent portfolios is to create what's commonly...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Lala Could Help Apple Redefine 'Ownership' of Content
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70573
Having transformed the music business once with iTunes and iPods, Apple is getting ready to do so again with a web-based service, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. If so, the influential online music store could again change the industry by changing what it means to own a song.
About a week ago, Apple bought music-streaming service Lala in a move that was widely interpreted as signaling the computer maker's intent to make streaming music a key part of its iTunes Store. According to the Journal's unidentified sources, Apple plans to transform at least some aspects of the store into a browser-based service.
Music-streaming services like MySpace Music and Spotify have started to gain a large following. There has also been a lot of activity and discussion by movie studios and TV networks who want to avoid the crisis that digital distribution caused for the music industry.
Disney, for instance, has developed its Keychest technology, where "buying" or "renting" a movie means users have access to that content on a streaming server in the cloud. Users can then access the content, with whatever time or viewing constraints are included, from any compatible device.
Comcast's TV Everywhere initiative is exploring a similar approach, as are other content giants.
To date, the iTunes Store model has been downloads. With more than 11 million titles, the store has been phenomenally successful since its launch in 2003. It has been spearheading the reinvention of the music business in the digital age, so a change in its model could have a major impact.
Lala's model has been to stream any of its more than eight million songs. The first stream of a title is free, with unlimited streams for a dime. For 60 cents to $1.29, the user can have an MP3 download as well...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Craigslist Founder Says eBay Reneged on Promises
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70563
Internet auctioneer eBay Inc. began reneging on its promises to Craigslist shortly after taking a minority interest in the online classifieds site, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark testified Thursday.
Newmark said he began having concerns about eBay within months of inking a deal in August 2004 that gave eBay a 28 percent stake in Craigslist. He testified in a lawsuit in which eBay claims he and Craigslist CEO James Buckmaster improperly acted to dilute eBay's minority interest after a falling out in 2007.
EBay executives, including then-CEO Meg Whitman, indicated that they would be happy with holding a minority stake for several years, and that Craigslist would be eBay's exclusive play in the online classifieds market, Newmark said.
Instead, eBay soon began pressing for a bigger stake in Craigslist and acquiring other online classified sites overseas.
"EBay, specifically Meg Whitman, made commitments and broke them," Newmark said.
Newmark said he considered eBay's insistence on acquiring more than 28 percent to be a deal breaker for Craigslist, which also had received overtures from Google Inc. and private equity firm Warburg Pincus. He said talks with eBay had "cratered" before he and Buckmaster were called to a meeting with Whitman in July 2004.
Whitman, who is seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination in California, assured Craigslist that she was happy with a 28 percent share while the two companies went through a three-year "courtship," Newmark testified. Whitman said the relationship would end amicably if it didn't work, and reiterated that Craigslist was "the" play in classifieds for eBay, according to Newmark.
"We decided that eBay could be trusted, and we proceeded with the deal," he said, adding that eBay executives assured him that they shared Craigslist's community-oriented values.
But Newmark said no one at eBay, which is based in San Jose, California, informed him that the company was working to acquire online...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Video-Game Weakness May Result in a Down Year
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70557
Despite record-breaking sales of a single video-game title and a good showing from Nintendo, the gaming industry showed weakness in November. Research from the NPD Group found strong possibilities of a down year for the video-game industry.
NPD reports video-game software and hardware revenue declined 7.6 percent in November from the year-ago period to $2.69 billion. Although many in the industry expected slight growth in video-game sales in November, the numbers show a 3.1 percent decline.
Indeed, declining video-game sales are especially surprising -- and telling -- given the blockbuster performance of Activision's highly anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 title that debuted in November. Activision sold 6.1 million units of the popular franchise and poised the industry for gains. But other game titles didn't hit their sales targets and ultimately dragged down the results.
"In order to break even to last year, December sales would have to be up 36 percent over December 2008," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "Breaking even seems more out of reach."
It wasn't just software sales that took a hit. Hardware sales were also down in November. Sales of video-game consoles dropped a collective 13.4 percent despite the sales rush on Black Friday. Nintendo fared well overall, selling 1.26 million Wiis to lead the hardware pack.
Microsoft sold 820,000 Xbox 360s and Sony sold a third-place 710,000 PlayStation 3 units. Still, despite its low position, Sony posted year-over-year growth with its PS3s. Sales of the console rose nearly 90 percent over November 2008, while Xbox sales were down two percent and Wii sales plunged 35 percent.
"Nintendo products top Amazon.com's most-wished-for and most-gifted lists for video games, and Wii remains at or near the top of the most-searched-for video-game terms on Yahoo," Nintendo. "As families and friends gather for the holidays, Nintendo games offer the...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
SAP Sets Pace on 'Flexible' Software Pricing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70544
A bruising third quarter convinced German software vendor SAP that it needed to take swift action. After license sales dropped 31 percent, the fourth straight quarterly decline, SAP started selling new kinds of contracts that are easier on customers' wallets.
Not long after the end of the period, which closed in September, SAP began pitching "flexible licensing agreements," to 500 customers that spend at least 1.5 million [$2.2 million) annually with SAP, the world's biggest supplier of business applications. The arrangements let customers pay quarterly or monthly fees to use SAP products, instead of buying the software outright and paying for it at the outset.
SAP for years has been giving big customers some leeway in how they pay for software, but the recent slump convinced the company that the flexibility needed to be extended more broadly. These subscription licenses are appealing to companies that may not have the budgets to spend hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars in one sitting for the rights to own business software in perpetuity.
Instead, more customers want to rent the software and spread out payments. "The customers that are choosing this didn't have capital dollars in the first place" to spend as a result of the recession, says SAP President and executive board member Bill McDermott. "We adapted to the trend."
Yet the increasing popularity of subscription deals could throttle near-term growth for business software companies as the economy recovers, since they curtail vendors' ability to collect large software licensing fees at the beginning of contracts. Companies including Microsoft, Oracle, and Adobe Systems are adding more flexible payment arrangements for customers. "It's going to disrupt the entire software industry," says Brent Thill, managing director for software research at UBS.
Growth in new software license sales -- a commonly used measure on Wall Street of software vendors'...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Oracle Faces 'Uphill Battle' in Europe Over Sun
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70542
Oracle, the world's second-largest software maker, faces an "uphill battle" in persuading European Union antitrust regulators to approve its planned $7.4 billion purchase of Sun Microsystems Inc., lawyers said.
The European Commission, the EU's competition authority, has threatened to block the deal because of concerns that Oracle might be able to eliminate Sun's MySQL database product as a competitor, according to an EU document. Oracle will counter the EU's case at a closed-door hearing this week in Brussels.
"It's an uphill battle for Oracle," Charles van Sasse van Ysselt, a competition lawyer at NautaDutilh in Brussels, said in an interview. "It's unlikely that the commission will change its view following an oral hearing because usually all the arguments have been made and extensive evidence has been sent."
Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said in September that he won't sell MySQL, which is a key part of the Sun acquisition. The commission's delay in approving the deal is costing Santa Clara, California-based Sun $100 million a month, he said. Oracle, based in Redwood City, California, will present its case on the first day of the hearing starting tomorrow.
Eben Moglen, a Columbia University law professor and director of the Software Freedom Law Center, and officials from Ericsson AB, the world's largest maker of wireless network equipment, will present arguments on behalf of Oracle on the second day of the hearing, people familiar with the case said. Oracle rivals SAP AG and Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, will also have an opportunity to discuss their concerns about the merger during the hearing.
Oracle will argue that the commission hasn't proved how Oracle can raise prices for its products by removing MySQL as a competitor, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the EU hearing is confidential. The company will also...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Alone Again, Once-Mighty AOL Struggles at Opening
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70541
Nine years after its disastrous 164-billion-dollar merger with Time Warner, Internet pioneer AOL traded as an independent public company for the first time Thursday.
Shares of the once mighty Internet provider were down more than 2 percent in pre-market trading as investors and analysts questioned its ability to thrive in the modern online world as it tries to create content that will attract millions of users and help it sell advertising.
AOL shares, issued at 23.67 dollars, fell 67 cents, or 2.8 percent, to 23 dollars, in early trading, while shares of Time Warner Inc climbed 1.12 dollars, or 3.8 percent, to 30.34 dollars. The company is valued at just 2.5 billion dollars.
AOL, originally founded in 1983, rose to be an Internet giant capable of merging with the world's largest media company on the strength of subscription sales to its dial-up service and proprietary Internet sites.
But almost before the ink was dry on the deal the dotcom bust hit in 2001, decimating advertising sales at the same time as the spread of broadband hit AOL's dial-up service. The company now has just 5.4 million subscribers compared to 26.7 million at its 2002 peak.
AOL plans to reverse the decline in its fortunes with a network of new and existing Web sites, powered by the mission statement: "To inform, entertain, and connect the world."
The company employs more than 2,000 full or part-time writers and designers creating content across scores of sites and has hired high- profile New York Times tech journalist Saul Hansell to run Seed.com, the company's new content management and acquisition platform.
Sat, 12 Dec 09
TSA Puts Five Employees on Leave Over Online Posting
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70536
Five Transportation Security Administration employees have been placed on administrative leave since it was discovered that sensitive guidelines about airport passenger screening were posted on the Internet.
The move was disclosed as senators questioned administration officials Wednesday about the second embarrassing security flap at the Homeland Security Department in as many weeks. The Secret Service, also part of the sprawling department, is investigating how a couple of would-be reality TV stars were able to get into a White House state dinner without an invitation.
Assistant Homeland Security secretary David Heyman told senators Wednesday that a full investigation into the Internet security lapse is under way and the TSA employees have been taken off duty pending the results of that probe. He did not say how many employees were put on leave. A TSA official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said five employees were placed on administrative leave Tuesday.
The Homeland Security Department has also stopped posting documents with security information either in full or in part on the Internet until the TSA review is complete, Heyman told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a separate hearing by the Senate Judiciary committee Wednesday that the department is taking steps to make sure this never happens again, and the department's inspector general is conducting its own investigation.
Napolitano added, however, that "the traveling public was not at risk."
The passenger screening document was improperly on the Internet in a way that could offer insight into how to sidestep security.
"Even what appeared to be an innocent posting to help federal contractors can have serious consequences for our security," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday.
Heyman said he did not know who at TSA signed off on the document going on the Web.
The TSA removed the document...
Sat, 12 Dec 09
Feds Go Global To Fight Cybercriminals Overseas
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70535
The tip came from another country's law enforcement officials: Eight major banks in the U.S. were being targeted by cybercriminals operating there.
FBI agents fanned out that night to warn the branches that hackers were aiming to break into their computer systems. The banks were able to spot the attempted breaches, and block them, FBI officials said.
Concerned about the rise in this type of sophisticated computer attack from abroad, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service are beefing up their international cybercrime enforcement, sending agents who specialize in the threats overseas to specifically deal with digital perils.
Their growing coordination with other nations, however, faces legal and political challenges posed by conflicting laws and the lack of broadly accepted international guidelines for Internet oversight.
"With the increased connectivity in countries that heretofore didn't have that amount of access, and the technological advances made in corporate America that have put vulnerable financial information online, it's been the perfect storm," said Shawn Henry, assistant director of the FBI's cyber division.
So far, Henry said, the FBI has set up new cybercrime offices in four countries, including Romania, Estonia and the Netherlands, and is hoping to add two or three more over the next year. Henry would not name the fourth country.
The cybercrime specialists operate in addition to the 61 legal attache offices the FBI has overseas.
"We've gotten so many requests (for help in overseas cases) that we actually have started to embed FBI personnel into the national police agencies of a number of countries," Henry said.
The U.S. Secret Service, meanwhile, is setting up an electronic crimes task force office in Rome, and adding a field office in Tallinn, Estonia, a country that suffered a major cyberattack in the spring of 2007.
While the Secret Service declined to discuss specific staffing, the agency now includes some computer training...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
New IBM Cloud-Computing Lab Will Focus on Security
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70556
Projecting 28 percent annual growth in cloud computing, IBM this week opened its 10th laboratory focused on developing products and services for global Web 2.0, collaboration and mail services. The facility will support IBM's LotusLive division, which it says has gained 18 million users in its first year and will be geared toward clouds for government and companies. The monthly cost for companies is $3 per user.
Cloud computing provides hosted services, such as e-mail, instant messaging, and calendar-scheduling to a limited number of people, such as employees of a corporation. Users have access to business applications, while software and data are stored on servers. The LotusLive suite includes Connections, Engage, Meetings, Events and Notes.
An increasing number of companies are exploring the cost savings of cloud computing, with some big corporations forming their own clouds and many others outsourcing, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
IBM estimates that the annual growth in cloud computing will bring it from a $48 billion industry in 2008 to one producing $126 billion in 2012. The research firm IDC projects that by 2012 cloud computing will represent nine percent of revenues in five key market segments, capturing 25 percent of the growth in information technology spending, and as much as a third of growth the following year.
IBM's new facility in Hong Kong will use its existing China Development Laboratory, its largest software lab, with 5,000 developers.
"As the first cloud-computing laboratory in Hong Kong to serve as a global resource for cloud-based collaboration services, the laboratory marks a milestone for IBM and for the information-technology industry in Hong Kong," said Dominic Tong, general manager of IBM China/Hong Kong Limited.
IBM is also boasting of the resources available from its acquisition last year of Outblaze Limited, also based in Hong Kong, whose work has been incorporated into...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Study Finds People Consume 34G of Information Daily
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70555
How much information does a typical household consume? Plenty, according to Roger Bohn, a professor of management and director of the How Much Information? Project run by the University of California at San Diego.
The project sought to measure all the information that reaches consumers. The ambitious task was to gauge the level of data reaching people through radios, televisions, telephones and even quaint activities such as reading.
The result, said Bohn, director of the Global Information Industry Center at UC San Diego, is that each person consumes 34 gigabytes of information per day. That, he said, equates to 100,000 words. It takes 11.6 hours to consume this information. In all, U.S. households consumed 3.6 zettabytes of information in 2008, the period the project covered. One zettabyte is equal to one billion trillion bytes of data.
The group did no primary survey work. Instead, it relied on published studies and surveys from organizations such as Nielsen. All told, Bohn said, the study used about 100 reports and studies, though some were employed just as cross-checks.
The results were interesting. "We found that computer games are more important than anyone realized," Bohn said. "Television is still very important. Depending on whether you are measuring bytes or words, you find different things. If you are measuring bytes, only three things matter: Computer games, television and movies" since other forms of media are transferred in far less capacity.
When words -- not bytes -- are the metric, the results become broader. "Obviously, we care about more information than those three," he said. "When we measured using words also, lots of things become important. Television is still important. Radio and the Internet become important, and even conventional reading plays some role."
Bohn said the amount of time spent on consumer data...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
AT&T Scrambles To Upgrade as Data Strains Network
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70554
In an address at a USB conference in New York Wednesday, AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega told investors that the performance of the wireless provider's 3G network is being strained by the heavy data demands of a relatively small number of smartphone users. Just three percent of all AT&T network users are consuming 40 percent of the carrier's capacity, he said.
AT&T's mobility strategy put advanced wireless data service at the center of the customer experience, de la Vega noted. "As a result, twice as many smartphone customers have chosen AT&T versus any of our competitors," AT&T's head of consumer services said. "The U.S. now leads the world in smartphones, and AT&T leads the U.S."
On the downside, the carrier's 3G capacity is being strained by the heavy demand from iPhone data users, which comes as no surprise to Gartner Research Director Akshay Sharma. But the problem is "not unique to AT&T; it's a coverage and capacity issue" facing all the major carriers, Sharma said.
Given the continuing popularly of mobile data devices, wireless networks around the world will need to be re-engineered with always-on and higher data capabilities, Sharma observed. "This means more base stations, perhaps via femtocells in the building, fatter backhaul pipes, and better service-provider routers in the core networks," Sharma explained.
AT&T has held exclusive U.S. rights to Apple's highly successful iPhone since the trailblazing device launched in 2007 and handled a record number of iPhone activations in the third quarter. However, the constraints involved in handling so many data devices have become obvious.
De la Vega said AT&T is targeting network upgrades in two markets where "performance is at a level below our standards: Manhattan and San Francisco -- especially in the financial center." In San Francisco, AT&T "has some micro-cells that need...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Nokia Closes Flagship Stores as Brand Grows in U.S.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70552
Nokia is reducing its retail presence in the U.S. The Finnish phone maker announced Thursday the closing of its two flagship stores. The company said the decision to close the stores in Chicago and New York was based on advertising success as U.S. consumer awareness has grown substantially since the stores opened three years ago.
Nokia opened four stores -- in Sao Paolo, Brazil; Chicago; New York; and London -- for brand awareness and as part of its retail strategy. The flagship stores were a way to educate individuals seeking information on a Nokia phone. Nokia hoped consumers testing the devices in the stores would go home and order them from online carriers and other retail outlets.
Nokia closed its first store -- on London's Regent Street -- last week and said it's looking for another retail location for its Sao Paolo store.
In the U.S. and Canada, more than 90 percent of phone purchases are made through wireless carriers, according to Nokia. The remaining 10 percent are purchased through retailers such as Amazon.com and Best Buy.
"As we continue to expand our services and solutions offerings across these various channels, we have decided to close the N.Y. and Chicago stores to allow more concentration on our other channels," Nokia said in an official blog post on Thursday.
Others, however, see it as a sign of the times.
"At a time when every penny spent needs to be evaluated, this sounds like a reasonable decision to make," said Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst. "This kind of real estate is expensive and Nokia set up these stores more as an advertising exercise than to drive sales."
"I think closing them down and using the money to invest in R&D or marketing is a sensible thing to do," she added.
Some observers say Nokia closed its...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
100,000 iPhones Sold in China as Uphone Gets Backing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70551
After a disappointing launch, Apple is starting to get some traction in China with its iPhone. China Unicom, the second-largest wireless operator in the Asian nation, reports it has sold more than 100,000 iPhones since it launched on Oct. 30.
That's still a disappointing figure compared to launches elsewhere. Indeed, China Unicom's iPhone sales hardly compare to iPhone sales in the rest of the world after a month. Apple sold 270,000 iPhones within 30 hours after the iPhone first became available in the U.S. in 2007.
But the 100,000 iPhone milestone is a positive sign for China Unicom and Apple after what could best be described as a lukewarm welcome. China Unicom sold only 5,000 iPhones among its 144 million subscribers in the first four days of availability. Analysts said gray-market iPhones that preceded the legitimate version could be impacting sales, as could the high price of $730 to $1,020 per phone.
Mike Disabato, a senior analyst at the Burton Group, isn't impressed with the 100,000 milestone. "The iPhone is expensive and most Chinese consumers don't have that much money," he said. "The sales might also depend on what they did to the iPhone to cripple it in China, and of course Apple is not going to tell you anything about that."
Meanwhile, China Unicom isn't putting all its smartphone eggs in one basket. In fact, it appears to be preparing to edge out the iPhone. The company is expanding its 3G wireless handset portfolio with a new brand called the Uphone. That phone will run on the company's proprietary UniPlus operating system, which is based on Google's Android mobile platform.
According to Zacks Equity Research, China Unicom is also planning to launch an application store called the UniStore that will feature Uphone-based applications. The store reportedly resembles Apple's App Store...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Facebook Privacy Changes Are Both Good and Bad
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70550
As social networks have become more popular, hundreds of millions of people have been putting their personal information on the web, often with little thought as to how this information can be used against them by criminals or swept up by marketers. This week, Facebook started rolling out a major new privacy initiative designed to give users more control over who sees their status updates, photos and other personal information.
Among the major changes: Users can control whether posts are publicly available on the web, viewable only by friends of friends, or only by their immediate friends. Facebook has also removed regional networks and limited the set of data third-party applications have access to.
In a special page about the changes, the company offered users some guidance on best practices for privacy. "We recommend everyone be able to see information that will make it easier for friends to find, identify and learn about you. ... Some information is more personal, so we recommend friends of friends be able to see that type of info," including birthday, hometown, photos and videos users have been tagged in.
Extremely personal information like cell numbers and e-mail addresses should be limited to users' friends, the company said, although the wisdom of posting phone numbers on Facebook at all is debatable.
In one of the more controversial new polices, Facebook has altered its definition of what information will be publicly available, with little to nothing users can do about it. This includes a user's profile picture, friends list, fan pages, gender, geographic region, and networks.
While this information may appear to be general enough that it doesn't present security problems, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has strongly criticized it, noting, for example, that someone who chooses to be a fan of a pro-gay-marriage organization or a sex-toys...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
High-Speed Wireless Could Be in Products Next Year
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70529
The Wireless Gigabit Alliance, or WiGig, has completed a new specification that makes possible high-performance wireless display and audio with rates 10 times faster than current-generation wireless LANs. The new spec works to extend Wi-Fi technology and supports backward capability with existing Wi-Fi devices. WiGig members will have access to the spec to provide faster wireless in new products in the first quarter of 2010.
"When we launched the WiGig alliance in May, we announced our plan to complete the industry's first unified 60-GHz specification by Q4 2009, and we are proud to deliver on this promise to the industry," said Dr. Ali Sadri, president and chairman of WiGig. "We're rapidly paving the way for the introduction of the next generation of high-performance wireless products -- PCs, mobile handsets, TVs and displays, Blu-ray Disc players, digital cameras, and many more."
Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group, said WiGig has reached a milestone by completing its specification as promised by year-end. "By complementing Wi-Fi and enabling multi-gigabit speeds, he said, "the versatile specification is a very significant achievement on the road to the next generation of wireless LAN products."
Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, is also impressed with the new spec. When it comes to wireless, he said, faster is always better. But there remains an important question to be answered: How do you get consumers to keep upgrading their gear?
"Consumers have to upgrade everything if they are going to get the total benefit. That means it's not only my router, but it's my routers and my computers and my phones and my media players and all the other gadgets that are out there," Gartenberg said. "As the consumer ecosystem gets larger every year, it takes longer and longer for...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Reviewers Criticize Barnes & Noble's Nook E-Reader
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70528
Like a much-awaited new book, the reviews of Barnes & Noble's nook e-reader are coming in -- and many are not exactly thumbs-up. Several major reviewers have criticized the device, which has been touted as the major competitor to Amazon's Kindle, as slow and clunky.
David Pogue of The New York Times, in a review Wednesday titled Not Yet the Season for a Nook, wrote that "every one of the nook's vaunted distinctions come fraught with buzz-kill footnotes."
He said the small color touchscreen feels "disconnected" from the larger black-and-white screen above, the touchscreen is "balky and non-responsive," and it takes almost three seconds to turn a page.
He also noted that Kindle's e-books are less expensive than the nook's, there's no notification or log-in capability for the nook to identify a Wi-Fi hot spot, and, when he tested it, the nook locked up twice and crashed twice. In short, he wrote, "the nook is a mess."
In a review Wednesday, the Associated Press' Peter Svensson similarly criticized the nook's two-screen approach for making the user travel back and forth to navigate, all the while delayed by the slowness of the main screen.
While the nook comes in for specific criticism from Svensson, he also criticized the electronic-ink technology used for the main screen and in most e-readers. On the plus side, the E Ink technology resembles a printed page in its resolution and doesn't require a lot of power. But, as Svensson noted, the screens are only black and white and, more important for the user experience, are slow to move between screens.
As an example, he said simply clicking to highlight one book title in a list of titles on the E Ink screen could take a second or so. For most users of modern computers, a second to get...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
An Internet Open To All, But Controlled By None
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70514
The Internet has long adhered to one basic principle: Nobody's in charge.
That hallmark owes to the Internet's grand design. It's basically a global confederation of unrelated computers, making it impervious to hurricanes, earthquakes and other disasters. Hackers regularly attack, but can't shut it down. Governments, try as they might, also can't control it.
That doesn't mean the Internet is meddle-proof.
Its Achilles' heel: Internet service providers, or ISPs. They control the on-off ramps used by millions to enter and exit the World Wide Web each day. Access is typically provided by phone and cable TV companies, via upgraded phone lines and high-speed cable-TV modems.
Currently, the only thing stopping ISPs from abusing their control are four "Internet principles" -- voluntary guidelines, which are subject to interpretation.
Now, the Federal Communications Commission wants to turn those guidelines into hard rules and extend them to wireless, and that's creating a heated debate across the USA about "net neutrality" -- the idea that all Internet service providers should treat all traffic on their networks the same.
The goal: to preserve the Internet as a free and open communications platform that's open to all but controlled by none. That was the original goal of the Internet's creators more than 40 years ago.
The FCC's rules, which will be finalized by spring, would amount to an online Bill of Rights for Internet users, says Ben Scott, public policy director of Free Press, a consumer advocacy group in Washington. "This is the policy that will shape the future of the Internet," he says.
Joel Kelsey, public policy adviser for Consumers Union, agrees. Net neutrality "is about trying to preserve the unbroken, wonderful model of the Internet," he says.
The Web is a Wild West of millions. Software houses, app developers, garage entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, from King Kongs such as Google to...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Microsoft's Windows 7: More Hidden Features
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70510
You can buy Windows 7 for its snazzy interface or its improvements in performance and compatibility -- in other words, for its headline features.
But what's really exciting about the new operating system from Microsoft is discovering the under-reported features that can make your life on the computer both more productive and more fun. Windows 7 is full of these hidden gems. Here are a few.
You might be having an awkward day at the keyboard and discover AeroSnap by mistake, so let's take away the mystery up front.
AeroSnap is a new Windows 7 features that allows you to "snap" a foreground application to half the size of your screen and simultaneously move the application to the left or right-hand side of the monitor.
Use AeroSnap to resize a second application in the opposite direction, and, in an instant, you'll have two applications side-by- side, occupying all of the real estate currently available on your screen.
Here's how AeroSnap works. Open an application such as Microsoft Word -- although any application will do -- hold down the Windows key and tap the left or right arrow key on your numeric keypad.
Your application will "snap" to the appropriate edge of your screen. Keep holding down that Windows key and tapping the left, right, up, and down arrow keys to see what else AeroSnap has up its sleeve.
Pressing Windows Key-Left Arrow repeatedly, for instance, will snap the application to the left, then to the right right, and finally back to the original location. Pressing Windows Key-Up Arrow will maximize the application, while pressing Windows Key-Down Arrow will minimize it.
People who use widescreen desktop or notebook monitors typically love AeroSnap for the ability it gives them to perfectly align two running applications on the entire screen -- great for comparing two documents, for example, or for copying...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
How Fake Sites Trick Search Engines To Hit the Top
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70507
Even search engines can get suckered by Internet scams.
With a little sleight of hand, con artists can dupe them into giving top billing to fraudulent Web sites that prey on consumers, making unwitting accomplices of companies such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
Online charlatans typically try to lure people into giving away their personal or financial information by posing as legitimate companies in "phishing" e-mails or through messages in forums such as Twitter and Facebook. But a new study by security researcher Jim Stickley shows how search engines also can turn into funnels for shady schemes.
Stickley created a Web site purporting to belong to the Credit Union of Southern California, a real business that agreed to be part of the experiment. He then used his knowledge of how search engines rank Web sites to achieve something that shocked him: His phony site got a No. 2 ranking on Yahoo Inc.'s search engine and landed in the top slot on Microsoft Corp.'s Bing, ahead of even the credit union's real site.
Google Inc., which handles two-thirds of U.S. search requests, didn't fall into Stickley's trap. His fake site never got higher than Google's sixth page of results, too far back to be seen by most people. The company also places a warning alongside sites that its system suspects might be malicious.
But even Google acknowledges it isn't foolproof.
Some recession-driven scams have been slipping into Google's search results, although that number is "very, very few," said Jason Morrison, a Google search quality engineer.
On one kind of fraudulent site, phony articles claim that participants can make thousands of dollars a month simply for posting links to certain Web sites. Often, the victims are asked to pay money for startup materials that never arrive, or bank account information is requested for payment purposes.
"As soon as we notice...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
E.U. Antitrust Chief Slams Senators on Oracle Deal
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70505
The European Union's antitrust chief said Tuesday that U.S. senators who pressed her to approve Oracle Corp.'s takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. should stop interfering in Europe's affairs and prioritize U.S. health care reform.
Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, is holding up the $7.4 billion deal over worries that it would give Oracle too much control over the database software market.
A group of 59 U.S. senators wrote to her last month, asking her to speed up approval for a deal that, if it fails, could cost thousands of American jobs.
Kroes slammed the senators for "interfering in someone else's decisions rather than taking the most important decision that you have control over: improving health care."
"Is this really more important than fixing your own health care system?" she asked in a speech, adding that the senators needed to get their priorities straight.
EU officials have also criticized as inappropriate a recent statement from the U.S. Department of Justice asking for a speedy resolution to the European case.
European regulators have a Jan. 27 deadline to decide whether to approve the takeover or block it. They say they are concerned that Oracle will gain control of open source database company MySQL, which they claim will increasingly pose a threat to Oracle's own proprietary database software.
The EU commission says it is concerned that Oracle could refuse to license MySQL to some companies or for some uses in order to favor its own software -- which could limit customer choice and ultimately hike prices. Sun paid $1 billion for MySQL last year.
The EU objection ratchets up tension about the fate of the deal, which Sun badly needs to go through. It lost $677 million over the last four quarters and is rapidly shedding market share to rivals like IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Sun also said in October that...
Fri, 11 Dec 09
Sensitive Air-Security Doc Posted in Error on Internet
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70501
The federal government improperly posted an internal guide to its airport passenger screening procedures on the Internet in a way that could offer insight into how to sidestep security.
The document outlines who is exempt from certain additional screening measures, including members of the U.S. armed forces, governors and lieutenant governors, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and their immediate families.
It offers examples of identification documents that screeners accept, including congressional, federal air marshal and CIA ID cards; and it explains that diplomatic pouches and certain foreign dignitaries with law enforcement escorts are not subjected to any screening at all. It said certain methods of verifying identification documents aren't used on all travelers during peak travel crushes.
The Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security, said the document is outdated. It was posted in March by TSA on the Federal Business Opportunity site. The posting was improper because sensitive information was not properly protected, TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said.
As a result, some Web sites, using widely available software, were able to uncover the original text of sections that had been blacked out for security reasons. On Sunday, the Wandering Aramean blog pointed out the document in a posting titled "The TSA makes another stupid move."
According to the blog, TSA posted a redacted version of the document but did not delete the sensitive information from the file. Instead of removing the text, the government covered it up with a black box. But the text was still embedded in the document and could be uncovered.
TSA asked that the document be removed from the Federal Business Opportunity site on Dec. 6 after the security lapse was reported in a blog. But copies of the document -- with the redacted portions exposed -- circulated on the Internet and remain posted on other Web sites not controlled by...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Verizon's Droid Update Improves Some Features
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70523
Though it's only been available for a few weeks, Verizon Wireless already has released an update package for the Motorola Droid, an Android-based smartphone. A Verizon spokesperson said the update started Monday and will continue for about a week.
Verizon's web site says the update offers 14 improvements or corrections, including stabilization of the operating system, three-way calling enhancements, improved camera autofocus, longer battery life, and better audio.
The update, which is being done at low usage times to avoid inconveniencing users, is a good move, said William Stofega, program manager for mobile device technology and trends for IDC. "Like a lot of new devices, the Droid needs some tinkering," he said. "For instance, focusing the camera is an issue and voice quality is an issue. At lot of these things can be done in software rather than hardware."
Stofega said the update touches on key functions which, if left uncorrected, could hurt the Droid's popularity.
"They're really important. There were some flaws. The camera was the most advertised. There always are some software bugs that get into [the product] that happen out of the box. It is very important and significant that they confront it and do it fairly quickly," Stofega said. "I think its good Verizon is listening to customers and making sure they get the code updates to them before the real complaints start, and especially before they are faced with considering whether or not to get it for a gift."
Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, agreed that the update is a good step. "The Droid update that Verizon is reported to be rolling out is a minor update, albeit one that can create a meaningful improvement to its users' experience," he wrote in an e-mail. "In an age of advanced smartphones, it...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Google Labs Unveils Living Stories Experiment
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70520
Google Labs has launched an innovative news-reporting experiment in partnership with The New York Times and The Washington Post. Called Living Stories, the venture aggregates related content on specific news topics onto dedicated web pages that are continuously updated.
"Through a succinct summary of the whole story and regular updates, they offer a different online approach to balancing the overview with depth and context," wrote Google software engineer Neha Singh and senior business product manager Josh Cohen in a recent blog post.
At the top of each Living Story is an evolving summary of the latest news developments, with the latest updates highlighted each time the reader comes back to the same page. The summary is immediately followed by an interactive timeline of critical events; further down, readers can explore stories by themes, significant participants, and multimedia.
With Living Stories, everything related to an individual news topic resides on the main page. To view full articles or browse multimedia content, the reader clicks to expand the content he or she wants to view. Readers can also click to minimize any materials already seen.
Having a dedicated URL for each story topic enables readers to quickly navigate between news articles, opinion pieces, and features without long waits for pages to load. In this respect, Google's experimental approach appears particularly well suited for use on wireless e-readers and other portable computing devices.
"The power of Living Stories would be useful to readers on any wireless device, including e-readers as well as mobile phones," said James McQuivey, a Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst. "Neither device is particularly good at enabling the hunt-and-peck process people have to go through to search for news stories."
Many traditional publishers have long complained about the negative impact the web...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
AT&T Threatens To Penalize Heavy iPhone Data Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70519
In the aftermath of a bruising advertising battle with Verizon Wireless that highlighted the limitations of AT&T's 3G network, an AT&T executive told investors that high-bandwidth iPhone users could face higher usage charges. Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's head of consumer services, told investors at a UBS conference in New York that people who consume a large amount of data would receive incentives to "reduce or modify their usage," the Associated Press reported.
He offered no specifics on how or when the surcharges could go into effect, but said the change is inevitable, according to press reports. One problem with the notion of punishing consumers for excessive data usage is that AT&T doesn't provide any meaningful tools to keep track of how much data they're downloading.
"We need to educate the customer ... We've got to get them to understand what represents a megabyte of data," de la Vega said. "We're improving all our systems to let consumers get real-time information on their data usage."
Given that AT&T's network appears to be inferior to those of Verizon and Sprint Nextel, and that iPhones consume far more data than other smartphones -- thanks in part to music-streaming services like Pandora and LaLa, the announcement could be viewed as a scheme to squeeze users to compensate for network weakness.
That's how Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, sees it. "They're trying to just relieve some of the pressure on the network. It looks like it would include monitoring, and it has to involve pricing or penalties for excessive use," he said.
In a market with downward price pressures, "this just seems like a really bad strategy," Sterling said. "You're just gong to drive people away. Sprint and Verizon will be making hay out of this. They'll say we have a better network with no...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Thunderbird 3 Adds Tabs and E-Mail Searching
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70518
Mozilla on Tuesday launched Thunderbird 3, a revamped version its e-mail application, hoping it will do for Mozilla Messaging what Firefox 3 did for Mozilla's browser. With the same web-page rendering and graphics infrastructure as Firefox, Thunderbird is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
The free program supports 50 languages and allows each message to be opened in its own tab, rather than a window. The tab system is also Firefox's claim to fame. When the program is restarted, it remembers which tabs were open.
But the highlight of Thunderbird 3 is its search and tracking abilities. It provides a bar graph for a visual time line of when messages arrive. An intelligent filtering system allows users to display messages by month, date, year or recipient and receiver. Search results are saved in a virtual folder.
According to Mozilla's web site, the search feature will allow users to "accurately pinpoint the exact e-mail by word matches, correspondents or even attachment types at the moment they need it, all based on analysis of the user's own e-mails."
Thunderbird 3 also boasts a quick address-book update that allows users to add contacts just by clicking on a star icon in the new message. Numerous available add-ons, such as the Google calendar, can also be displayed by tab.
"We have some of the most passionate users on the planet who want a personal and familiar e-mail experience -- they choose Thunderbird because it's flexible and they can customize it to be exactly how they want," said David Ascher, CEO of Mozilla Messaging, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation.
Simplicity is a selling point, and Mozilla said getting started with the setup wizard is easier than in previous versions. The new wizard works with e-mail addresses and passwords instead of torturing users for their IMAP, SMTP...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Facebook Asks Users To Update Privacy Controls
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70517
In response to requests, Facebook on Wednesday asked its 350 million users to update their privacy settings. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has rolled out new privacy settings to give users more control over the content they share.
"Facebook is transforming the world's ability to control its information online by empowering more than 350 million people to personalize the audience for each piece of content they share," said Elliot Schrage, vice president of communications. "We've always designed Facebook to enable people to control what information they share with whom -- it's the reason our service continues to attract such a broad and diverse group of users from around the world."
Facebook's efforts toward a shared Internet backfired in the past few years, especially its Beacon feature, which posted Facebook users' purchases on third-party sites, including Amazon.com and Overstock.com, without permission. Facebook eliminated the Beacon program and agreed to pay $9.5 million toward the creation of a nonprofit foundation to promote online privacy, safety and security. The settlement also included $41,500 for the 19 individuals who filed the lawsuit.
Organizations including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada have been pushing for changes and said Facebook's move is a step in the right direction.
"I think Facebook obviously cares about privacy, and they are responding to requests from EPIC and users who have expressed concern," said EPIC Consumer Privacy Counsel Kim Nguyen. He added that while Facebook is moving in the right direction, users should still pay close attention to how their information is being used.
"Facebook users have reason to be concerned because if you look at Facebook's history with its sharing with everyone option and Beacon, it shows Facebook is moving to greater disclosure of user information," Nguyen said. "That is fine for...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Apple Tablet Could Appear in Spring for About $1,000
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70516
A leading analyst said Wednesday that information about Apple's long-rumored tablet computer points toward a launch in March or April. In a note to clients, Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer also said the computer giant appears to be revving up to manufacture a million tablet computers each month.
Using an estimate that Apple would need about six weeks of inventory before the product is released, Reiner narrowed the approximate window of launch to those two months.
According to news reports, Reiner said he based his reports on "supply chain sources." Those sources indicated to him that the device will have a 10.1-inch multi-touch display that uses the same kind of LCD screen as the iPhone. Some earlier reports have indicated that OLED technology, which offers high-quality display but is substantially pricier, could be available in some models.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said the big question about a possible Apple tablet is "what's the use case?" In other words, what problem or need does a tablet computer solve?
He said that it's possible that Apple could "come up with a unique value proposition" for why a consumer would want a tablet computer instead of a laptop, netbook or smartphone. Perhaps, he said, Apple could present such a device as an improved vehicle for content creation, a better tool for productivity, or even just a "couch device."
Apple, of course, has a stunning record of creating new kinds of products that totally rewrite the rules for an emerging market. It has done so with easier-to-use computers, the iPod and iTunes, and the iPhone.
A key target of such a device could be the emerging e-book market. Amazon's Kindle and the newly released nook from Barnes and Noble, among others, have been attracting a lot of attention, and...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Ultrathin $499 Dell Vostro V13 Aimed at Entrepreneurs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70496
On Tuesday, Dell rolled out a new laptop aimed at mobile entrepreneurs, the 13.3-inch Vostro V13. With a starting price of $449, Dell is sending a combined message of value and innovation with the latest addition to its small-business line of Vostro laptops.
The Vostro V13 is less than an inch thick and weighs 3.5 pounds. The laptop is equipped with ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Intel processors, encased in brushed aluminum with reinforced zinc hinges for durability, and has a suite of features to make mobile entrepreneurs more productive.
"Ultrathin laptops with processors in the ULV class compare favorably with netbooks," said Roger Kay, principal at Endpoint Technologies Associates. "The value proposition for small-business travelers is simple: For slightly more money, you get all the portability you want but a lot better experience."
The V13 offers an integrated webcam and microphone so users can make Internet calls, conduct video conferences, and remotely exchange files. Users also have multiple wireless options, including 802.11g/n wireless, Bluetooth and WWAN mobile broadband.
The laptop runs Windows 7 and offers 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM memory and data-encrypted hard drives. Dell is also offering entrepreneurs remote on-call support through DellConnect or Dell ProSupport to troubleshoot IT issues that road warriors may face.
"Not long ago, business travelers like me had to choose mobility and affordability at the expense of performance. That's no longer the case with the V13," said Sam Burd, global vice president of Dell Small and Medium Business. "This 13-inch small business laptop is in a category all its own, as entrepreneurs now have quality performance, battery life, and security combined with a thin and lightweight design sturdy enough for today's business."
According to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, the PC market has been roiled during the past 18 months by a pair of...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Five Critical Patches Issued for Internet Explorer
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70495
Another Patch Tuesday, another batch of fixes for critical issues. In December's cycle, Microsoft issued six security bulletins that address 12 vulnerabilities, seven rated as critical. Five of those critical updates fix issues in Internet Explorer that could be used in drive-by attacks.
"Proof-of-concept exploit code was released for the object memory corruption vulnerability late last month, but it wasn't reliable," said Ben Greenbaum, senior research manager for Symantec Security Response. "It's been a race since between Microsoft and attackers to either get a patch out or improve the exploit's reliability. As it turns out, Symantec has yet to see either the exploit's consistency increased significantly nor any successful attacks using it in the wild."
Any improvement in browsing security is a nice holiday gift to consumers surfing through their inboxes every morning for the best holiday shopping deals, said Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle. However, he added, Microsoft's secure-code development practices are going to come under scrutiny again because the IE update includes fixes for two previously nonpublic exploits that only affect IE8, the newest browser from Microsoft.
"There's no way for Microsoft to avoid the speculation that these bugs should have been found during the software development and quality assurance cycle, but the reality is that this was bound to happen," Storms said. "Every product has bugs, and more features means greater attack surfaces. It is depressing for both Microsoft and its customers, though, that it happened so quickly."
Beyond IE, December's Patch Tuesday list is really a mashup of random fixes, said Tyler Reguly, senior security engineer at nCircle. There's a lot of letters with LSASS, ADFS and IAS and a smattering of client-side vulnerabilities, but in the grand scheme of things, he said, there's nothing extremely dangerous once...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Tech Gadgets That Know and Share Too Much
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70483
Over the next decade, systems that track and record our movement through physical space will be woven inextricably into everyday life. Already we operate some location-based systems: dashboard navigation systems, smartphones with GPS features, and electronic tags that help us zip through toll stations. But in the coming years, location-aware tools will become more common, sophisticated, and indispensable.
