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Thu, 31 Jul 08
Alien-Hunting UK Hacker Coming to America
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63998.html
The British House of Lords has decided to extradite Gary McKinnon, a British citizen who hacked his way into several U.S. military, defense and NASA computers, to the United States to stand trial. McKinnon has been fighting extradition since the discovery in 2002 that he was the one who broke into the U.S. government's most sensitive networks -- reportedly from a friend's aunt's house -- between 2001 and 2002. He allegedly caused $900,000 in damages to computers located in 14 states.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Dell to Take Second Swing at iPod
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/64000.html
Two years after discontinuing sales of its DJ line of digital music players, Dell plans to launch a new effort to snag a piece of the digital music market from Apple with its own device this September, according to a Wednesday report. Citing details provided by several Dell executives, the report describes a company stung by past failures and intent on not repeating past mistakes. The player's design will include a small screen and simple buttons to allow users to flip through the music library.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Does a Vista By Any Other Name Smell as Rank?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63999.html
Microsoft launched another effort Tuesday to debunk the heavy criticism its Windows Vista operating system has received. But rather than sending out executives and evangelists to tout the benefits and new functionalities in Vista, Microsoft instead performed an experiment. The test, much like a Pepsi versus Coke blind taste test, was designed to prove that consumers' misconceptions about Vista, not the actual performance of the OS, are what have given the PC software a bad reputation.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Rotor-Powered 'Jet Pack' May Propel Solo Fliers to New Heights
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63996.html
Flying isn't just for superheroes anymore. A personal aviation machine that made its debut at an air show in Wisconsin this week is raising the profile of solo flying devices. The machine -- named the "Martin Jet Pack" -- lets you soar into the skies for as long as 30 minutes and reach altitudes of 8,000 feet, its creators say. The Martin Jet Pack is far from the first personal flying apparatus to surface, and it'sprobably far from the last. Some say it's not actually even a jet pack because of its mechanics.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Social Networking's Next Frontier: The Mobile Phone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63970.html
Social networking tools aren't really new in the computing world. After all, AOL was the granddaddy of social networking environments back in the Internet's early days. But the extension of these environments to mobile devices is new. According to an Informa Telecoms report, about 50 million people, or about 2.3 percent of all mobile users, already use the mobile phone for social networking, from chat services to multimedia sharing. The company forecasts that the penetration rate will mushroom to at least 12.5 percent in five years.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Yahoo, HP, Intel Give Ivory Towers a Stairway to the Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63995.html
Yahoo, HP and Intel are collaborating on an ambitious research endeavor called "Cloud Computing Test Bed" -- designed to support cloud computing research and education at universities. Users will be able to develop and test software, data center management, and hardware associated with cloud computing on this large-scale grid. The three companies are partnering with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany on the project.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
BT's Ribbit Buy: Voice Applications Get Hopping
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63989.html
Ribbit announced that it had been purchased by British Telecom on Tuesday for $105 million in cash. As deals go, that might not seem like a lot, but given the fact that it's all cash and given the relatively slow market for "liquidity events" these days, it's worth pondering. Peeling the onion and trying to get beyond the cash, this is an important milestone. For background, you should know that Ribbit is a software and services company that provides on-demand phone service through VoIP and a developer toolkit for integrating voice as a data type into all manner of applications.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
PGP CEO Dunkelberger on Research, Learning and Carlos Castaneda
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63986.html
Heading the company with perhaps the most recognized acronym in the information security field and following in the footsteps of lightning-rod figure Phil Zimmerman must have both its charms and its challenges. PGP CEO Phil Dunkelberger, however, ranges far and wide in his reflections on how data -- and keeping it safe -- affects our lives and our thinking. I had the good fortune to talk with Dunkelberger on a summer morning as we both worked from our home offices.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Portugal Rings Up Big Order for Intel's Classmate PCs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63991.html
Intel's low-cost laptop initiative is set to get a boost Wednesday from Portugal's government, which is pledging to provide elementary school students with 500,000 computers based on the chipmaker's Classmate PC design. The announcement brings Intel's rivalry with the One Laptop Per Child organization into the spotlight once again. In May, the nonprofit OLPC group said its green-and-white XO laptop computers would work with Microsoft's Windows in addition to a homegrown Linux-based operating system.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
The Look, Sound and Feel of iPhone's Rivals
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63985.html
Apple has set the bar high for mobile phones -- finding a product as fun and versatile as its iPhone is difficult. But because some people may not want to use AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier, I've been testing two new touch-screen competitors. Neither Sprint's Samsung Instinct nor Verizon's LG Dare has touch controls as intuitive as the iPhone's, but both have desirable features lacking in Apple's product. The Instinct, for example, can shoot videos; the iPhone cannot.
Thu, 31 Jul 08
Sharing Platforms, Sharing Flaws: Does Interoperable Mean Vulnerable?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63980.html
Interoperability is fast becoming a key watchword in business computing circles. Open source products continue to gain enterprise acceptance. With that acceptance comes an increase in users who demand that data produced with one application to work with data produced for another application -- or even another operating system. Open source advocates want maximum interoperability, which allows them to use whatever software they choose. For instance, a company using an open source business application expects the files it creates and works with to be compatible with Microsoft's wares.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Dell Debuts Diminutive Desktop
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63984.html
Dell rolled out its entry in the emerging ultra-small PC category Tuesday: the Dell Studio Hybrid. The desktop joins other systems in the category, including the Apple Mac mini and HP's Slimline series. The Studio Hybrid, roughly the size of a large hardbound novel, is about 80 percent smaller than the average desktop minitower and uses significantly less energy, according to Dell. The Texas-based computer company also announced two new Inspiron PCs.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Rumor Mill Has Apple Slicing and Dicing Intel Chipsets
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63988.html
Is Apple's line of MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers due for a redesign -- or at least a refresh? The MacBook Air's relatively fresh form factor will likely remain the same for a while, but new aluminum cases for the other MacBooks in Apple's menagerie -- ones that will key off of the Air's thinner, slightly rounded design -- might be on the way. Plus, there are some rumors that the new MacBooks -- likely slated for a September rollout -- will sport a glass, multi-touch trackpad.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Adobe Flips Switch on Lightroom 2
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63982.html
The promise of digital photography is that it can help any amateur develop into a backyard Ansel Adams, given the right camera, software and dedication. Imaging software company Adobe Systems has known this since 1990, when it rolled out version 1.0 of its trailblazing Photoshop software; it has followed that with a host of related products aimed at different segments of the digital imaging market. Tuesday's release of Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 is designed to narrow the gap between the serious amateur photographer and the professional.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Virgin Galactic's Mothership Ready to Haul Tourist Rocket to Space
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63978.html
Don't book that cruise just yet -- the vacation to outer space is a step closer to becoming reality. Virgin Galactic unveiled its White Knight Two carrier this week, starting the countdown to the world's first airline to take tourists to the stars. White Knight Two -- designed by Burt Rutan and funded by British entrepreneur/adventurer Richard Branson -- is set to carry passengers to near zero-gravity reaches of the skies on Virgin's SpaceShipTwo rocket. The first launch is still months away, but the carrier's completion marks a significant milestone.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Facebook Scrubs Scrabulous
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63981.html
Facebookers hoping to get in on a game of Scrabulous on Tuesday were left disappointed. Instead of linking to the game, designed by brothers Rajat and Jayant Argarwalla for play on the Facebook social networking platform, players found the following message: "Scrabulous is disabled for U.S. and Canadian users until further notice. If you would like to stay informed about developments in this matter, please click here." The message appears to indicate that that the reign