There are good reasons for people to be nervous about this: Locational records convey where we travel and with whom; where we have lunch and with whom; which political meetings we attend; where we go to church; what kinds of nightclubs we frequent; with whom we conduct business meetings; and with whom we spend the night. The records won't be available to everyone, but they will likely be sold to advertisers and made available to law enforcement, hackers, lawyers in divorce cases and other civil lawsuits, and to nosy employees of the companies that build location-tracking systems. In countries with repressive political systems, location-tracking records may also be made available to secret police forces. These constitute threats to privacy that must be taken seriously.
This is not a call to halt the development of location-based software, services, and gadgetry. We don't want to stop people from being able to find directions on pocket-sized digital maps, from getting recommendations for the best nearby cafe, or from seeing when their friends happen to be just around the corner. The new inventions are far too useful and cool for their development to be thwarted by fears about privacy.
What needs to happen instead is that these services must be designed, from the ground up, to include robust privacy protections. For starters, the central servers for locational systems should never know the location and identity of a user at the same time. This may...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
Smartphone Software Gets Smarter, More Interactive
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70482
Ellen Tanowitz has uncovered what may become the envy of every budget-conscious, working parent. She found a simple way to save time and money -- while keeping a brood of kids occupied -- as she shops for groceries at her neighborhood Stop & Shop.
Her secret? Tanowitz, an attorney from Newton, Mass., uses a hand-held device that lets her scan items the instant she takes them off the shelf; that means no more long waits in a checkout line. The scanner also knows her buying history and whereabouts in the store, and it uses that information to deliver coupons for the items she purchases most. [Her family loves cream cheese, for instance.) Best of all for this mother of three, the device is so easy and fun to handle that it keeps her children busy till shopping is done. "My kids fight over the scanner. They have to take turns because they all love to use it," she says.
Tanowitz owes her newfound savings of time and money to software that gathers vast amounts of information -- not just a person's whereabouts, but also such data as interests, buying habits, even social circles. Known as context-aware software, the technology then harnesses that information to provide useful tools to the smartphone user. At Stop & Shop, that can mean money-saving coupons. In other settings, context-aware technology can provide crucial, at-a-glance background information about a business associate or prospective client. Or it may simply aid travelers in finding a place to eat or locating where they parked their car.
For years, technology has been able to pick up a person's location through Global Positioning System satellites that deliver up-to-the-minute traffic and mapping data. But only recently have electronics been able to put a person's location into a larger context. By 2012, the market for information...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
ResearchGATE and Its Savvy Use of the Web
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70477
When Dr. Kelvin Leshabari was studying in 2008 for his medical degree in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, he felt isolated from medical researchers in the rest of the world. But then he stumbled upon a U.S.-based Web site, ResearchGATE, that takes the social networking concepts underlying popular services such as Facebook and LinkedIn and applies them to the research community. Leshabari, now 26, was able to connect with scientists in Germany, Israel, Canada, and the U.S. Since then, he has done collaborative research on Type II diabetes with people he found on the site and got a grant from the organizers to attend the 19th European Students' Conference, a health-care confab held in Berlin on Oct. 4-7. "This creates a bridge between scholars in developing nations like Tanzania with those in the more developed countries," says Leshabari. "It would have been almost impossible to make these connections otherwise."
The outsourcing of software programming to developing nations has been a huge boost to economic development in some of them -- such as India and Costa Rica. But while Western corporations such as IBM and GE have begun shifting scientific and medical research offshore, the activity has so far caused barely a ripple of economic impact in emerging nations. Indeed, Ijad Madisch, the co-founder and chief executive of ResearchGATE, didn't have global economic development in mind when he started the business, but the Web site is now emerging as a potentially powerful link between researchers in the richest countries and some of the poorest ones, giving promise of a wave of homegrown -- and locally relevant -- innovation in developing nations.
Madisch, who has a medical degree and a PhD, was born in Germany to Syrian parents and lives in Boston. He got the idea for ResearchGATE when he was doing...
Thu, 10 Dec 09
A Web of Classified Ad Rivals Challenges Craigslist
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70476
Fabrice Grinda is bullish on Brazil and betting big on Internet classified ads in South America's largest country. This year, Grinda's New York-based company OLX opened an office in So Paulo, hired locals to translate the OLX site into Portuguese, asked top real estate brokers and auto dealers to offer low-priced listings, and recruited an executive from eBay in Latin America.
That approach has worked well for OLX in Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and a handful of other countries. And in September, OLX became the leading classifieds site in Brazil, surpassing local rival QueBerato in visitors, according to researcher comScore. Craigslist, which has come to dominate the U.S. and other markets by charging no fees for most ads, is a distant No. 42 in Brazil, according to comScore. "I would like to think we have a chance to become the Craigslist of the rest of the world," Grinda says.
Craigslist is a worthy target. Founded in 1995, the popular site for free online listings has almost singlehandedly replaced the classifieds business of print newspapers and now dominates the U.S. online market. Yet critics say Craigslist has done little to innovate, ignoring opportunities to expand through search, social networking, and wireless communication. It's also been slow to penetrate some developing overseas markets. Internationally.Craigslist is "asleep at the wheel," says Grinda.
New players are raring to overhaul online classifieds. "Classifieds have gone through two chapters," says Craig Donato, co-founder and CEO of classifieds startup Oodle. First came newspapers, then Craigslist, he says. "We are focused on the third chapter." Craigslist declined to make an executive available to comment for this story.
Most of the innovation in classifieds has happened in specific areas such as job postings on Monster and real estate listings on Trulia. "Those sites all have a lot of traffic and they co-exist with...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Gadfly Boxee Takes Aim at Your Cable-TV Box
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70493
What could be cooler than surfing the Web and watching your big-screen TV at the same time? Getting rid of your cable box, perhaps. The folks who brought you the free Boxee software that transfers streaming video, music and other media from a computer to a TV announced upgraded features this week and debuted the first piece of hardware: A little black box (of course).
While the ability to use Boxee for free on your PC or Mac will continue, the hardware, built by D-Link, will allow Wi-Fi capability and output HDMI and analog stereo audio. You can even connect to an external drive, antenna or webcam via two USB ports. There's also a remote control, although many users may still prefer an iPhone.
Boxee features a 10-foot interface, meaning its display is large enough to be read from that distance. The sleek black Boxee Box, stylish but lopsided like it's melting into the table, was unveiled at a hip nightclub in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Monday night.
Wired magazine's Epicenter blog, which covered the event, said developers showcased new applications for Boxee: Clicker, which provides an index of online TV shows and allows searches; The Escapist, a video-game review service; Qurious, which provides information about whatever is on screen and allows users to order songs and products; Trendlines, which recommends clips; and Suicide Girls, which provides adult-oriented videos and photos.
Boxee was developed by Avner Ronen, formerly a top executive at Comverse, a leading provider of software and services to telecoms. In founding Boxee he set up a direct challenge to cable providers.
"The challenge for the cable industry is how do they grapple with the fact that this is in some way a substitution for the things they do?" he told The New York Times in January.
Access to the movie and...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
End of Windows Support? It May Already Have Happened
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70492
Microsoft has posted a reminder that support for Windows 2000 Server and client and Windows XP SP2 will end on July 13. The company is suggesting that consumers and especially organizations still using these OSes should prepare.
The posting on The Windows Blog offers some helpful suggestions and links and says the company has created an end-of-support solution center.
Mike Cherry, Directions on Microsoft's vice president of research for operating systems, has a simple question: Is this really a big deal? His answer is that it's not.
"I have a pretty jaded view of mainstream and extended support because I'm not sure they actually offer anything," Cherry said. "When you go and read what they offer, it comes down, in mainstream support, to enabling you to bring an issue you encounter to Microsoft's attention. They will decide whether or not they are going to fix it. It is quite conceivable that even in mainstream support when you report it, Microsoft will say, 'Thank you very much, we are going to leave it as it is.'"
Cherry said the issue is a calculation by Microsoft that fixing something for an older operating system may make it more difficult for applications to work in the current OS, which is Windows 7.
"Because of those changes, it's less likely that Microsoft will fix any problems with the older version," he said. "Their reasoning is that to change the architecture will break too many applications that are relying on it."
He said some people see the issue as merely theoretic, but he added that on at least two recent occasions Microsoft has declined to patch vulnerabilities in Windows 2000. Thus, Cherry reasoned, users of the older OSes may have a false sense of security about their coverage.
If Cherry's basic premise that users can't...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Chrome Browser Runs on Mac, Extends Windows, Linux
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70490
After a long wait, Google's Chrome browser is now available for Apple Macintosh and Linux computers. In a blog post Tuesday, Brian Rakowski, product manager for Chrome, announced that beta versions of Chrome are now available for Mac OS X 10.5 and later (Intel only) and several flavors of Linux, including Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE. In addition, Rakowski announced the availability of extensions for the Windows and Linux versions of the browser.
The announcements are important for Chrome, said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies. "Chrome is designed to be a web OS that is especially tied to Google's own web apps. It also serves as a light client," he said. "Ultimately, Google needed to support all CPU and OS platforms for this to work in their favor and allow them to have direct connections to users to deliver future apps and services."
"We wanted Google Chrome to feel at home on the Mac, so we've focused on uniting our clean, simple design with subtle animations and effects to create a snappy and satisfying browsing experience on OS X," Rakowski said.
On the Google Mac blog, engineers John Grabowski and Mike Pinkerton wrote that the Mac software takes a "hefty dose of goodness from the Windows version" of Chrome, including the Omnibox search bar, which combines searching and entering URLs, themes from artists, and speed. The browser looks and feels like a native Mac application, they said, with Mac-style animations when users open bookmarks, for example.
A Linux version of Google's browser was especially important to the company, given the importance of the open-source operating system internally. "At Google, most engineers use Linux machines, so we certainly heard loud and clear how much they wanted Google Chrome for Linux," Rakowski wrote.
Chrome for Linux provides...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Major Publishers Plan Digital Content Store for E-Readers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70489
On Tuesday, five major publishers joined forces to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and other technologies that will allow consumers to read content on portable digital devices. Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp., and Time want a reading application that can render the distinct look and feel of each publication. They also want a publishing platform optimized for multiple portable devices, operating systems and screen sizes, a digital magazine store, and advertising opportunities.
"For the consumer, this digital initiative will provide access to an extraordinary selection of engaging content products, all customized for easy download on the device of their choice, including smartphones, e-readers and laptops," said John Squires, the venture's interim managing director. "Once purchased, this content will be unlocked for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime on any platform."
The publishing partners have an audience of 144.6 million, according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence. Although the five publishing powerhouses are launching the venture, the group welcomes other publishers to get involved. Much like the print magazine world, publishers will drive revenue from content sales, print subscriptions, and advertising fees.
The yet-unnamed consortium pointed to clear benefits for advertisers and publishers. The venture, they said, will offer a cost-efficient, consumer-focused environment.
Once the digital storefront launches, the group said, advertisers can leverage new ad formats that work with the planned interactive medium. Beyond newspapers and magazines, publishers can also sell content from books, comic books, blogs and other media.
The publisher group also noted benefits for the hardware, software and retail industries. The initiative, it said, will provide potential new revenue streams through an organized library of content with a common format and technical specifications.
It appears that the print behemoths are looking for new ways to cash in on the digital age amid declining print advertising sales. One...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Seagate SSDs for Servers Protect Data in Power Failure
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70488
Seagate introduced a new solid-state drive (SSD) Monday that is destined for deployment in enterprise blade and general server applications. Based on single-level cell flash memory technology, the company's new Pulsar device features a 2.5-inch small form factor and capacities ranging between 50GB and 200GB.
However, the Pulsar is merely the first offering in a new product portfolio that the company intends to expand over time, noted Seagate Executive Vice President Dave Mosley.
"Our strategy is to provide our customers with the exact storage device they need for any application, regardless of the component technology used," Mosley said. "We are delivering on that strategy with the Pulsar drive, and you can expect additional products in the future from Seagate using a variety of solid-state and rotating media components."
SSD technology offers enterprises several distinct advantages, including increased input/output operations per second (IOPS), reduced power consumption, and smaller footprints. All these factors can lead to significant cost savings.
Seagate's Pulsar is capable of achieving a peak performance of up to 30,000 read and 25,000 write IOPS and sustained speeds of 240MB/s read and 200MB/s write. What's more, the new Pulsar drives incorporate additional technology to protect data in transit from becoming lost in the event of a power failure.
"The drive itself has a storage capacity of up to 200GB, but there's an additional 56GB on board as well as a series of capacitors," said Seagate spokesperson David Szabados.
When the power fails, the capacitors hold the energy and move it over into the additional space, Szabados explained. From the customer's perspective, the emergency transfer of data "happens automatically" and "should be transparent to the user," he added.
Additionally, Seagate's new SSD integrates a SATA 3Gb/s interface in support of currently available blade-server chipsets. Sporting a five-year warranty, the device also features a...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Apple Boots Developer and 1,011 Apps from App Store
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70485
Apple is sending a clear message to developers: Play nice or get out. Apple made the message clear by booting out a developer and its approximately 1,011 apps from Apple's App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.
To keep a clean store, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company banned China-based developer Molinker and its reported 1,000-plus applications, including Camera Plus, Color Magic, and eCamera. Molinker's applications range from photography to travel guides.
Apple was first alerted of a problem by iPhoneography, a photography and videography blog. An Internet user became suspicious when some not-so-great applications consistently got poorly written five-star reviews and contacted iPhoneography, which then alerted Apple.
iPhoneography forwarded the user's letter to Apple's Philip Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. In the letter, the user said Molinker gave individuals free applications in exchange for five-star ratings. The scam enabled Molinker to get some of its apps into the store's staff-favorites section.
The Internet user, who goes by SCW, not only pointed out the scam but also accused Molinker of creating copycat applications. SCW asked that people who purchased Molinker applications be given refunds.
How many Molinker applications were purchased is not clear. It's also not clear how much Apple stands to lose from future sales and if it decides to issue refunds.
"A developer who's looking to 'game' the system and manipulate it to make themselves look better threatens Apple's reputation and weakens the ecosystem as a whole," said Michael Gartenberg, an Interpret vice president.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.
Apple, which has been criticized for its strong hold on the App Store, lost no time in reacting once notified of the scam.
"The action Apple took was harsh, but it sent an important message to anyone else who might want to do this," said Alex...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Samsung's Bada Joins Mobile-Device Platform Race
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70468
The population of mobile operating systems has a new member with the Samsung Electronics launch Tuesday of Bada. The name is Korean for ocean, as the new platform is intended to provide an ocean of applications for a market that is increasingly interested in finding great ones.
The company said the name is also intended to evoke its "commitment to a variety of open platforms," and it represents "fresh challenges and opportunities" for developers.
Bada supports such features as motion sensing, face detection, and social networking. To encourage the creation of applications, Samsung is creating a competitive challenge for developers that offers $2.7 million in awards.
The company said Bada is "an extremely stable offering" and is "extremely simple" to create apps for -- especially applications that use web services. It also touted what it described as the platform's groundbreaking user interface.
Several major companies have signed on as development partners for Bada, including Twitter, EA Mobile, and Gameloft in France. Dr. Hosoo Lee, head of the media solution center at Samsung, said the new platform will enable the company to "provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones."
As with some platforms, such as Google's open-source Android, Bada lets wireless operators create their own customized interfaces. Other elements of the platform's ecosystem include the Samsung Mobile Innovator and Application Seller site, and its application stores.
Since Apple launched its App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, such centralized online locations to distribute and sell mobile applications have become a key part of a platform's appeal. New stores have or will soon be launched for Windows Mobile, Android, Palm's webOS, and others.
According to news reports, Bada will be launched first on touchscreen phones in the midrange, and then move to lower-end devices. The first devices...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Google Improves Real-Time and Mobile Searches
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70465
On Monday, Google announced innovations to real-time, mobile and social searches that point to the evolution of information access. The new features will be rolling out in the next few days.
For starters, Google is adding a stream of real-time content from across the web. When users conduct a search, they will be greeted with live updates from people on Twitter and FriendFeed, along with headlines from news and blog posts published in the last few seconds. Google will even rank relevant results to show the freshest information.
"Our real-time search enables you to discover breaking news the moment it's happening, even if it's not the popular news of the day, and even if you didn't know about it beforehand," said Google Fellow Amit Singhal.
Singhal pointed to a story about GM's stabilizing car sales as an example. When a user searched for GM, stories about the car sales would show under "News results." But with the addition of real-time search, the "Latest results" category would reveal another story that broke just seconds earlier about GM's CEO stepping down.
Searchers can also click on "Latest results" or select "Latest" from the search-options menu to view a full page of live tweets, blogs, news and other web content scrolling on Google. Searchers can even filter results to see only updates from micro-blogs like Twitter, FriendFeed, Jaiku and others. The new search options are also optimized for iPhone and Android mobile devices.
As part of the launch of real time on Google search, the company added "hot topics" to Google Trends to display the most common topics people are publishing to the web in real time. With this improvement and a series of other interface enhancements, Singhal said, Google Trends is graduating from the labs.
"Our real-time search features are based on more than a...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Iran Chokes Off Internet on Eve of Student Rallies
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70453
On the eve of student demonstrations planned for Monday, Iran choked off Internet access and warned journalists working for foreign media to stick to their offices for the next three days.
The measures were aimed at depriving the opposition of its key means of mobilizing the masses as Iran's clerical rulers keep a tight lid on dissent. Government opponents are seeking, nonetheless, to get large numbers of demonstrators to turn out Monday and show their movement still has momentum.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi threw his support behind the student demonstrations and declared that his movement was is still alive. A statement posted on his Web site said the clerical establishment cannot silence students and was losing legitimacy in the Iranian peoples minds.
"A great nation would not stay silent when some confiscate its vote," said Mousavi, who claims President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 election victory from him by fraud.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, accused the opposition Sunday of exposing divisions in the country and creating opportunities for Iran's enemies.
Iran's universities have been strongholds of the opposition movement that grew out of the disputed election, and authorities have besieged campuses nationwide with a wave of arrests and student expulsions. The pro-government Basij militia has also recruited informers on campuses to blow the whistle on any opposition troublemakers, according to students.
The opposition's last attempt to mobilize, a Nov. 4 rally coinciding with state-sanctioned events to mark the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover, drew far fewer protesters than at the height of the summer's unrest. But it still provoked a violent response from security forces.
For weeks after the disputed June presidential election, demonstrations triggered by claims of massive fraud in the vote brought hundreds of thousands to the streets, but the relentless crackdown...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
You've Got Freedom: AOL Ends Ties With Time Warner
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70450
AOL is shaking loose from Time Warner Inc. and heading into the next decade the way it began this one, as an independent company. Unlike the 1990s, though, when AOL got rich selling dial-up Internet access, it starts the 2010s as an underdog, trying to beef up its Web sites and grab more advertising revenue.
Despite a few bright spots in its portfolio of sites, such as tech blog Engadget, AOL has a long way to go until Web advertising can replace the revenue it still gets from selling dial-up Internet access. One especially popular property, entertainment site TMZ, is a joint venture with a Time Warner unit that will keep TMZ and its revenue after AOL splits off.
Now investors are getting a chance to place bets on AOL. On Wednesday, Time Warner shareholders as of Nov. 27 will get one share of AOL for every 11 of their Time Warner shares. The next morning, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is set to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, and AOL will begin trading under the ticker symbol of the same name -- the one it had when it was known as America Online and used $147 billion worth of its inflated stock to buy Time Warner in 2001.
The parent company was even known as AOL Time Warner in the heyday. At the time, Time Warner thought its movie, TV and magazine content would benefit from ties with AOL's Internet access business. The media conglomerate announced AOL's spinoff in May after years of trying unsuccessfully to integrate the two companies.
AOL will initially be worth about $2.5 billion, based on the value of preliminary AOL shares that have been trading ahead of the formal spinoff this week. AOL will have no debt, and the company is profitable, though falling...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
eBay-Craigslist Court Clash Could Reprice Classifieds
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70447
In a case that may define how the online classified advertising industry evolves for years to come, eBay and Craigslist will square off in Delaware Chancery Court, starting on Dec. 7. The companies are at odds over what eBay calls unlawful efforts by Craigslist to diminish its minority ownership in Craigslist.
Victory by eBay may help the e-commerce company boost its stake in the world's largest online classified site and pave the way for eBay to exert greater influence over the no-fee strategy that gives Craigslist a big leg up on the competition. A defeat for eBay would let Craigslist keep setting the direction of the online classified business in key markets. The site's insistence on not charging for most ads makes it hard for rivals, including eBay, to charge for listings in places where Craigslist is entrenched.
Founded by Craig Newmark in 1995, Craigslist is run more as a community service than as a business focused on profits. It lets most users post ads for everything from autos to apartments at no charge, although it generates revenue from listings for jobs, real estate, and adult services in certain markets. The company is expected to have about $100 million in sales this year, from $81 million in 2008, according to consultant AIM Group. Craigslist gets more than 90 percent of the traffic to U.S. online classifieds sites, according to researcher Hitwise.
Analysts speculate that eBay, which is fighting in court partly for the right to elect a member to Craigslist's board, would use its influence to push Craigslist to charge for other listings. "At the core of this dispute, there seems to be some disagreement over maintaining Craigslist as a community resource," says Olufunmilayo Arewa, an associate professor of law at Northwestern University.
Executives at eBay might even use a...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Opera: More Than Just a Browser With Many Extras
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70444
A browser is a browser is a browser, unless it's Opera.
That's because Opera is not just for viewing Web sites. It includes an email program and a news reader. A new function, dubbed Unite, even lets Opera perform as a server. Experts say it will likely never achieve mass popularity, but it never hurts to try it out either.
Unite, which went active at the end of November, should allow Opera users to share pictures and texts stored on their hard drive with friends and colleagues via the browser.
"The data doesn't need to be uploaded to a server," says Rolf Assev, Opera's strategy chief. That means people only need to receive a link to start looking at the shared material.
It's just like Opera, which got running in the mid 1990s, to be the first to use an unusual function like Unite. "The developers have always come up with a lot of ideas that other people copied," says Herbert Braun, the editor of German computer magazine c't.
For example, Speed Dial, a function that lets people store important links with previews on a personal home page, allowing them to be accessed with one click, was an idea that was quickly copied by Chrome and Safari.
"What brought me to Opera was the integration, that one didn't just have a browser, but also a mail client and a feed reader, plus mouse movements as a set function," says Lars Kleinschmidt, who runs a German opera fan-site.
Mouse movements are programmed in functions activated by specific actions with a mouse. For example, anyone who holds down the right mouse button and then pulls the mouse downward automatically opens a new tab. "That way, you save a lot of time."
The fact that Opera remains a niche product -- despite the variety of functions and the fact that it...
Wed, 9 Dec 09
Review: Two New 3-D Laptops Still Feel Shallow
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70410
In its search for another technology to excite us, the consumer electronics industry is reaching deep -- into the third dimension. The big push for 3-D TV won't happen until next year, but already we can get a taste of 3-D in the home -- on laptops.
AsusTek Computer Inc. and Acer Inc. both have new models with screens that can show both games and movies in true 3-D, if you're willing to wear glasses.
Testing these has been fun. Many games work with 3-D screens, and if you fire up "Batman: Arkham Asylum" on the Asus unit the caped crusader will look so solid that it's tempting to try to reach through the screen to grab his neoprene-covered abs.
But the effect doesn't make the game seem more realistic. If anything, Batman looks more like an action figure than he does in 2-D. Seeing in 3-D on these small screens makes me feel like I'm peering into a dollhouse.
Such limitations to the technology make it hard to see 3-D screens as something that will provide long-term enjoyment, or become a must-have feature. Three-dimensional movie projection has come and gone in waves since the 1950s, and more than 50 years before that, people ogled 3-D photographs. Neither has had staying power.
These aren't the first 3-D laptops either. Sharp Inc. started selling one six years ago. The fact that you probably haven't heard of it is a good indicator of how successful it was.
What's new is that 3-D is now cheaper. While the Sharp model cost $3,300, the new Acer Aspire 5738DG has a list price of $780. The Asus G51JD lists for $1,700, but it's a powerful gaming laptop. Either model is only slightly more than an equivalent non-3-D model, so trying 3-D is no longer a big commitment. Both models have 15.6-inch...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Safety Advisory Board will Combat Facebook Threats
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70464
Facebook, perhaps reacting to the fallout from an administrative failure last month, has introduced a safety advisory board. The board consists of Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, WiredSafety, Childnet International, and The Family Online Safety Institute. The first job of the new board is to help overhaul the safety elements of Facebook's help center.
Though the board is new, the companies aren't strangers. "These are several organizations with which we've worked in the past, and this is a way to formalize the relationship and create a real and direct feedback channel," said Nicky Jackson Colaco, public policy spokesperson for Facebook.
Social-networking sites are, of course, places where stalkers, scammers, spammers and other undesirables seek to meet potential victims. Facebook, Twitter and other social-networking sites need to both combat these threats and to create a high enough profile doing so that they reassure their users and discourage miscreants.
There remains a lot of work to do. In mid-November, Facebook was the victim of an attack in which a group called Control Your Info took administrative control of numerous Facebook pages and repeated at each a message suggesting that they could have posted malicious messages and done more damage.
It's important to note that Control Your Info didn't use technology such as viruses or worms to take over Facebook networks. This suggests that better management controls and policies could have precluded the attack -- which is precisely the message the group was trying to convey.
Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist for the Pew Internet & American Life Project, gives social-networking sites, including Facebook, credit for paying attention to various security and privacy issues. The advisory board may be another avenue through which these controls can be improved.
"Certainly Facebook has very extensive privacy controls," she said. "Some comments from users suggest...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
CrunchPad Is Now the JooJoo, with a $499 Price
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70462
What do you a call a full-size touchscreen tablet with Wi-Fi connectivity, the ability to run applications, and iPhone-like touch controls? Until a week or so ago, it was called the CrunchPad, as envisioned by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington.
Now the device has a new name, JooJoo, and Arrington has been cut out of the equation. Arrington's former partner in developing the device, Fusion Garage, has claimed full ownership and the device will be available for $499 starting Dec. 11. Customers can purchase directly from thejoojoo.com.
Arrington revealed the rift between TechCrunch and Fusion Garage in a blog post on Nov. 30 in which he accused Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan of double-dealing and backstabbing, and promised a lawsuit over his being cut out of a product for which he provided the initial inspiration.
Returning Fire
Rathakrishnan took the opportunity of the product launch to issue return fire, as well as to announce the technical details.
"Anyone can repeat e-mails, and anyone can write a blog post ... but Fusion Garage is the only actual doer in this story," Rathakrishnan said. He said Fusion Garage had been independently developing a browser-based operating system. After reading a post by Arrington laying out his concept for the CrunchPad, the two got together.
Arrington promised to provide marketing muscle and bring in investors and ultimately acquire the company, Rathakrishnan said. "There was never any agreement of any kind between the two companies. This was nothing more than a potential acquisition that didn't occur. Michael sat back while we took all the risk. The suggestion that Michael or TechCrunch owns anything is simply ludicrous," Rathakrishnan charged in comments clearly aimed at the prospect of a lawsuit.
"TechCrunch didn't contribute a single line of code," he said. "As Michael wrote in his own April 2009 blog post, 'All credit should go to...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
iPhone Outage? There's an App for That
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70460
AT&T has launched a new app for the iPhone that will enable the carrier's most coveted subscribers to report locations where their handset coverage is problematic or nonexistent. Called AT&T Mark The Spot, the location-aware application is available as a free download from Apple's iTunes store.
Last week AT&T dropped its legal dispute against rival Verizon Wireless over advertising claims that AT&T's 3G coverage is spotty. Now the wireless carrier is turning to technology in order to boost the iPhone's performance over its broadband wireless network.
AT&T's new iPhone app should help the carrier become more proactive with respect to complaints about its network coverage, noted Lisa Pierce, an independent wireless analyst at the Strategic Networks Group.
"When it comes to coverage, they have been getting beaten to death in ads from Verizon Wireless," Pierce said. "And as we all know, Apple users have not been satisfied with AT&T's 3G network and often use Wi-Fi instead."
Mark The Spot provides iPhone users with an easy way to report the precise locations where problems occur -- such as dropped or failed calls, no coverage, data failure or poor voice quality. The new app automatically maps the precise latitude and longitude of the place where the user's problem was experienced.
Pierce noted that Mark The Spot allows AT&T to appear more responsive to customer concerns, while simultaneously helping the carrier reduce its internal contact center costs.
"One of the issues with smartphones in general is that they have driven a huge amount of help center requests," Pierce explained. "With an iPhone or devices like that, more than 25 percent of the calls to customer care centers are because the device won't connect to the Internet."
Though there is "no one best way" for carriers to approach...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Intel Delays Larrabee Graphics Chip Amid FTC Probe
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70459
Intel has delayed plans for an advanced graphics chip based on its Larrabee silicon and software development, and it may be because of a Federal Trade Commission investigation into alleged anticompetitive behavior. Larrabee is a complex, multi-year project focused on a new approach to graphics and high-performance computing, according to Intel.
"Our first Larrabee product will not be launched as a stand-alone discrete graphics product, but rather be used as a software development platform for internal and external use," said Intel spokesperson Nick Knupffer. "While we are disappointed that the product is not yet where we expected, we remain committed to delivering world-class many-core graphics products to our customers."
Intel plans to share more about its plans for discrete graphics products sometime in 2010, according to the company.
"The performance of the initial Larrabee product for throughput computing applications -- as demonstrated at SC09 -- is extremely promising and we will be adding a throughput computing development platform based on Larrabee, too," Knupffer added.
The FTC has been investigating Intel for more than two years about its licensing agreement with Nvidia. The Larrabee graphics chip would have competed with Nvidia's graphics chips. In June 2008 the FTC started a formal investigation.
At the heart of the FTC's probe is the legal dispute between Nvidia and Intel. Intel sued Nvidia in February after the two Santa Clara, Calif.-based companies could not come to an agreement. The companies had a cross-licensing agreement which enabled Nvidia to make chipsets compatible with Intel microprocessors.
Intel sued Nvidia, saying it didn't have the rights to build solutions for Nehalem-based CPUs. The agreement between the two companies covered processors that didn't contain integrated memory controllers, according to Intel.
Observers, however, say Intel's lawsuit was filed as a way to delay Nvidia from moving from central processing...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Yahoo Tool Lets Viewers Control What Ads They See
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70458
Just days after finalizing its search and advertising agreement with Microsoft, Yahoo on Monday rolled out a beta version of a new consumer tool it hopes will appease growing concerns from privacy advocates. Dubbed Ad Interest Manager, Yahoo said the tool takes online advertising transparency to a new level to build user trust.
Essentially, Ad Interest Manager is a hub where Yahoo visitors can view a summary of their online activity at Yahoo and decide how much exposure they want to online advertising served via the Yahoo Ad Network.
Anne Toth, Yahoo's vice president of policy and head of privacy, is convinced that ads tailored to users' interests make online experiences more compelling and user-focused. She pointed to Yahoo's commitment to advertising transparency as a way for users to create even more user-focused experiences.
"Yahoo is committed to providing consumers with increased transparency and control when they are online. Ad Interest Manager will show users what interests we think they have, and also let them edit and change those interests to reflect the most up-to-date information," Toth said. "Importantly, users who don't want Interest-based ads can turn them off completely."
The Ad Interest Manager tool offers five Yahoo-described benefits for consumers who search on the platform. First, as Toth mentioned, it offers consumers a central point where they can exercise more control over their online experience. David Zinman, a Yahoo vice president and general manager of display advertising, expanded on the idea.
"Yahoo has long provided its users with products and services for free, thanks to a business model based almost entirely on advertising, and we've found that consumers are more likely to click on advertising that speaks directly to them and their interests," Zinman said. "With the introduction of Ad Interest Manager, users can not only get a better understanding of...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Apple's Lala Acquisition Could Change Music Business
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70457
Apple has just pulled a competitor into its fold and set the stage to transform its iTunes Store. The company has confirmed the acquisition of Lala, the first free music service without advertising.
The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and Apple wasn't immediately available for comment.
Lala offers its customers Internet access to a music library such as iTunes. When it launched in October 2008, the site set out to replace what its founders viewed as an outdated approach to uploading MP3 files from a PC. Lala uses licensed technology to instantly match songs from a consumer's personal music library with the web-based catalog on lala.com.
In competition with iTunes, consumers can also sample any full song or complete album free, add songs to a web collection for 10 cents, or buy DRM-free MP3 downloads for an additional 79 cents. Lala drew cooperation from EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and more than 170,000 independent music labels -- and now it has the attention of Apple.
Behind Lala is a team of engineers who developed other hit Internet services and platforms like Yahoo, eBay, Blogger and AOL. The group is lead by Geoff Ralston, who serves as CEO of Lala. Ralston launched Yahoo Mail, and seeks to make music as accessible to consumers as e-mail.
One of Ralston's quotes when he launched Lala could point to how Apple plans to integrate the company into its musical assets: "We live our lives in a browser, whether it's e-mailing, watching television shows, or using Facebook. When I launched Yahoo Mail, few thought hundreds of millions would depend on web e-mail. My music belongs online in the same way. Will there be anything without a browser in five years?"
With Ralston's comments in mind, some are speculating that Apple...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Barnes & Noble Begins Selling Nook as Industry Watches
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70456
With more than two weeks left in the Christmas-shopping season, Barnes & Noble's nook e-reader went on sale Monday. The petite electronic book reader from the giant bookselling retail chain is being watched carefully for its impact on the growing e-book industry -- and for its sales performance compared to its main competitor, Amazon's Kindle.
The nook was formally announced in late October, when Barnes & Noble proudly touted its various firsts. These included being the first Android-based e-book reader, the first to offer a color touchscreen, and the first to offer free 3G wireless connectivity on the AT&T network and Wi-Fi within Barnes & Noble stores.
The company also noted that nook is the first e-book readers to provide "digital lending." The device's LendMe technology allows an owner to lend a variety of e-books free, for up to two weeks, just by choosing the book and sending it to a friend's device.
The friend's device, which would use Barnes & Noble's free eReader software, could be another nook, an iPhone, an iPod touch, some BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones, or a Mac or PC. Just as lending your book would mean you can't read it, that book becomes locked on the nook when lent out. There is only one two-week lending period per friend, per lent book. Only some books have lending rights.
Other features include a virtual bookmark that returns the reader to the place left off in the last book being read. The bookmark works on the eReader software on a user's other devices, and bookmarks can be updated when the user returns to reading on the nook.
The initial reaction to the nook has been mixed. In addition to features such as book lending, some industry observers are praising the navigational touchscreen, compared to the buttons and joystick on...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Stocks: The Trouble with Telecom
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70433
After a traumatic beginning, the year 2009 has turned out to be a great year for U.S. stocks generally. But one sector of the market, telecom, wasn't allowed into the party.
In a year when many stocks have doubled on hopes of an economic recovery, telecom has been wounded by its reputation for slow, steady growth. While the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is up 21 percent this year, the S&P 500 telecommunication service sector was down 1.6 percent year-to-date as of Nov. 27.
That's the only one of the broad index's sectors in negative territory. The tech sector has gained 50 percent, while consumer discretionary stocks have risen 35 percent.
Telecom's troubles are well-known on Wall Street. First, there is uncertainty about the effect of new regulations, particularly from the Obama Administration's Federal Communications Commission, or FCC.
Second, the recession has accelerated the trend away from traditional landline phone service, as more companies and residences cut lines or decide to switch to wireless, Internet, or cable phone service.
Third, competition among telecom players is fierce, both in offering new services -- such as wireless smartphones -- and in lowering prices.
But the biggest strike against telecom may have more to do with trends in the broader stock market, says Ron Altman Sr., portfolio manager of the Aston/M.D. Sass Enhanced Equity Fund. "Part of it has absolutely nothing to do with the fundamental outlook for these companies," he says.
AT&T and Verizon Communications dominate the telecom sector. Each firm has a market value greater than the other S&P 500 telecom stocks combined.
Telecom's problem is that both AT&T and Verizon are known as boring, slow-growing, defensive plays. But since March, the stock market has rewarded volatile, risky stocks. AT&T is down 4 percent this year, while Verizon has dropped 3.7 percent.
It might seem unfair: Telecom was hit...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
WEF Announces 2010 Tech Pioneers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70431
Innovation in the trillion-dollar-per-year construction industry has been pretty sluggish over the past century. The low-tech method for producing standard gypsum drywall, for instance, was invented in 1917. It has plenty of drawbacks -- including the release of some 20 billion pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere annually -- but is still in use.
Enter Serious Materials, a Sunnyvale [Calif.) company that is applying knowhow from the computer hardware and software industries to reengineer the basic building blocks of construction. It's no small feat, given that construction is responsible for 52 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide -- more than transportation and all other industries combined. By giving a high-tech makeover to mundane construction materials such as drywall, Serious Materials thinks it could reduce world energy consumption as much as 75 percent by 2040.
Serious Technologies is one of 26 companies named on Dec. 3 as 2010 "technology pioneers" by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Every year since 2000, the WEF -- with the help of a jury of experts, including this author -- has chosen for the same honor anywhere from 25 to 50 companies that it judges to have a big potential impact on the world.
From 2000 to 2009, some 446 companies in all have been named tech pioneers. Some, such as Google and PayPal, have gone on to become household names. Some 80 of the pioneers have been acquired by other companies, such as BT, Microsoft, IBM, and Yahoo. Among the most recent acquisitions: In November, advertising platform company AdMob, a 2009 tech pioneer, was purchased by Google for $750 million, and Playfish, a social gaming company named as a 2010 pioneer, was acquired by Electronics Arts for $275 million in cash and $25 million in EA stock -- even before its nomination as a tech pioneer became public.
This year's...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
New PC Lineup Has Touch, Windows 7
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70429
This holiday season is a great time to buy a PC. There's a nice new version of Windows out, and computer manufacturers are adding interesting new technologies. Here's a guide to what's fresh in PCs, ranging from "netbooks" to super-sized "all-in-one" desktop computers.
Netbooks: These small, cheap laptops have become very popular since they were introduced two years ago. Originally sporting tiny 7-inch screens, netbooks have been creeping up in size. This year, most of them have screens between 10 and 12 inches and keyboards that are more comfortable for adult users. What's lagged is processor power: Most netbooks still can't play Hulu or YouTube videos without stuttering.
That's finally changing as netbooks are getting more powerful graphics chips and Adobe is upgrading its Flash player software to take advantage of them. We tried an HP Mini 311 ($400 list) with an Nvidia ION graphics chip and found it easily played DVD-resolution TV shows from Hulu. A Toshiba T115 ($450) with an Intel graphics chip played lower-resolution shows fine, but choked at DVD resolution.
Both have 11.6-inch screens and weigh a little more than 3 pounds. The Mini runs Windows XP, while the T115 runs Windows 7 Home Premium, for an updated look and greater ease of use. When playing high-resolution video and accessing the Internet over Wi-Fi, the Mini's battery lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes, compared to 3 hours and 50 minutes for the Toshiba -- very respectable scores but not at the top of the netbook range. In less taxing use, both would last several more hours. The HP model is widely carried in stores, while the Toshiba will be easier to find online.
Ultrathins: The big news in laptops this year is that power-thrifty "ultra-low voltage" chips that require little cooling have been coming down in price. That means that...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
CRM Vendors Prosper by Adding Value To Bottom Line
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70393
There's something about customer relationship management (CRM). While other sectors in the IT world are struggling, CRM vendors are holding their own despite the down economy by helping enterprises retain customers and build sales pipelines.
Worldwide CRM market revenue totaled $9.15 billion in 2008. That's a 12.5 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $8.13 billion, according to Gartner. Enterprise investments in technologies focused on customer retention, analytics and on-demand solutions drove the growth even as new strategies emerged in 2009.
"Despite financial market volatility, the worldwide CRM market enjoyed its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth as businesses continued to invest in solutions across all subsegments," said Sharon Mertz, research director at Gartner. "Actual market growth was moderated by a stronger dollar but reflects higher contributions from emerging markets."
The bottom line: CRM continued to grow through 2009 because it adds value to the bottom line of enterprises looking to do more with less. Three keys to CRM success in a down economy are perfecting low-cost customer service, analyzing and optimizing marketing, and finding warm sales leads through social-networking platforms. This combination, experts agreed, is making CRM software an indispensable tool in the enterprise.
In a down economy, two factors are vital to every business: Providing superior customer service at a lower cost and understanding customers' needs.
Superior customer service is critical to retaining the customers you already have -- especially if those customers represent long-term value -- rather that acquiring new customers, explained Vinay Iyer, vice president of enterprise marketing, CRM solutions, at SAP.
"Providing superior customer service requires companies to go the extra mile to understand customers' needs, resolve their issues quickly, and offer them more value beyond the product itself, such as initiating a customer community to share knowledge," Iyer said. "However, companies need to do this at lower cost...
Tue, 8 Dec 09
Changing Times, Changing Data Management
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70305
The artery of contact centers is real-time data: customer identifiers, interactions, transactions, and responses that live agents and increasingly automated voice, e-mail and Web applications capture and transmit. With the need to learn more about customers, and to meet their needs more effectively, comes the need to handle more data. How that data is managed: including accuracy, handling and processing is key to organizations' success. That includes ensuring data security and privacy backed by a growing array of laws.
We approached leading enterprises representing a wide range of data solutions with questions about real-data management, including:
* Any potential data handling and bandwidth issues, including for at-home agents
* Energy consumption and environmental footprint
* Data security and privacy
* Data accuracy
Here is a selection of their responses:
Paul Lang, Senior Vice President, Product Management
We feel that real-time data handling within contact centers is for the most part well-in hand. For home agents bandwidth needs to be factored in; there needs to be broadband connection and a dedicated telephone line to ensure quality service.
Privacy and data security are becoming paramount, and applications should be explicitly configured to exclude logging of sensitive information such as social security numbers or non-public personal information data. There is the ongoing need to regularly audit systems and data for compliance.
There are a number of standards that have been set as security benchmarks. These include PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and ISO 27001 and 27002.
Rich Caballero, Vice President, Service Products
The applications must be tuned and optimized to receive large amounts of data in real time. If not, the user experience degrades significantly as user-interface response times increase and the data is not refreshed in a timely manner. Properly engineered solutions will also reduce the network bandwidth and processing power required. Service organizations...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
New Droid Ad Has a Blast at iPhone's Expense
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70440
Verizon is ramping up the testosterone in its newest ad campaign against the Big Man on Campus, Apple's iPhone. Falling just short of saying other phones are for girlie-men, Verizon's ads tout their phone's "racehorse taped to a Scud missile" speed as opposed to that of a "digitally clueless beauty pageant queen."
The enemy phone, never mentioned by name, is briefly shown in two scenes. In one, young people gaze at it shrinking in a display case before they are all engulfed in a blast of flame. In another, the device erupts into something that looks like a mixture of cement and milk.
The Droid is made by Motorola and distributed in the United States by Verizon.
The ad blasts a hole in speculation that Verizon wants to be the next iPhone carrier when Apple's contract with AT&T expires next year.
"We haven't heard about any overtures from Verizon to become iPhone's new network," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst for mobile devices for IDC.
"What Verizon has been doing with the Droid is to wisely position it as the alternative to the iPhone. Part of that strategy to highlight some of the shortcomings of the [iPhone] and AT&T network, such as the lack of 3G coverage," or fast data speed.
Another shortcoming, said Llamas, is the iPhone's inability to run third party multiple applications concurrently. "Verizon Wireless is promoting the fact that Droid is capable of doing these things," he said.
No one expects the Droid to make a dent in iPhone sales in the immediate future. "It's not going to happen in Q4," said Llamas. "But Apple has lost a lot of mileage already, so to speak, and Droid has just ramped up its campaign."
Llamas sees the iPhone gaining some ground as a consumer oriented device...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Microsoft May Offer Random Browser Ballot for Europe
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70439
Microsoft is ready to make a key concession to settle the European browser wars. In order to address the concerns of two rival browser makers, Microsoft will suggest a browser ballot that is randomly generated, rather than a ballot with products in fixed positions, a source told The New York Times.
The software giant is facing an antitrust case on bundling Internet Explorer in Windows. Opera Software, the Norwegian publisher of the opera browser, has complained that Microsoft cannot be allowed the competitive advantage of having Internet Explorer set as the default browser for European Windows users.
Microsoft previously offered a ballot solution in which users would be presented with a screen to choose a default browser. Clicking on a browser icon would automatically download and install that browser on the user's system.
The original ballot was to present browser choices alphabetically, giving prime position to Apple's Safari. Mozilla, Google and Opera were upset about that choice. The new proposal would generate the listing randomly, so no one company receives prime position more than another.
The ballot screen would come with Windows 7 PCs sold in Europe and be delivered to existing Windows systems via Microsoft's automatic update service.
While Microsoft maintains a commanding lead in browser market share in Europe, its lead is slipping. Sixty-two percent of European users ran IE in September, down from 64.6 percent in March, according to AT Internet Institute, a French research firm. Mozilla Firefox's share rose from 27.8 to 28.4 percent and Apple's Safari rose a point from 3.3 percent to 4.3 percent. Google's Chrome had just 2.8 percent, and Opera 2.2 percent.
The conflict dates from December 2007, when Opera filed a complaint with the European Union accusing Microsoft of antitrust violations because of the IE bundling. The EU investigated for more than a year, until...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
MTV Launches Campaign Against 'Digital Abuse'
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70437
Hoping to use its youth megaphone to counter "digital abuse," MTV announced Thursday a multi-year initiative called A Thin Line that includes a coalition of organizations, special programming, and public-service announcements. Digital abuse includes "sexting" -- sending sexually provocative texts and pictures by cell phones -- as well as cyberbullying and digital dating abuse.
Other components of A Thin Line include a MTV News special report, a documentary series, a contest to imagine "high-potential digital antidotes" to digital abuse, It's Time to Talk Day, and education in middle and high schools.
A statement on the initiative's Web site notes that "things we used to share in person -- and in private -- can now be broadcast to thousands, instantly." This means, the site said, that "sometimes we type things we would never say to someone's face," and such harassment affects a majority of young people in the U.S.
The campaign has a wide range of partners, including Liz Claiborne, the Anti-Defamation League, Facebook, MySpace, PBS Frontline, and Wired Safety, an online safety, education and help group.
In conjunction with the Associated Press, MTV conducted a study on the subject. It found that 50 percent of 14- to 24-year-olds "have been the target of some form of digital abuse," and young people regularly encounter digital abuse that ranges from the mild to the extreme.
The kinds of digital abuse most likely to have been encountered are spreading lies, violating a trust by forwarding an e-mail or IM without permission, and "digital disrespect," meaning some written, online expression of meanness. More than half of those who said they had encountered these kinds of abuse say it happened more than once.
Some of the more extreme forms of digital abuse have happened less often, but they still impact a sizable number of...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Bing Suffers an Outage During Microsoft System Changes
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70436
Microsoft's decision engine hit a wall Thursday. Bing.com suffered an outage lasting half an hour, during which some users were unable to get to the site while those who reached the site didn't receive any results from their queries.
Microsoft's Satya Nadella, vice president of online services, said the outage was due to a configuration change during internal testing.
"Unfortunately the detection and rollback took about half an hour, and during that time users were unable to use bing.com," Nadella said. "As soon as the issue was detected, the change was rolled back, which caused the site to return to normal behavior."
Microsoft's engineers are running tests to figure out how the software and processes need to be improved to prevent future outages.
Bing's blooper comes just one day after the decision engine underwent a change to its service, included a new beta mapping feature. Bing Maps, like Google Maps, now offers street-side and aerial views.
Bing Maps uses an online application called Photosynth that pulls photos together, then converts them into a 3-D model called a synth. The application enables users to zoom in and out on any location. It also gives a user a 360-degree view of the surrounding area.
Outages like the one Bing suffered are expected, say analysts.
"Outages are a fact of life, whether it is a blackout or a service down," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "The key is frequency and length of the outage that causes consumer frustration. Certainly neither seems to be an issue for Microsoft. By contrast, Google's outages for various services might have caused grumbles, but few defections."
While Bing's outage may have been short, the decision engine doesn't have much room for error in a search market where it is aggressively competing against a dominant Google.
Since...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Acer Replaces Dell as World's Number-Two PC Maker
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70424
Taiwan-based Acer displaced Dell as the world's number-two PC maker in the third quarter, according to iSuppli. The changing in ranking represents the first time an Asian original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has captured the number-two slot in global PC shipments on a quarterly basis, the research firm said.
Acer's PC shipments soared 31 percent from the previous quarter and 16.6 percent year over year. Moreover, the company's share of worldwide PC shipments amounted to 13.4 percent in the third quarter -- up from 11.6 percent from the year-earlier period, according to Matthew Wilkins, a principal analyst at iSuppli.
"Acer's rise to the number-two rank in the global PC business reflects not only its strong performance in the notebook segment, but also the historic rise of Asia as a primary force in the computer industry," Wilkins said.
Asia's growing clout also was demonstrated by China-based Lenovo, which saw its third-quarter PC shipments rise 17.2 percent year over year. "The Asian manufacturers are a growing force in the global PC business due to their aggressive pricing, along with their ability to quickly react and embrace new developments, such as the netbook PC," Wilkins said.
Lenovo saw year-over-year growth of 36 percent from its notebook products, which was among the highest growth numbers posted by the top 10 OEMs in the quarter, Wilkins observed.
"They were second only to Samsung in terms of year-over-year growth, but we have to be careful here because Samsung's absolute number was far smaller," Wilkins said. "Apple's year-over-year notebook growth was around 35 percent."
Acer has been reaping rewards from its continued aggressive pricing strategy, strong netbook shipments, and robust regional performances in Europe and the United States. The company's notebook shipments -- which represent somewhere in the region of 30 percent of the company's product mix -- rose 17...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Google Launches Tool To Search in Other Languages
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70423
Just hours after introducing a public DNS to make the web faster, Google rolled out a new tool that aims to make searching the web a little easier. Google also launched its own dictionary in its quest to offer information to the world.
Google added the translation tool to its Search options panel to make finding and reading content written in other languages easier. The tool opens the door to accessing information that searchers might not otherwise be able to understand.
"We've offered this feature in Google Translate for a while, but now we're integrating it fully into Google search, making it easier for you to find and read results from pages across the web, even if they weren't written in a language you speak," Google Technical Lead Maureen Heymans and Google Product Manager Jeff Chin wrote in the company blog.
Searchers can use Google Translate to search the web in another language. Users click "Show options" at the top of the search-results page and select "Translated search." Google will algorithmically select the best language or languages to translate the search query into and then return the translated results from those pages. Google will even display results from multiple languages.
Heymans and Chin offered the example of searching for restaurant reviews in Antwerp, Belgium. If a vacationer wanted to find reviews or review sites beyond the ones available in English, for example, he or she would begin by selecting "Translated search."
Google would automatically select the Belgian languages French and Dutch, translate the query into both languages, and then translate the results into English for easy reading. If users want to search specific languages, they can modify the languages in the panel above the results. Users can also display results for up to five languages at once and select from 51 languages to...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
IE Vulnerability Heads Microsoft's Patch Tuesday List
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70422
Next week will be a busy one for IT administrators. Microsoft plans to release six patches for December's Patch Tuesday -- three rated critical and three important. The patches will address 12 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office.
"To help customers plan for their deployment of these updates, I want to specifically call out that they touch all supported versions of Windows and IE," said Jerry Bryant of the Microsoft Security Response Center. "On the Office side, the bulletins impact Project, Word and Works 8.5. All of the updates for Windows will require a restart, so please plan accordingly."
At the top of the list for IT administrators -- and at the top of Microsoft's deployment list -- is a vulnerability in IE 6 and 7 that could lead to remote code execution. Although Microsoft is not aware of any active attacks that seek to exploit this vulnerability, it is severe enough that the company considered releasing an out-of-band patch on Nov. 23.
The IE fix is part of Bulletin 4, which will have the broadest impact because it will affect all user machines across an entire organization, according to Don Leatham, Lumension senior director of solutions and strategy.
"It is critical across Windows 7, Vista and XP; requires a restart; and impacts all versions of Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8," Leatham said. "We suggest that IT departments be prepared to quickly assess and patch all end-user machines throughout their organization."
Bryant said the other critical update affecting Windows is in Bulletin 1. Although this bulletin has a critical severity rating, he said, the lower risk will drop the deployment priority down a little. But security researchers said the importance shouldn't be underestimated for Windows Server 2008 users.
"If IT teams have Windows Server 2008 deployed...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Pulitzers Change Rules To Allow More Online Work
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70413
The Pulitzer Prize board announced Wednesday that it will open its doors wider to journalism entries from online-only news publications.
The Pulitzer board changed its entry requirements a year ago to allow entries from Internet-only publications in all 14 journalism categories if the Web site was "primarily dedicated" to original news reporting.
The board said Wednesday it will drop that requirement. The board will also allow entries from Web sites that primarily publish commentary and links to other sites.
"The revised rule will provide more flexibility as we focus on the merit of an entry rather than the mission of the Web site where it appeared," said Sig Gissler, administrator of the prizes.
Consistent with its historic focus on daily and weekly newspapers, the board will continue to exclude entries from magazines and broadcast media and their respective Web sites.
The Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in journalism and are presented each year by Columbia University.
Scott Bosley, executive director of the American Society of News Editors, called the change in eligibility rules "a logical way of adapting to the change in the landscape."
Bosley noted that ASNE changed its name this year from the American Society of Newspaper Editors to the American Society of News Editors and broadened its membership to include editors of Web-only publications.
"We didn't go out of the newspaper realm until this year," Bosley said. "And now we do."
Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Poynter Institute, a journalism school, said the Pulitzer board has historically adapted to changes in the way journalism is practiced, for example by adding categories such as feature writing and explanatory writing.
"I admire the way in which the board has taken very seriously the new forms of journalistic expression and ... found ways to broaden the scope of the prizes," Clark said.
Gissler declined...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Hewlett Packard Opens New Mexico Support Center
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70405
Hewlett-Packard Co. opened a customer service and technical support center [in New Mexico] Wednesday, making good on a commitment to provide 1,300 jobs that pay at least $40,000, in exchange for more than $20 million in incentives.
Gov. Bill Richardson and Mark Hurd, HP president and chief executive officer, led a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the three-story, 218,000-square-foot building as politicians, business leaders and employees of the computer firm waited in the cold.
The governor told the crowd the opening was good news, given that New Mexico and the rest of the nation are grappling with economic uncertainty and high unemployment.
"You pick up the paper and watch television -- job losses, wars, a decline in the economy," Richardson said. "Look what we're doing here, we're creating jobs, we're bringing in technology."
However, the expected economic boost of having HP in New Mexico came with a price. New Mexico invested millions of dollars in the form of tax incentives, job training and capital outlay funds to attract the Fortune 500 company to the state.
In return, HP promised to employ more than 1,300 high-wage workers by the end of 2012. It already has hired about 600 workers, a third of whom will arrive for work at the new center on Friday. The other 400 are expected to start by the end of the month.
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Fred Mondragon said if it weren't for companies like HP and Fidelity Human Resources Services Company, job prospects would be limited.
"I think our numbers would be a lot worse but we haven't quite dodged the bullet," he said. "We've got 7.9 percent unemployment but compared to 10.2 percent we're doing much better than the rest of the country. It certainly has helped."
Aside from the tax incentives, Mondragon said the state approved $6 million in capital outlay...
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Nortel Wins Approval for Sale of Businesses
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70404
Nortel Networks Corp. said late Wednesday it won court approval in the U.S. and Canada to sell two of its business units.
The larger unit, Nortel's global optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses, is going to Ciena Corp. The business is one of the most sought-after assets of Nortel, a once-dominant network gear maker that is selling itself off in pieces after filing for Chapter 11 protection in January.
The deal gives Ciena all products, contracts, and intellectual property, including technology that improves the speed and capacity of fiber optic networks.
Bankruptcy courts in Delaware and Ontario approved the deal over objections by Finnish rival Nokia Siemens Networks, which said that it would be willing to pay $810 million in cash for the business with its partner, One Equity Partners.
Ciena is paying $530 million in cash and taking on $239 million in convertible notes due June 2017.
The companies expect to close the deal in the first quarter of next year, though court approval is still needed in France and Israel.
Shares of Ciena, based in Linthicum, Md., fell 38 cents, or 3 percent, to $12.50 in premarket trading.
Nortel, which is based in Toronto, also said Thursday that U.S. and Canadian courts have approved the sale of its North American GSM business to LM Ericsson Telephone Co. of Sweden.
Ericsson is paying $70 million in cash for the mobile telecommunications unit with Kapsch CarrierCom AG of Austria, which is acquiring the assets outside of North America for $33 million.
Nortel has already sold most of its wireless network business to Ericsson for $1.13 billion.
Sat, 5 Dec 09
Comcast Aims To Reshape Entertainment with NBC
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70402
Comcast Corp. announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio.
Although the deal could mean that movies could reach cable more quickly after showing in theaters, and that TV shows could appear faster on cell phones and other devices, it was already raising concerns that Comcast would wield too much power over entertainment.
Indeed, if the deal clears regulatory and other hurdles, Comcast would rival the heft of The Walt Disney Co. -- which Comcast CEO Brian Roberts already tried to buy.
Comcast, which serves a quarter of all U.S. households that pay for TV, would gain control of the NBC broadcast network, the Spanish-language Telemundo and about two dozen cable channels, including USA, Bravo, Syfy and The Weather Channel. It also would have regional sports networks, Universal Pictures and theme parks.
Shares of Comcast jumped 96 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $15.90 in morning trading Thursday, as the company also announced an increase in its dividend.
In agreeing to buy 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co., which has controlled NBC since 1986, Comcast hopes to succeed in marrying distribution and content in a way Time Warner Inc. could not. AOL and Time Warner are undoing their ill-fated marriage Dec. 9, and Time Warner has already shed its cable TV operations.
Comcast's Roberts and GE CEO Jeff Immelt have been discussing the deal for months, and the final weeks came down to GE's persuading French conglomerate Vivendi SA to first sell its minority stake.
Comcast made the deal because it is eager to diversify its holdings. It faces encroaching threats from online video and more aggressive competition from satellite and phone companies that offer subscription...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Patent Holder Seeks To Ban BlackBerry Imports
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70421
Research in Motion is under legal fire from a Omaha, Neb., company that claims the BlackBerry maker infringed on its patents. Prism Technologies LLC filed a complaint with a U.S. trade agency that could lead to an import ban on BlackBerry devices.
Prism alleges that RIM's smartphones, servers and desktop software infringe on an authentication process patent that works with the digital services consumers engage online. In addition to a lawsuit in Nebraska federal court, Prism filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Wednesday.
The trade commission is an independent federal agency that, among other things, directs actions against unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement. The commission has the authority to order U.S. customs officials to block goods from entering the U.S., which could spell trouble for RIM since some of the devices Prism points to are made outside the U.S.
For example, Prism pointed to the BlackBerry Curve 8330, which is manufactured in Canada and Mexico. Blocking the Curve's entrance into the U.S. could wreak financial havoc on BlackBerry's smartphone business since the model topped its U.S. sales roster in the third quarter, according to the NPD Group.
To put the matter into perspective, NPD reported the Curve outsold Apple's popular iPhone in the third quarter. In fact, the Curve helped contribute to RIM's impressive 37 percent rise in sales, totaling $3.53 billion in the quarter. RIM also expects strong fourth-quarter Curve sales.
Of course, RIM is denying the allegations and fighting the suit in the Nebraska federal court. Prism wants an undisclosed sum of cash in the suit filed 12 months ago. Prism previously targeted Microsoft for patent infringement and convinced the software giant to ante up a settlement three months ago. By pushing the complaint to the International Trade Commission, Prism appears...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
iPhone App Growth Set To Skyrocket
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70420
It looks like we may soon need an iPhone application that keeps track of all the new iPhone applications.
If a report by the global technology research firm IDC is on track, the amount of compact software for Apple handsets is growing at an astonishing rate of 900 percent, with 300,000 expected to be available by the end of next year, or triple the current inventory, fueling the platform's skyrocketing success.
Overall, mobile access to the Internet is soaring too, with one billion devices expected to be online by the end of next year, the report said.
"Mobile devices will . . . exert a powerful transformational force on the [IT] industry as they increasingly compete with PCs as the primary client platform for developers and users alike," IDC declared.
The firm's analysts see that wave boosted by the growth of smartphones and the arrival of the long-delayed Apple iPad tablet, a project that reportedly has been scrapped several times by CEO Steve Jobs because he didn't like the functionality of the early prototypes.
The report anticipates that the tablet will be less like a computer and more like an overgrown iPod touch that would compete with the Kindle reader, videophones and portable online game platforms.
"This prediction is a no-brainer," said IDC. "There's enormous appeal in sizing up the iPhone/Touch for a variety of applications and activities that people already use those devices for but would jump at the chance to have a larger screen -- watching videos/movies, reading books/magazines/newspapers."
IDC also predicts that Microsoft will have a similar device around the same time. In September, the blog Gizmodo displayed leaked pictures of a device, named Courier, that featured a book-like design with two hinged seven-inch multitouch screens.
While trailing the iPhone, applications for Google's Android operating system are expected to reach between...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
'Black Screen' Overhyped and Not Microsoft's Fault
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70419
After creating great distress in security circles, an issue with Microsoft Windows has proven relatively minor. The problem, labeled the Black Screen of Death, was initially thought to be widespread. Indeed, British security firm Prevx posted a series of blog items suggesting that several million computers using Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 could be compromised. The company said the problem often is associated with two Windows security patches, KB915597 and KB976098.
Prevx has since backtracked, though a bit obliquely. In a posting Wednesday, the firm said the problem is still widespread and its free tool to fix the issue had been downloaded more than 50,000 times.
The company denied that it made concrete claims. "As you will see, at no time have we categorically stated that these patches are the cause of the Black Screen problem," it said. "We shared our initial findings around the two patches with Microsoft, conducted further tests, and have confirmed that these specific updates are not the root cause."
Mike Murray, chief information security officer for Foreground Security, said the entire affair is a non-story. "I am absolutely amazed this became the story it became," he said. "They say the number [of infected machines] is 50,000. I say it's more like 10 percent of that. I hate it when security companies throw out all this hyperbole. I have known large organizations ... that are using Windows 7 in large parts of their [companies], and I have not heard one report from any of my clients on this problem."
Microsoft also called the problem overhyped, if not nonexistent. "Microsoft has investigated reports that its November security updates made changes to permissions in the registry that that are resulting in system issues for some customers," said a statement attributed to Christopher Budd, Microsoft's security response...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Google Launches Public DNS for Speedier Web
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70417
Google has announced a public DNS system designed to improve the Internet's performance and security. Google Public DNS is a free, global Domain Name System resolution service.
Google said the public service can improve web performance because current lookup services are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of requests. "Since Google's search engine already crawls the web on a daily basis and in the process resolves and caches DNS information, we wanted to leverage our technology to experiment with new ways of addressing some of the existing DNS challenges around performance and security," the company explained.
The service's goals include offering a better alternative to ISPs' DNS services that delivers better results, improved security and faster performance; reduces the load on ISPs' DNS servers; and makes the web faster and more secure.
"By taking advantage of our global data-center and caching infrastructure, we can directly serve large numbers of user requests without having to query other DNS resolvers," the company said. "We are launching this experimental service to test some new ways to approach DNS-related challenges. We hope to share what we learn with developers of DNS resolvers and the broader web community and get their feedback."
Noble goals, but does Google have another, less noble agenda -- namely getting at vast amounts of consumer data? "Consider this," says Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Security. "Viewing a web page in your browser can easily generate a dozen different DNS queries. . . . While the user may only type in their browser, nearly half or more of the content [of] any popular portal web site is not directly hosted by them. Each of these requests for content makes a DNS query."
Thus, it's easy to see how a widespread public service could relieve strain on the system. "The people...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Micron Raises Bar for Fastest Solid-State Drives
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70416
Micron Technology on Wednesday moved to raise the performance bar for solid-state drives with its latest innovation. The RealSSD C300 SSD is billed as the industry's fastest for notebooks and desktop PCs.
Indeed, speed is the marketing message behind the new product. According to Micron, the RealSSD C300 paves the way for a more responsive computing experience that includes faster operating-system booting and hibernate times. The new drives also promise faster application loading, faster data transfers, and faster file copying.
"The C300 SSD not only delivers on all the inherent advantages of SSDs -- improved reliability and lower power use -- but also leverages a finely tuned architecture and high-speed ONFI 2.1 NAND to provide a whole new level of performance," said Dean Klein, vice president of memory system development at Micron.
Micron isn't just blowing technology smoke. Benchmark tests show the C300 is the fastest PC SSD leveraging the industry standard SATA 3Gb/s interface. The performance is further enhanced by natively supporting the next-generation high-speed interface -- SATA 6Gb/s.
As Micron explains it, native support of SATA 6Gb/s makes the data path between the host computer and the SSD twice as fast as the SATA 3Gb/s interface. Micron said the C300 leverages the SATA 6Gb/s interface to achieve a read-throughput speed of up to 355MB/s and a write-throughput speed of up to 215MB/s. Using the common PC Mark Vantage scoring system, the C300 turns in a score of 45,000 from the HDD Suite.
"Hard drives gain little performance advantage when using SATA 6Gb/s because of mechanical limitations," Klein said. "As a developer of leading-edge NAND technology, along with our sophisticated controller and firmware innovations, Micron is well positioned to tune our drives to take full advantage of the faster speeds achieved using the SATA 6Gb/s interface. The combination of...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Bing Maps Gets Google-Like Aerial and Street-Side Views
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70415
Microsoft has unleashed a new Silverlight version of Bing Maps featuring a new immersive viewing mode and a third-party application gallery. Like Google Maps, Microsoft's search-driven offering now includes street-side and aerial views that enable users to explore what's around them, noted Bing Maps Technical Evangelist Chris Pendleton
"Our investments in photogrammetric processing are being leveraged for a new mode in the urban areas where we've captured high-resolution photography and stereo data to create models of the respective cities," Pendleton wrote Wednesday in a blog. "These models are now a part of an enhanced bird's-eye urban view -- which places our 3-D models into a 2-D interface with 3-D aspect ratio from Silverlight 3."
Microsoft and Google "have been going back and forth for some time now" with respect to who is ahead in the race for online geolocation search supremacy, noted Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions On Microsoft. "The latest features from Microsoft are a continuation of that arms race," Rosoff said.
The good news for consumers is that the rivalry is quickly moving the technology beyond what one would expect from something that used to be just about directions and driving. "When we extend mapping all the way down to the street level, that's when the map really becomes one-to-one with real life," said Bing Maps Architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas.
To help bring this about, Bing Maps is harnessing the power of an online app called Photosynth that stitches photos together and converts them into a three-dimensional model called a synth. Among other things, Photosynth enables users to zoom in, out and around any location as well as examine the surrounding area by rotating the point of view by a full 360 degrees.
Though similar technologies have been around for a long time now, Google Maps does...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Facebook-Google Battle Sets Stage for Micro-Payments
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70414
It may not be Betamax versus VHS, but a war between two technology giants is heating up. On Wednesday, Facebook Connect added Yahoo's sites to its social-networking alliance. The Yahoo announcement, which goes into effect in the first half of next year, was made shortly before Google said its rival social platform, Friend Connect, now supports Twitter credentials.
Facebook Connect and Google's Friend Connect allow a user to sign on and then remain signed on when visiting other sites in a network. Additionally, a user can access social connections from an allied site, as well as conduct activities specific to a site or network, such as easily posting photos from Flickr, a Yahoo site, to Facebook.
If a user signs onto Google's Friend Connect with a Twitter ID, the Twitter profile, picture, name and tweeting ability are available on any of the nine million sites in the Google network. The search giant has also been adding other features to Friend Connect, such as new ways to share information and private e-mail, and it has been experimenting with a social-search tool that allows users to connect through Google profile information.
Various sites are lining up as partners to one social platform or the other, in a dance that many industry observers say is preparation for an explosion of micro-payments and micro-targeting.
If a user can sign on and remain signed on within a network, then an electronic wallet of some kind can be used on the partnering sites without having to re-enter information. Facebook, for instance, has reportedly been getting ready to roll out a GroupCard payment system, and Google Checkout is ready for widespread implementation on Friend Connect. Also, users' profiles and social connections can be micro-targeted by advertisers on multiple sites, consistent with any privacy options.
Some observers see the...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Cisco Nears Completion of Tandberg Takeover
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70392
The world's largest computer networking equipment maker, Cisco Systems Inc., on Wednesday said it needs only another 6 percent stake in videoconferencing equipment firm Tandberg ASA to be able to complete its $3.4 billion takeover.
Cisco said 84 percent of shareholders in the Norwegian group have backed its 170 kroner ($30.32) per share offer so far -- getting closer to the 90 percent threshold it needs to close the deal.
The announcement comes a day after Cisco announced it would extend its offer period until Dec. 3. The bid was initially set to expire on Tuesday.
Cisco said it would decide Thursday "whether to withdraw the offer or waive this (90 percent) condition," which would result in negotiations with the remaining shareholders and prolong the acquisition process.
The company noted it won't extend its offer period past Thursday.
Cisco's initial offer was 153.5 kroner ($27.38) _ or about $3 billion _ but the company increased its bid on Nov. 16, after securing less than 10 percent of Tandberg stock.
Tandberg shares rose 1.8 percent, to 164.4 kroner ($29.32), in morning trading in Oslo.
Cisco, which has around 64,000 staff worldwide, has focused lately on the high end of the videoconferencing market, selling so-called "TelePresence" systems with multiple plasma screens that present life-size images of the participants to provide the illusion of face-to-face communication.
With Tandberg, Cisco will also have the world's leading maker of video systems ranging from small videophones to full conference-room setups.
The deal would allow it to spend some of the cash it has piled up from its overseas subsidiaries. By buying an international company, Cisco would avoid the U.S. taxes it would have to pay to bring the money home.
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Penny-Pinching Shoppers Look for Coupons Online
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70389
The wobbly economy is contributing to a rush by millions of online shoppers to a decidedly low-tech business: coupons.
The number of people scouring the Internet in search of coupons that they can print and present to retailers, or codes that provide them with discounts on retail sites such as Amazon.com, is up sharply.
Leading coupon Web sites reported record traffic on Cyber Monday. RetailMeNot had 1.1 million visitors, up 57 percent from a year ago. CouponCabin was visited 400,000 times, up 65 percent from a year ago. And BradsDeals.com said traffic was up 174 percent, to 16,000 visitors per hour.
The growth has picked up since summer, when 44.1 million adults printed coupons they found on Web sites. That's a 21 percent increase from the same period last year, says market researcher Experian Simmons.
What's driving coupon use is not surprising: 42 percent of consumers intend to spend less online this Christmas than they did in 2008, says Nielsen analyst Maya Swedowsky, who surveys shopper attitudes.
"Any merchant without an aggressive coupon strategy is at a clear disadvantage," says Loren Bendele, CEO of Savings.com, which works with more than 4,000 major retailers, including Apple, Gap and Home Depot. Coupon-related purchases at his site have doubled to $136 million this year vs. the same period in 2008.
One-third of all U.S. Internet users in October visited a deal-oriented site such as RetailMeNot and CoolSavings.com.
It's not just the recession driving the growth of online coupons. Internet use continues to grow. Smartphones in particular are booming and adding a high-tech dimension to the phenomenon.
Shoppers can use their phone cameras to scan a product's bar code and instantly find and retrieve a coupon to lower the price.
And social-networking sites including Facebook and Twitter are joining the ranks of destinations that offer coupons.
Coupons.com, the largest Internet coupon distributor, is available...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Putting a Fair Internet Use Policy in Place
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70387
More than half of employees who have Internet access at work say they will shop for holiday gifts from the office, according to a November poll conducted for Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation. While online shopping may be more efficient than braving the crowds at lunch hour, employee shopping can compromise both security and productivity, says David Kelleher of GFI Software, which sells remote monitoring and management software primarily to small and medium firms. He spoke recently about this topic with Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.
This time of year particularly, lots of employees are conducting personal business online at work. What are the issues raised by this for small business owners?
There are two issues that the employer has to be aware of. The first is security and the second is productivity. These days, everybody's on Facebook and LinkedIn, and they may have MySpace accounts as well. So your employees come into work, turn on their computers, and spend the first 10 or 15 minutes looking at news sites, updating their profiles, and checking what their 200 or so friends have been doing the previous evening. Hard-working employees may be doing this on their lunch hours, but some of them are spending as much time as possible online, maybe looking at all the fantastic offers this holiday season.
How much work time are employers losing?
If you have eight out of 50 employees spending an hour a day wasting time online and you factor in how much a work hour costs that business, and factor it in over a long period of time, the cost for the employer can be considerable. The other cost comes from providing bandwidth, which is quite expensive particularly for small and medium businesses. The last thing...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
News Agencies Partner for Web News Hub
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70383
The Associated Press is partnering with other international news organizations on an online hub where readers can interact with journalists covering the climate talks opening next week in Copenhagen.
The page on the social-networking site Facebook is aimed at drawing new readers and getting them more involved with news coverage online. Traditional media outlets have struggled to generate enough online traffic and advertising to replace revenue that's been lost as readers and advertisers shift to the Web.
The goal of the news agencies' Facebook project -- called the Climate Pool -- is to produce a central place online to get stories and other content on the Copenhagen conference. Besides links, the agencies will post blog items, lead live discussions between readers and journalists, and take suggestions on what to cover.
"The whole idea is not to promote the news agencies but to connect directly to the audience interested in climate talks and enable the audience to have a direct input into the debate," said Jim Kennedy, the AP's director of strategic planning.
Also participating are Agence France-Presse, ANP of the Netherlands, APA of Austria, APcom of Italy, Canadian Press, dpa of Germany, Kyodo of Japan, Lusa of Portugal, Press Association of the United Kingdom and RIA of Russia. The project is being coordinated by MINDS International, a global news agency network.
The project at the United Nations-led conference will incorporate elements of previous AP experiments with social networking and live events.
Last summer, the AP used a Yahoo News blog and the messaging service Twitter to ask readers what questions they wanted answered from inside U.S. Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Such projects present a balancing act for the participating news agencies. They want to provide a compelling read, but they don't want to compete directly with the other media companies to which...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Nokia Sees Handset Market Growing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70382
Nokia Corp. said Wednesday it expects the global mobile phone market to grow by 10 percent in 2010, suggesting the industry is recovering from a global recession that has also hit handset sales.
However, the world's largest cell phone maker cautioned that its own market share volume, currently at some 38 percent, would be "flat" next year, but added that it expects the value of its market share to be up "slightly."
Nokia said it is targeting revenue of euro2 billion ($3 billion) in 2010, with operating margins of 12-14 percent.
Shares in the Finnish company were down slightly at euro8.86 ($13.36) in afternoon trading in Helsinki.
Nokia is increasingly turning to providing services for users, such as music and video downloads, navigational maps and games, and said that by the end of 2011 it will have some 300 million "active users of its services."
Nokia, which in October reported its first quarterly loss since it became the world's biggest handset maker in 1998, said it would focus on smart phones, based on "user experience improvements," to help it boost performance.
CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said progress in the company's Symbian interface operating system would help it "capture new growth" and make smart phones more affordable for emerging markets.
"As an operating system, Symbian has reach and flexibility like no other platform, and we have measures in place to push smart phones down to new price points globally," Kallasvuo told investors. "I see great opportunity for Nokia to capture new growth in our industry by creating what we expect to be the world's biggest platform for services on the mobile."
Nokia said that it aims to halt the decline in the average selling price of its handsets, that has been steadily falling since 2004 and hit euro62 ($93) in the last quarter -- down from more than euro100 five...
Fri, 4 Dec 09
Honolulu Conference Examines Rapid Internet Growth
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70381
Internet traffic has continued to explode even during the global economic recession, but computing experts said it won't be able to keep growing indefinitely unless online service providers widely adopt an upgrade in the Net's fundamental structure.
Computer network authorities spoke on Tuesday about the pressing need to expand the number of Internet addresses at the annual convention of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Honolulu.
More and more devices, from refrigerators to cars, will connect to the Internet in the future, and each will need an address so it can communicate with the world, said Kazuhiro Gomi, chief operating officer for Internet Service Provider NTT America.
"Everybody has a lot of dreams that more people and devices will get hooked up to the network," Gomi said. "Those who defined Internet standards didn't think about this kind of world to come, so there are various limitations on address space."
Internet traffic has increased about 75 percent in each of the last seven years, and that growth spurt hasn't been slowed by the poor economy, Gomi said.
A technology known as IPv6 was created about a decade ago to replace the crowded IPv4 technology now used by most online-enabled devices, but it hasn't yet seen widespread use. Less than 1 percent of Internet-enabled devices now use IPv6, although NTT transitioned in 2003.
Besides helping the Internet grow, IPv6 also will enable new TV, security and multicasting features.
It won't be long before the already short supply of conventional Internet addresses runs thin, said Tony Hill, president of the Internet Society of Australia.
"The mental problem for people is that the IPv4 Internet as we know it will continue to operate. It just can't grow," Hill said. "Unless they severely need growth, they're not feeling any pain."
The number of old Internet addresses is projected to run out in...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Phone-Plugging 'Square' Makes Mobile Payments Easy
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70398
Want to accept credit cards at your next garage sale? A new iPhone application will soon make that easier. Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey has unveiled his latest project, the Square magnetic reader, which plugs into a vendor's handset, allowing customers to swipe their card. The credit information is then transmitted via an audio signal through included software to Square servers for processing.
Sure to be popular among small-business owners, delivery services, or people who want to collect $20 loaned to a cash-poor friend, Square takes existing mobile credit applications a step further by eliminating the need to manually input long credit-card numbers.
The postage-stamp-sized device, whose name refers both to its shape and the capability to "square up" a transaction, was conceived at the beginning of this year by Dorsey and a friend, Jim McKelvey, according to Square's web site, Squareup.com.
After losing a sale of his glass art because he couldn't accept credit cards without a long application and approval process, McKelvey turned to Dorsey and they joined up with Tristan O'Tierney to develop a prototype with an investment estimated at $10 million from Khosla Ventures. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., and founded by Indian capitalist Vinod Khosla, the firm is a major presence in Silicon Valley.
Not unlike Twitter, the project is ambitious and simple but, for now, has no clear business model. Dorsey told the Los Angeles Times he plans to give the units away free to those who sign up for a Square account. At the moment, customers can only request information from Square. It's unclear if the company would charge a flat fee or collect a percentage of the transaction.
While the unit plugs into any device with an audio jack, including computers, the software is currently only available for iPhones and the...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
FlipShare TV Shows Cisco's Push into Consumer Video
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70397
The introduction of the FlipShare TV by Cisco Systems shows the networking giant's strategic foray into the consumer space is moving ahead in a systematic fashion. The FlipShare is a companion piece to Flip Video camcorders, which were introduced by Pure Video in 2007 and came to Cisco in the acquisition of Pure in May.
FlipShare TV, Cisco says, features a small device that connects to the television via composite or HDMI cables. A USB key connects to a Mac or PC via a USB port. Flip videos on the computer are automatically available for display on the television -- without the need for wireless home networking.
Analysts applauded the move. Ben Bajarin, Creative Strategies' consumer technology analyst, cited the ease of use.
"At the core of it, another easy way to bring web-based services as well as consumer movies onto bigger screens, which is important as Flip pushes more HD devices onto the market," he said.
Ross Rubin, director of consumer electronics analysis for the NPD Group, agreed that making movement of data from the PC to the television seamless is important.
"Consumers want to enjoy their home videos on a larger screen in the house," he said. "Flip has long supported composite connections, and more recently HDMI to high-definition TVs. This is the next step in the evolution of that. They are trying to simplify some of the challenges of hooking up Wi-Fi in the home by pairing the FlipShare TV receiver with a USB stick for a PC."
The bottom line is that consumer-generated video is growing. That's good for Cisco, be it from the end-user or networking point of view.
"It goes back to the dual part of their business," said Bajarin. "They always have said consumers are not just businesses. When they purchased Linksys, they went down...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Intel Demos Powerful 48-Core Chip for Cloud Computing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70396
On Wednesday, Intel researchers demonstrated an experimental, 48-core processor that rethinks how laptops, PCs and servers are designed. Described as a single-chip cloud computer, the futuristic chip offers 10 to 20 times the processing power of today's most advanced Intel processors.
The key word here is futuristic. Intel is still working to better understand how to schedule and coordinate the many cores of this experimental chip for its future mainstream chips. However, the company did offer a glimpse of what's possible.
Future Intel-powered laptops with 48-core chips could have "vision" in the same way a human can see objects and motion as it happens and with high accuracy. Intel offers an illustration of interacting with a computer for a virtual dance lesson or online shopping that uses a future laptop's 3-D camera and display to show consumers a "mirror" of themselves wearing the clothes they're interested in. Consumers would be able to twirl and turn to see how the fabric drapes and how the color complements skin tone.
In fact, the kind of interaction made possible with the 48-core processor could eliminate the need for keyboards, remote controls, or gaming joysticks. Some researchers believe computers may even be able to read brain waves, so simply thinking about a command, such as dictating words, would happen without speaking.
"Over time, I expect these advanced concepts to find their way into mainstream devices, just as advanced automotive technology such as electronic engine control, air bags, and antilock braking eventually found their way into all cars," said Justin Rattner, head of Intel Labs and Intel's chief technology officer.
With a chip like this, Rattner imagines a cloud data center of the future that would be an order of magnitude more energy-efficient than what exists today, saving significant resources in space and power costs.
Thu, 3 Dec 09
AT&T Drops Suit Objecting To Verizon's Map Colors
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70395
European explorers used to talk about the "blank spots on the map." In 2009, Verizon Wireless talked about the blank spots on AT&T's 3G coverage map. Now the map wars are over.
On Tuesday, AT&T and Verizon jointly moved to dismiss the lawsuit AT&T filed in an Atlanta federal court. AT&T sued Verizon for a series of television and print ads that depicted AT&T's 3G coverage on a map with major metropolitan areas in blue and the bulk of the country in white or gray.
Verizon's map of its own coverage showed virtually the entire continental United States in red, indicating Verizon's 3G coverage was nearly ubiquitous. The companies engaged in a game of advertising one-upmanship, with each accusing the other of playing fast and loose with the truth.
In its lawsuit, AT&T didn't claim that any of the facts in Verizon's ads were false or misleading. The fight was all about color: AT&T didn't like the color Verizon chose to indicate non-3G coverage.
In a memorandum of law accompanying the complaint, AT&T said, "The maps use color to depict the areas of the country in which each carrier has '3G' coverage and blank or white space in the areas of the country where '3G' coverage is not available. Consumers are interpreting the white or blank space on the maps to mean that that AT&T customers who are not in an AT&T '3G' coverage area have no wireless coverage whatsoever."
The judge in the case let AT&T know exactly what he thought of this argument. Speaking from the bench during a Nov. 19 hearing, Judge Timothy C. Batten said, "I think that a person with a skeptical bent of mind might call Verizon's ads sneaky, as I indicated earlier. I think a more sanguine view is that they are simply clever....
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Likely To Boost Revenue
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70394
Microsoft and Yahoo are both expected to see double-digit increases in search revenue once their partnership system is implemented. Combined, the two companies have a better opportunity to take on Google.
Market leader Google has been the main source for searches and search advertisements for more than a decade. But Microsoft's Bing newcomer has proved it is a strong contender and that should increase with the Microsoft and Yahoo deal.
Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of online business at Microsoft, spoke about the deal and Bing's progress at the Credit First Suisse Technology Conference on Tuesday. Mehdi has been involved in the Bing research and development efforts and in the partnership with Yahoo.
The drawn-out negotiations between Microsoft and Yahoo ended in July and the partnership has not yet been finalized, but Mehdi said he is optimistic.
Microsoft needs the deal to work. The software giant has acknowledged the partnership will cost $100 million to $200 million in the first year. Combining Yahoo's and Microsoft's search systems is not only costly, but takes time.
Mehdi said when the transition is complete, the deal will boost revenue for Microsoft and Yahoo because search advertising prices are based, in part, on scale. The theory is that the more users you reach, the more advertisers you gain, and the more advertisers you gain, the more bidding power you have.
Once a regulatory process is completed, Microsoft expects the deal to be approved early in 2010.
Acknowledging that Microsoft has a long way to go in search against Google, Mehdi said the company is ahead of its own internal projections on how well Bing would do. Market share has grown each month.
In the six months since launch, Bing has increased its market share from 8.4 percent to 9.9 percent, according to comScore. During...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Google Moves To Protect Publishers' Paid Content
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70386
Google is changing the way it indexes news in an online world hungry for headlines. In the wake of complaints from media companies, Google has forged a path for paid subscriptions by altering its First Click Free program.
Publishers who participate in the program let Google's crawler index their subscription content, then allow users who find one of those articles through Google News or Google Search to see the full page without registering or subscribing. The user's first click on the content is free, but the publisher can display a payment or registration request if a user clicks additional links on the site.
With the changes, publishers can limit users who aren't registered to no more than five pages of content viewing a day. As Google sees it, this approach protects searchers from cloaking -- showing one web page to the crawler that indexes it, and a different page to the user -- while allowing publishers to focus on potential content subscribers.
"As newspapers consider charging for access to their online content, some publishers have asked: Should we put up pay walls or keep our articles in Google News and Google Search?" explained Josh Cohen, a senior business product manager at Google. "In fact, they can do both -- the two aren't mutually exclusive. There are a few ways we work with publishers to make their subscription content discoverable."
John Mueller, a webmaster trends analyst at Google Zürich, said the company is aware that creating high-quality content isn't easy and not cheap. That recognition, he said, is one reason why Google initially launched First Click Free. The changes offer publishers even more flexibility.
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This change applies to both Google News publishers as well as web sites indexed in Google's web search, Mueller said. We hope that this encourages even more publishers to...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Nokia Will Focus on Improving Symbian User Experience
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70385
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told investors Tuesday that the world's number-one handset maker remains committed to the open-source Symbian and Maemo operating systems as the main platforms for smartphones, advanced handsets, and web tablets. Among other things, Kallasvuo said Nokia intends to drive user-experience improvements in 2010 by taking the Symbian user interface to a new level.
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As an operating system, Symbian has reach and flexibility like no other platform, and we have measures in place to push smartphones down to new price points globally while growing margins, Kallasvuo said. I see great opportunity for Nokia to capture new growth in our industry by creating what we expect to be the world's biggest platform for services on the mobile.
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subhead
No Quick Fix
/subhead
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However, Nokia must do more if its expects to boost its smartphone market share in the year ahead, said Roberta Cozza, a principal analyst at Gartner. They need more attractive and iconic devices at the high end of the smartphone market and, in addition, a strong application and services offering around their smartphones, Cozza said.
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Nokia also needs to execute well and quickly on its Ovi Internet services strategy, which the Gartner analyst said they are doing. But this will take some time and they will be exposed to competition from other ecosystems like Android or Apple, Cozza observed.
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She said Symbian will be pushed more into Nokia's mid-tier portfolio, while Maemo will be focused on the high-end smartphone portfolio where Nokia faces the strongest competition. The smartphone market has never been more competitive, and even established handset vendors are being challenged to maintain or expand their positions, Cozza said.
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Symbian's S60 user interface and touch-input implementation is weak compared to Apple and Android, and it will take until the end of 2010 to see some major rework on the Symbian UI...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Facebook Revises Privacy Rules To Fit Global Audience
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70376
In an effort to improve privacy for its growing membership, Facebook announced Tuesday what it called a simpler model for privacy control. Under the new rules, a user can decide if individual pieces of content should be available only to friends, to friends of those friends, or to everyone.
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The controls include the ability to regulate every piece of content that a Facebook member creates or uploads. Because of the site's prominence in social networking -- and, increasingly, in business, e-commerce, politics and other areas -- its position on privacy could have a ripple effect.
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Regional Networks 'Lost Their Utility'
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In an open letter on the company blog, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg noted that the old privacy model was built around the idea of sharing content within networks, which were self-created communities for a school, a company, or a region. Zuckerberg noted that some networks cover entire countries, such as India or China.
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Although about 50 percent of Facebook's members are now part of regional networks, the new plan is designed to remove those networks in favor of the new privacy model. Users will be asked in the next few weeks to update their privacy settings.
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Under the new rules, if a user wants to share, the individual content posting can be shared with one of those circles -- friends, friends of friends, or everyone. The new controls also simplify the previous process, where privacy controls had been added per feature. Now the intention is to standardize the options so the choices are always the same.
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The direction of the new privacy controls was announced back in July, when it was launched in beta. At the time, the company noted that, with more than 300 million members, personal information published to a regional network did not make sense any more. Facebook's Chris Kelly noted in...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Online Retailers Rev Up Deals To Keep Up Momentum
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70364
Retail Web sites kept amping up the deals Monday, the first day after Thanksgiving weekend's strong online sales, to try to maintain the momentum.
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Meanwhile, a research firm that tracks business at stores reported tepid sales and customer traffic for Friday and Saturday that confirmed a so-so start to the season for the bricks-and-mortar world.
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Though the Web is only about 10 percent of the holiday shopping pie, it's seen most of the growth so far this year -- an encouraging sign after last year's first online sales decline.
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Coremetrics, a Web analytics company in San Mateo, Calif., said that as of 1 p.m. Monday, sales for the day that the industry still pitches as Cyber Monday were up 19.6 percent over a year ago.
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The bright spot offers hope after traditional retail sales came in just above flat for Black Friday, with shoppers packing stores but sticking to their lists, going for deep discounts and practical items.
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Investors voted with their dollars, rewarding online sellers. Amazon.com shares rose $4.17, or 3.2 percent, to $135.91 on a day when stocks of most traditional retailers fell as Wall Street analyzed the sea of data and anecdotal reports from the weekend.
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ShopperTrak, which is based in Chicago and tracks sales and traffic at more than 50,000 outlets, said late Monday that retail sales for Friday and Saturday edged up 0.9 percent to $16.77 billion, while customer traffic fell 2.7 percent compared with last year. According to ShopperTrak, U.S. traffic slipped 2.5 percent on Friday, compared with an 18 percent drop in the year-ago period. Traffic fell 3.2 percent Saturday, compared with a 17 percent drop a year ago.
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ShopperTrak derives its estimates from crowd-counting sensors in stores, combined with data from the retailers themselves on spending and how it relates to customer traffic.
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The ShopperTrak results contrast with a report...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
FTC Explores Future of Journalism in Internet Age
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70361
The U.S. government is wading into deliberations over the future of journalism as printed newspapers, television stations and other traditional media outlets suffer from Americans' growing reliance on the Internet.
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With the media business in a state of economic distress as audiences and advertisers migrate online, the Federal Trade Commission began a two-day workshop Tuesday to examine the profound challenges facing media companies and explore ways the government can help them survive.
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Media executives taking part are looking for a new business model for an industry that is watching traditional advertising revenue dry up, without online revenue growing quickly enough to replace it. Government officials want to protect a critical pillar of democracy -- a free press.
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News is a public good, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. We should be willing to take action if necessary to preserve the news that is vital to democracy.
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The workshop is drawing speakers from both traditional and new media, including Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp.; Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Web site; and Len Downie, former executive editor of The Washington Post.
p
Executives from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. were also scheduled to participate, as were several government officials, including Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
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Among the options being discussed: tax law changes that would allow media companies to earn tax credits or become tax-exempt entities, and copyright law changes that would force search engines and other online aggregrators to compensate media companies for the content they produce.
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Also on the table is a proposed change in antitrust rules to allow newspapers to jointly negotiate payments from Web sites that use their content.
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The FTC is planning more workshops in the spring to discuss in greater depth the ideas that emerge this week.
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Congress has also tried to tackle...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Internet Explorer: The Unloved Market Leader
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70339
Attacks from hackers, takedown campaigns by web activists and conflict with the European Union: Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) is not just the leading browser, it's the most controversial one as well.
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In particular, the tight links between the program, available in Version 8 since March 2009, and the Windows operating system have provided plenty of fodder for critics. It's also a significant factor in the product's success.
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If Internet Explorer didn't come pre-installed, then it wouldn't be used so often because there are better alternatives, argues Jens Appelt from Germany's Computer Bild magazine.
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Leaving behind the matter of better alternatives, Appelt's statement otherwise mirrors the sentiments of the European Union (EU) in Brussels. The EU Commission has been fighting with Microsoft over the way the company bundles its products.
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IE has come pre-installed as the default browser on Windows PCs since the mid-90s. Because nine of ten computers sold worldwide are estimated to run Windows, this provides the manufacturer with an enormous channel to distribute its browser.
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The company's competitors have complained that bundling IE with Windows represents monopolistic behaviour, prompting a formal complaint by Norwegian browser maker Opera in Brussels.
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The EU Commission called on Microsoft to comment on the situation. The company then proposed allowing customers of Windows 7 to use a window to select their preferred browser themselves. Dealers could also delete the already pre-installed Internet Explore and install other browsers.
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A more radical approach to breaking Microsoft's dominance on the browser market is being advocated by a group of activists in the US. Their solution is a script called Explorer Destroyer. It allows operators of Web sites to determine which browser their visitors are using. If IE is discovered, then the script can be set to either politely encourage a switch to Firefox or to block access to the site altogether.
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The initiative's chances...
Thu, 3 Dec 09
Paying Attention To Customer Data Security
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70306
Today's contact centers act as a funnel for massive amounts of data that flow from silo to silo. Some forms of data are kept long term and archived; others are needed only fleetingly and are soon discarded. The sheer quantity of it, though, is staggering, on the order of petabytes of information. And that creates a bit of a problem when it comes to managing and isolating the specific pieces of data that need to be secured and safeguarded because of customer privacy concerns.
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Customers are much more sensitive to what happens with their personal information than they used to be. Breaches that can be traced to contact centers are rare, but companies need to battle the perception of insecurity as much as the reality. And attention to better data handling and security can be fashioned as a key competitive differentiator for a company that takes pains to let customers know that it is active in that area.
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Data security is a well-managed area in corporations, with regimes and protocols that guide the handling of different categories of information, including customer data. Health care and financial services firms have long had mandates that spell out proper procedures for releasing personal information about customers. From the contact center point of view, emphasis has usually been on making important data unavailable for agents to misuse or take away from the center.
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At the most rudimentary level, this has involved removing the means for agents to copy or download personally identifying information about customers -- restricting disk drives and printers, for example. However, there are always ways to circumvent those restrictions (for example, you can take a picture of a computer screen with an iPhone).
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The best standard for data protection came out of the credit card processing industry. PCI, or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard,...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Apple Reaches Settlement with Mac Cloner Psystar
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70373
After more than a year of legal wrangling, Apple has come to terms with its Mac cloning nemesis Psystar. On Monday, Apple at least partially settled its copyright lawsuit against the Doral, Fla.-based company that has been building hardware that runs Mac OS X.
The Wall Street Journal reports Apple will dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress and state-law claims against Psystar in exchange for unspecified damages. Other reports set the damages at $2.7 million.
Despite the settlement, Psystar, which previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, appeared to still be selling cloned Macs. Apple and Psystar were not immediately available for comment, but Psystar's web site continued to offer hardware and software on Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, the hardware was still displayed but marked "Out of stock."
The settlement comes just days after Apple asked a federal judge to close Psystar's Mac clone operation and ante up $2.1 million in damages. In late November, Apple filed a permanent injunction to ban Psystar from using, selling or owning software that makes it possible to crack Apple's OS encryption key and run Mac OS X on Psystar's hardware.
On Nov. 14, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled in favor of Apple in the copyright suit. Alsup also ruled that Psystar violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by installing Apple's Mac OS X on the hardware it sold. But Psystar didn't stop selling cloned Macs. Apple insisted a permanent injunction was its only option in the face of Psystar's continued copyright violations.
Psystar had previously sued Apple in a Florida federal court, claiming Apple was running a monopoly. Psystar accused Apple of forcing a tie between the Mac OS X operating system and Apple's hardware in the end-user licensing agreement. Psystar argued that Apple's EULA unlawfully restrained trade by barring users from installing its...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Nintendo Reports Thanksgiving Bounty, But Wii Sales Lag
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70371
Nintendo's report on the U.S. Thanksgiving-week sales for its Wii, DS and DSi systems showed healthy numbers -- but the company left out the fact that its Wii system total fell short of last year's finish.
The company says that more than 550,000 Wii and more than one million DS and DSi systems were sold. The DS and DSi numbers, Nintendo points out, set an all-time record for handheld games. The mark previously was held by Game Boy Advance sales during the Thanksgiving week of 2002.
VGChartz, a site that tracks the gaming industry, put Nintendo's numbers into context, both against previous Nintendo results and against other platforms. What Nintendo failed to point out was that Wii sales were down about 250,000 units from last year's 800,000 consoles sold. In 2007, 350,000 Wii systems were sold.
VGChartz says that the DS system's million-unit sales mark beat out the figures from 2007 (about 653,000) and 2008 (about 780,000).
In other gaming-industry news, Sony's PlayStation 3 sold 440,000 units over this year's Thanksgiving holiday, quite a jump from the sales of 150,000 and 130,000 in 2007 and 2008, respectively, that VGChartz estimated. Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold about 310,000 systems in 2007 and about 390,000 last year. The site quotes Microsoft sources as saying that this year's sales doubled last year's.
It's difficult to use total sales numbers to assess the success or failure of the industry compared to previous years, however, as pricing changes may be driving up raw numbers without helping profitability.
There are some warning signs ahead for the gaming arena. The Associated Press reports, for instance, that shares of video-game maker GameStop have fallen as analysts worry about soft video-game sales. It's not a good sign that the company declined to release sales figures for the Black Friday...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Amazon Is Reaping Short-Term Gains in E-Reader Market
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70369
Consumers have already heard they won't have a nook e-reader from Barnes & Noble nor a Daily Edition Reader from Sony in time for the holidays. Amazon is cashing in on its rivals' blunder, reminding consumers that its Kindle is not only a hot device, but available now.
The delay in getting e-readers into the hands of consumers by Christmas is a big mistake for Barnes & Noble and Sony, analysts say. The delay will force consumers to buy from Amazon.com during what is predicted to be a busy season for e-reader sales.
Forrester Research is predicting e-reader sales of three million this year, with 30 percent of those sales in the holiday season of November and December.
"What this delay has done from a U.S. perspective is it has put Amazon in the driver's seat because two of the strongest brands that it was going to compete with have sold out or have limited supplies," said Jeff Orr, ABI Research's senior analyst for mobile devices. "One of the great opportunities they had ahead of them was the use of their retail stores as a channel -- early Kindle owners didn't have that luxury."
Barnes & Noble said it hasn't broken any promises. "Due to the high demand, we are prioritizing our pre-orders and we continue to offer a holiday certificate to customers who want to give nook as a gift for the holiday," said Mary Ellen Keating, a Barnes & Noble spokesperson. "We are starting to ship this week and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone who ordered a nook before Nov. 20th will receive it in time for the holidays."
Barnes & Noble announced on Nov. 20 that it was out of stock for the holidays and told customers from that point on that orders would...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Nokia Sues Display Makers for Price-Fixing
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70368
Nokia has filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court of Northern California and the United Kingdom that accuse the world's top mobile-display vendors of price-fixing. Nokia alleges its suppliers conspired to artificially raise their prices for the Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels the company deployed in its mobile handsets and other electronic devices during 2006.
The companies named in Nokia's lawsuits include AU Optronics, Chungwa Picture Tubes, Hitachi Displays, LG Display, Philips Electronics, Samsung SDI, Seiko Epson, Sharp, Tatung and Toshiba. Nokia is seeking triple damages, together with a court injunction that would prohibit its display suppliers from engaging in similar actions in the future.
Even if Nokia wins, however, DisplaySearch Vice President Paul Semenza believes the lawsuits will have a minimal financial impact on mobile-display makers. "This tends to be a one-time accounting loss that they can just write off in a really bad quarter and move on from there," Semenza said.
The bigger impact will come in how the lawsuits affect vendors' future behavior, Semenza observed. "The panel makers are going to be more careful about how they approach the business and how they approach pricing," he explained.
Nokia believes it has a strong case in light of a joint investigation of LCD price-fixing allegations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI. Hitachi, LG Display, Sharp, Seiko Epson, and Chungwa Picture Tubes have already pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges involving their display sales to Apple, Dell and Motorola.
Moreover, the five display makers have agreed to pay substantial fines, more than $640 million in total. "Practically every American consumer has been impacted by the TFT-LCD conspiracies," said Scott Hammond, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
Mobile-display makers are also being investigated by antitrust authorities in Europe....
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Online Shopping Jumps 11 Percent on Black Friday
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70367
If Black Friday's online shopping was any indication, consumers are increasingly buying online. According to comScore, total online shopping was up 11 percent over last year's Black Friday. Sales at two leading retailers, Amazon.com and the online site of Wal-Mart, increased 28 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
The actual dollar amount spent on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers expect to go into the black, was about $595 million. So far in this holiday season, which comScore measures from Nov. 1, $10.57 billion has been spent on online purchases, a three percent gain over the same period in 2008.
comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said that while this level of spending suggests a somewhat more optimistic view of expected holiday shopping totals this year, "it may also reflect the heavy discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter."
The analytics firm also noted that, in addition to actually making purchases online, consumers increasingly also go online to do research. The research includes making choices about products, finding out about products, and checking out sites with summary information of Black Friday deals.
Some of those sites have names like BlackFriday.info, Black-Friday.net, or TheBlackFriday.com. comScore looked at eight of these sites for the week leading up to Black Friday, and then compared their traffic with the statistics for last year.
It found that the most trafficked site, BFads.net, showed a four percent increase in unique visitors over last year, with 3.9 million unique visitors, and third-placed Black-Friday.net had a huge 136 percent increase, from 956,000 to 2.3 million visitors. Second-placed BlackFriday.info actually dropped by 17 percent, but still had nearly 3.5 million visitors. Many of the Black Friday sites pointed to the major retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Amazon and...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Top Yahoo Searches Show an Escapism Mentality
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70354
It's that time of year again. Yahoo has released its 2009 Year in Review, highlighting the top searches and trends on its properties. Taking into account billions of searches, Yahoo's review offers keen insights into what people are interested in and how they use the web to find news and information.
From 1,000 feet, Yahoo's review demonstrates how the web played a key role in the news cycle. People flocked to the Internet to find news about a variety of topics, from the economy to health care and from Michael Jackson to Jon & Kate Plus 8.
Yahoo also reports signs of thrift during the second year of the recession. Yahoo searches highlight old-fashioned thrift as a necessity as people labored to save money. Searchers also sought to distract themselves from the economic crises at hand by following entertainment dramas that made headlines in 2009.
"We saw consumers escape to the web hoping to pursue news and their guilty pleasures: Vampires, political implosions, how to moonwalk -- you name it, people went online to find it," said Vera Chan, a Yahoo search trend analyst. "And with economic uncertainty looming, people looked for ways to find stability by searching the web for new jobs, unemployment benefits, and ways to save through old-fashioned coupon hunting."
Overall, Michael Jackson topped all searches in 2009. The king of pop overcame Britney Spears, who dominated Yahoo's Top 10 overall searches for the past four years. Spears fell to fifth place as other pop-culture phenoms rose to fame, including the book and film series Twilight, World Wrestling Entertainment, and Megan Fox.
Not surprisingly, Jackson's death broke many records on Yahoo. His memorial was the single most streamed event in Yahoo's history, with five million total streams. Beyond Jackson, celebrity deaths for Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, and Ted...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
NAS Network Storage for Home Users
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70338
Many people have more than one PC nowadays. Add in all the mobile devices like netbooks and smartphones that need data moved around and you've got a problem: photos, songs, videos, and other files are available on one unit and not another.
There's a simple workaround -- namely moving the files from one machine to the next -- but many users take no joy in the constant copying and transferring of files using external hard drives or USB sticks. One solution is Network Attached Storage, or NAS. The technology has become affordable enough for home users and it's easy to configure.
As the name suggests, NAS involves a hard drive connected to a network instead of a single PC, says Johannes Endres from German computer magazine c't. Unlike a USB hard drive plugged into one computer, NAS is available for access by all computers on the network.
"Anyone using multiple computers nowadays will already have a router," he says. "The NAS simply connects to that and eliminates the need to carry around USB devices."
The demand for NAS solutions is growing.
"The constantly growing use and creation of digital media and content has really exploded the need for storage space in the home area," says Andreas Arndt from hardware maker Buffalo Technology. NAS devices are available with and without pre-installed hard drives. Most home users tend to reach for the integrated solution, Endres indicates.
Configuring a NAS, including setting an access password, is generally uncomplicated -- usually handled using a browser connected to the home network. Most NAS units include a setup utility with delivery. "All of the NAS devices we tested included an easy-to- understand installation assistant to take lay users by the hand," says Michael Schmelzle from Germany's PC-Welt magazine.
To protect the data stored on the NAS against complete loss, it's sensible to use...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Kodak Printer Ads Remind Consumers of Lower Ink Costs
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70332
Photo giant Kodak burst onto the home printing scene in 2007 vowing to shake up the industry by selling ink at half the price of its competitors.
But while the company has succeeded in doubling its tiny market share year to year -- to 2 percent in 2009 -- industry heavyweights Hewlett-Packard, Epson and Canon have yet to respond with major ink price cuts, nor are they expected to, says Andy Lippman, a senior analyst at Lyra Research.
"It's a testament to the business model," he says. "You sell the printer at a loss and make it up on ink sales. If HP was to match Kodak's pricing, it would be monumental, and you'd see an immediate impact on its profit margins."
The recession has taken its toll on sales of ink-jet printers, which are down 12 percent this year, Lippman says, but ink sales have fallen only 6 percent.
"Consumers say they care about the high cost of ink, but when they go to the store to buy a new printer, they shop for price," Lippman adds. "They've heard the messaging from Kodak, but it hasn't resonated."
Kodak, which launched its printer line with an aggressive series of infomercials on pricing, is pushing back with an even feistier $30 million "Print and Prosper" TV and Web campaign.
Its Web site, for instance, tells consumers they would have saved $110 in printing costs had they switched to Kodak. It also offers a price chart that promises to tell how much folks overspent with their various printer models from Epson, HP, Canon, Lexmark and Brother.
The calculations are based on a basic formula, of, for instance, eight black-and-white documents, six color documents and a 4-by-6 photo printed in a specific time period. Kodak generally charges more than competitors do for printers.
No. 1 HP says the ink-savings claims are...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
IBM vs. SAS: The Battle over Data-Analysis Software
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70331
Jim Goodnight, chief executive of SAS Institute, doesn't mince words. During a Nov. 10 talk at the Churchill Club, a gathering of Silicon Valley business people, the head of the closely held software maker disparaged Wall Street analysts, questioned the value of marketing staff, and told a joke involving Bill Clinton and the Pope that some people of faith might have found offensive.
Goodnight is equally blunt about his competitors in the $9 billion market for data analysis software. In the past two years, IBM, SAP, and Oracle have bought companies that compete with SAS in providing software that can predict trends, identify profitable customers, reduce risk, or shave costs. Goodnight views the mergers as a chance to make hay. "We always look for any company that's acquired to be messed up for a year," Goodnight says in an interview.
Goodnight and the rest of SAS will need to keep backing up the bold talk with results. The company has held up well during a recession that crimped rivals' growth. At SAS, sales this year will be unchanged from 2008, when they stood at $2.26 billion, according to Goodnight. Profit may decline by 4 percent. By contrast, revenue at German software giant SAP is expected to decline by 8 percent this year, and for Oracle, the large U.S. business-software company, sales slipped 1 percent for the 12 months ended Aug. 31.
SAS specializes in software that helps companies extract insights from growing volumes of data. That's attractive because it is expanding even as demand for other kinds of software, such as applications that streamline business processes, has declined.
SAS's growth comes partly because it can charge premium prices for its software, which lets statisticians predict future scenarios based on historical data. Versions of SAS products tailored for specific industries can...
Wed, 2 Dec 09
Employers Play Dr. Mom To Limit Swine Flu Impact
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70324
Big businesses are spending serious time and money trying to limit the swine flu pandemic's impact on operations, from bankrolling video on good hygiene to training employees to cover for co-workers with critical jobs.
Companies from health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. to beverage can maker Ball Corp. are arranging for employees with flu symptoms or sick family members to work from home where possible, holding fewer in-person meetings, even discouraging handshakes. And hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and tissues are at the ready everywhere as employers make keeping workers healthy their first line of defense.
Employers are playing Dr. Mom, teaching about hygiene, distributing information about the pandemic, telling folks to stay home if they get sick -- generally with pay -- and scrapping the required doctor's note. Some companies have even distributed "wellness kits" with thermometers and face masks.
Whether those efforts and other measures will protect businesses will depend largely on whether the swine flu mutates into a more-dangerous virus.
"Large and mid-sized organizations are not going to go bankrupt. Small organizations, that could be different," says Jim MacMicking of business continuity consultants SunGard Availability Services.
His company has seen a surge of customers seeking guidance on preparing for swine flu and either beefing up their telecommunications capacity or, if they can't afford it because of the weak economy, reallocating laptops and other equipment to key personnel.
Dozens of companies interviewed by The Associated Press report little effect -- so far. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pandemic planners also have seen no big disruptions.
But a large Harvard School of Public Health study found two-thirds of businesses could not maintain normal operations if half their workers were out for just two weeks. And the CDC estimates every person who comes to work with swine flu will infect 10 percent of co-workers.
So companies are heeding advice...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
App Developer Reports Fourth-Generation iPhone in Use
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70353
No one outside Apple knows what it looks like or any of its newest features. But news that a fourth-generation iPhone may already be in use fueled a buzz Monday on when the must-have device will debut.
MacRumors, a blog that follows Apple products, broke the story Monday that Pandav, an application developer, has monitored usage by an iPhone 3,1 -- a moniker unused by any previous models of the combination iPod and smartphone.
The current version of the iPhone, 3GS, which has a faster processor, was identified as iPhone 2,1 on application-usage analytics several months before its launch, according to the MacObserver.
Pandav spotted the new ID on iBART, a guide to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in northern California. The first analytics sightings of the last iPhone were also in the San Francisco Bay area. Apple is based in Cupertino, a San Francisco suburb.
Judging from past experience, that could mean the new iPhone might be released in about eight months -- the period between the last field test and launch.
News of the new phone comes just weeks after another report that the next iPhone will be compatible with carriers around the world and, unlike current models, with Verizon Wireless in the United States. AppleInsider, citing a report by OTR Global, reported that the iPhone could be available in the third quarter next year and contain a hybrid chip made by Qualcomm and a 2.8-inch screen that is smaller than the current 3.5-inch display.
Verizon compatibility would be an "enormous" game-changer for the iPhone, according to Mordy Hackel, president of KJ Technology, a New York-based services provider for upscale residential clients and small to midsize businesses. "Among people that I speak to who love the iPhone, what they hate most are its problems with connectivity, and Verizon is known to...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Chrome Browser for Mac Nears with Google Ad Strategy
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70352
Various reports say Google is close to delivering on its promise to release a beta version of a Mac-based Chrome browser before the end of the year. The initiative, according to Aberdeen Group analyst Andrew Borg, is part of a much bigger strategic play by the search giant.
TechCrunch's MG Siegler reports that a somewhat incomplete version of the browser is in the offering. Siegler says the beta -- which is variously labeled "milestone 4" and Chrome version 4 -- will lack features such as the Bookmark Manager and App Mode. A Google spokesperson refused to provide details beyond reasserting that the company aims to release the Google Chrome for Mac in beta this year.
Siegler's report jibes with Borg's understanding of the browser's status. "It apparently is going to be somewhat of a subset of the full Chrome browser that is used for the Wintel combination," said Borg, who is the senior research analyst for wireless and mobility at Aberdeen. "I think it will not include Gears, for example, and may not have some of the bells and whistles."
Borg added that Google appears to be working to fulfill the end-of-year promise and functionally will no doubt be added over time.
The first question that Borg asks is a simple one: Why? "You may ask why they are doing this. The Mac Safari is certainly fast enough, and Firefox has a strong position on the Mac. Is the Mac large enough to be a target for Google? Yes. Is there more to it than meets the eye? Yes. With Google, there always are more to things than meets the eye."
For Borg, context is important. The development of the Chrome browser for the Mac is running in parallel with the development of the Chrome operating system, which recently was previewed...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
'Greed' Brings Down CrunchPad Amid Lawsuit Threats
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70351
It's a sad day over at Michael Arrington's TechCrunch blog. In a posting Monday, Arrington announced that development of the CrunchPad, a 12-inch touchscreen Internet-connected tablet, has officially ended. "It was so close I could taste it," Arrington wrote. "Two weeks ago we were ready to publicly launch the CrunchPad. The device was stable enough for a demo. It went hours without crashing."
But the project "self-destructed," Arrington said, because of "greed, jealousy and miscommunication."
Chandra Rathakrishnan, CEO of TechCrunch's partner on the project, Fusion Garage, informed Arrington in an e-mail that "based on pressure from his shareholders, he had decided to move forward and sell the device directly through Fusion Garage, without our involvement," Arrington reported.
But Arrington said his company and Fusion Garage worked jointly on developing the prototypes for the device and expenses were shared. "We jointly own the CrunchPad product intellectual property, and we solely own the CrunchPad trademark. So it's legally impossible for them to simply build and sell the device without our agreement," Arrington asserted.
The two companies appear headed to court. An e-mail Rathakrishnan forwarded to Arrington proposes that Fusion Garage has the right to go forward with the project without TechCrunch, although it might consider purchasing rights to the trademark and name: "[W]e would have Arrington assume the role of visionary/evangelist/marketing head and Fusion Garage would acquire the rights to use the CrunchPad brand and name. Personally, I don't think the name is all that important, but you seem to be somewhat attached to the name."
"Without knowing anything about the inside politics here, this story reflects that Fusion Garage thinks they have a successful product on their hands," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research. "They probably either thought TechCrunch's involvement was going to mess it up or they're just being greedy."...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Dell Runs Netbook on Customized Chromium OS
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70349
Dell has unleashed an experimental version of Google's Chromium OS that runs on the PC maker's Inspiron Mini 10v netbook. Chromium, released earlier this month, is Google's open-source version of the Chrome OS based on the Linux kernel and aimed at netbooks.
Though the final product isn't expected to hit the netbook market until next year's holiday shopping season, Google decided to make the source code available to anyone wishing to create their own customized version of the Chromium OS. Taking up the challenge, Doug Anson, Dell's Linux technology strategist, modified the code so the fledgling OS wirelessly accesses the Internet on Dell's Mini 10v.
"Without a network connection, Chromium OS is not very interesting," Anson wrote in a recent blog. "With a network connection, Chromium OS shines."
Chromium OS is a small, optimized operating system whose purpose is to make it extremely simple and easy to browse the web, Anson noted. "Boot time appears quick, too -- about 12 seconds from hitting the power button," Anson wrote.
However, Anson's Chromium OS image file is squarely aimed at avid Linux experimenters, not consumers. "Use this image at your own risk -- it comes to you totally unsupported and very minimally tested," wrote Anson, who previously worked with Canonical to bring the Linux-based Ubuntu interface to Dell's Mini 9 netbook.
Among other things, Anson's 7.5GB USB key image file, which is currently available for download from Dell, does not include a shutdown/restart menu option. "To 'reboot' the image, you have to press the 'power' key on the Mini 10v," Anson wrote.
Open-source developers also can expect to encounter a number of issues along the way. As examples of potential problem areas, Anson cited the software's connection manager and underlying components, which "can easily break or get hung. When in doubt, reboot and give...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
LG eXpo Runs at One GHz with Optional Microprojector
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70348
LG Electronics is getting creative with its smartphone lineup again. The electronics maker is rolling out the LG eXpo in an exclusive partnership with AT&T.
The LG eXpo is not only the first phone in the U.S. with a one-gigahertz processor, it's also the first to come with a mobile projector add-on for business professionals who need to share data on the fly. The phone will run on AT&T's HSPA 7.2 network.
The LG Mobile Projector snaps onto the back of the device so users can share presentations, slideshows and even online videos straight from the mobile phone. The projector weighs 1.8 ounces, is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, and can project up to eight feet.
"LG eXpo adds to our growing portfolio of smartphones that operate on the latest upgrade to our 3G network and offer customers a great choice," said Michael Woodward, an AT&T vice president. "As we move to HSPA 7.2 technology, it is crucial to provide our customers innovative and future-proof smartphones."
The LG eXpo has a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 16 million colors and a full-size QWERTY keypad. LG eXpo supports an RSS viewer, podcasts and GPS. The device also includes a five-megapixel camera with a built-in auto flash and can support up to a 16GB removable microSD memory card for music and photo storage.
The LG eXpo does away with the need for pin codes and passwords with a Smart Sensor fingerprint-recognition component from AuthenTec for security. LG said the Smart Sensor also complements the touchscreen user interface by providing precise cursor control for text editing, four-way menu navigation, and AuthenTec's unique turbo-scroll feature for rapid browsing of long e-mails, contact lists, and web sites.
The LG eXpo runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional to help business users stay more connected with...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Barnes & Noble Delays Nook and Will Limit Supplies
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70346
The release of Barnes & Noble's new electronic book reader, nook, has been delayed. The online and brick-and-mortar retailer said high pre-orders for its device set back the release by one week.
The nook didn't hit store shelves Monday as expected and will instead be available on Dec. 7. And stores that do get the nook will only have a limited number, the company told Reuters.
The nook is the fastest-selling product at Barnes & Noble, according to the company, and pre-orders exceeded expectations. The company sold out of its first allotment for delivery before the holidays. And individuals ordering a nook beginning on Nov. 20 were told not to expect shipment of the device until the week of Jan. 4, according to an official company blog.
The hype surrounding the nook mirrors what rival Amazon.com experienced each time it released a new version of its Kindle e-reader. Pre-orders sold out quickly, and Amazon had a difficult time keeping up with the demand. Sony is facing the same dilemma and is telling consumers that its high-end e-reader will not be available until after Christmas.
While hype surrounding a product increases demand, not having the device available until after the holidays may hurt nook's prospects in the market.
"This does show how hard it is to bring consumer devices to market," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "We have had a series of delays to deal with and very limited supplies. Consumers, whose interest may have been piqued by the nook, will not put an IOU under the tree and under the menorah."
While nothing drives demand like telling consumers they cannot have it, in Barnes & Noble's case it didn't work.
"This causes frustration," Gartenberg said. "There is a fine line between things that are hard to find and...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Cyber Monday Expected To Draw 96.5 Million Shoppers
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70321
Shoppers, start your engines. The Monday after Black Friday is known as Cyber Monday, created by Shop.org in 2005 after retailers noticed a "trend of people shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving." Shop.org said Cyber Monday is now considered the "ceremonial kickoff of the online holiday shopping season."
Shop.org is the digital division of the National Retail Federation, which describes itself as "the world's largest retail trade association." The federation represents retailers in virtually every industry along with more than 100 smaller retail associations.
According to a survey commissioned by the federation during the weekend, the number of shoppers in stores on Black Friday was up this year, 195 million versus 172 million in 2008. But, the survey found, average spending dropped slightly to $343.31 from $372.57 last year.
NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin said "shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain." Those bargains, the federation said, will also be found online on Cyber Monday and other shopping days, with about 28 percent of all shoppers this weekend shopping online.
A survey by Shop.org found that 96.5 million Americans expected to shop online on Cyber Monday, an increase of more than 10 million over last year. The organization also found that nearly nine in 10 retailers would have a special Cyber Monday promotion, an increase of four percent over last year and nearly 15 percent over 2007.
About 43 percent of those retailers planned specific online deals, and nearly a third planned one-day sales. About 16 percent planned free shipping on all purchases, and half expected to send out a special Cyber Monday e-mail promoting deals.
In addition to the retailers pushing Cyber Monday deals, Shop.org has a CyberMonday.com site, whose proceeds benefit a scholarship fund. Last year, the...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Amazon's Kindle E-Reader Soars To New Sales Record
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70320
In the midst of growing buzz around e-book readers and high-profile shortages from competing vendors, Amazon.com announced that November is the best sales month ever for its Kindle -- even before Cyber Monday.
Amazon reports the Kindle continues to be the most wished for, the most gifted, and the number-one best-selling product across all product categories on Amazon.com. The latest generation Kindle -- just released in October -- is $259 and available for immediate shipment.
"Kindle is a great gift for anyone who loves to read, and it's flying off the shelves faster than any other product Amazon sells," said Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon Kindle. "We're seeing lots of people buying from one to a handful of Kindles as gifts for friends or family, as well as many businesses and other organizations buying Kindles in large quantities for their employees or customers."
Kindle is a portable reader that wirelessly downloads books, magazines, newspapers and personal documents to a high-resolution six-inch electronic ink display. Kindle taps into the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones. The latest generation Kindle with global wireless enables readers to wirelessly download content in more than 100 countries and territories.
The Kindle is seeing plenty of competition coming into the market. But competing devices that analysts deemed as potential Kindle competitors for the 2009 holiday shopping season, namely Barnes & Noble's nook and Sony's Daily Reader, are facing untimely shortages. Barnes & Noble has sold out of its first batch of nooks amid what it called high demand -- and new shipments won't be available until after the holiday shopping season ends.
"As far as the Nook shortages, we don't really know what's going on," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "Barnes & Noble says its pre-orders are sold out, but how many pre-orders...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Facebook Creates Dual-Class Structure, But No IPO
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70302
Facebook has created a dual-class stock structure designed to give founder Mark Zuckerberg and other existing shareholders control over the company.
The move could be seen as laying the groundwork for an initial public offering, though the social network said Tuesday it had no plans to go public "at this time."
The dual-class structure is what Google Inc.'s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, created to keep voting control over that company before it went public in 2004. Google's Class B shares, owned by Page, Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt and some directors, hold 10 times the voting power as its regular, Class A stock.
In a statement, Facebook Inc. said the company introduced the stock structure because its existing shareholders wanted to keep control when voting on issues it faces.
The company didn't say which executives and employees would get the shares with the higher voting power. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said Facebook was converting the shares of all its current stockholders into Class B shares that, like Google's, hold 10 times the voting power of Class A stock.
That would be a departure from Google's decision to keep such shares in the hands of a few top executives -- something for which the search company has been criticized.
Dual-class structures aren't limited to high-tech companies. The New York Times Co., among others, has one to give control to the Ochs-Sulzberger family even though its members own only one-fifth of the newspaper company.
Creating a class of shares with more voting power and keeping those shares in the hands of founders and employees can potentially allow a company to take more risks even at the expense of short-term investors, said Standard & Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler, who has followed Google since its IPO.
Both Google and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., another company with...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Idiro Intros New Customer Attraction/Retention Tools
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70294
Customer attraction and retention at less cost is the single largest challenge firms are facing today: There are fewer customers, and many of them have less to spend. Customers know this and can afford to be picky and prickly.
Challenging markets require deploying innovative methods and the enabling tools to succeed in them. One of these is social network analysis, or SNA. This is the understanding of informal social networks.
These can be a circle of friends, work colleagues, neighbors or just a bunch of people who regularly hang out at a bar, restaurant, or increasingly online, with some commonality between each member. Information comes into networks where it is spread and discussed amongst the members. At some point in the discussions the leaders analyze and pronounce their take on the information and where called for a recommended action that the groups follow.
Viral marketing is becoming the primary tool to reach into social networks as it aims to connect to the leaders who would then spread the information to the entire group and suggest purchasing the products/services offered by marketers. Because people are social creatures and are in networks, viral marketing is arguably more effective than traditional mass and targeted marketing. To optimize viral marketing results though requires identifying networks, their members, and their leadership to target campaigns. That demands extensive research into what networks people belong to.
Mobile/wireless firms are facing increasingly stiff competition from not only each other but from new entrants via VoIP to keep and attract increasingly demanding and savvy customers. These firms can benefit greatly by SNA and viral marketing and are well-placed by their technology to use them and can do so by tracking customers' calling/contacting patterns have a fair idea of their networks and who may be the leaders. Yet to utilize SNA and successfully launch...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
MSN Premium Isn't Promoted for a Reason
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70267
Q. I'm having issues with the MSN software Verizon gave me. Is there a newer version, or should I get another program?
A. MSN Premium is a combination of software and services (http://get.msn.com) you can buy for $9.95 a month or get bundled with broadband services -- though some, such as Verizon, no longer advertise it to new users.
MSN's services are nothing special -- you can get most of them free at Microsoft's Windows Live site. But the MSN Explorer software, a Windows-only all-in-one combination of Web browser, e-mail client and other Internet tools, is the real problem.
Readers have complained about performance and compatibility issues, and Microsoft doesn't seem to have put serious effort into it in years. (A Microsoft spokesman said the release of an updated 10.0 version was "imminent" but offered zero information about its features.)
Microsoft doesn't make it easy to move from MSN, either. That same spokesman wrote that "we don't provide data migration tools to move customers to other Internet applications today" -- making this program a prison as far as your e-mail is concerned.
You may, in fact, have some options, depending on your versions of MSN and Windows. If you run Microsoft's Outlook, you can try using its Outlook Connector program (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA011000051033.aspx) and use that to get your e-mail and contacts. User postings online suggest that an export option on its Mail Settings screen can work to move saved messages to Outlook Express, assuming you still run Windows XP.
Finally, a volunteer-run tech support site (http://belfiore.mvps.org) collects tips about this software, including some about exporting your Web bookmarks.
None of these work-arounds may work in your case -- but none should be necessary in any case. Microsoft should put MSN Premium out of its misery, but not before adding a data-export feature that works with current...
Tue, 1 Dec 09
Google Documents Iraqi Museum Treasures
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70261
Google is documenting Iraq's national museum and will post photographs of its ancient treasures on the Internet early next year, Google chief Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday.
The museum was ransacked in the chaotic aftermath of Saddam Hussein's ouster in April 2003, and only reopened to visitors early this year. Schmidt, who toured the museum with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill on Tuesday, said it was important for the world to see Iraq's rich heritage and contribution to world culture.
"The history of the beginning of -- literally -- civilization is made right here and is preserved here in this museum," Schmidt said at a ceremony attended by Iraqi officials.
"I can think of no better use of our time and our resources than to make the images and ideas from your civilization, from the very beginnings of time, available to billions of people worldwide," he said.
Schmidt said Google has taken some 14,000 photographs of the museum and its artifacts, and the images will be available online in early 2010.
The antiquities in the museum's vast storage vaults and artifacts from other sites across the country will also be photographed as they become available and then put on the Internet, he said.
The museum was among many institutions, including universities, hospitals, libraries and art galleries, that were looted or set ablaze across Iraq in the days and weeks that followed Saddam's ouster.
The museum holds artifacts from the Stone Age through the Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods. The richness of its collection and its importance as a caretaker of the relics of early civilization triggered an outcry around the world.
U.S. troops, the sole power in the city at the time, were intensely criticized for not protecting the treasures at the museum and other cultural institutions like the national library and the Saddam Art Center, a museum of modern...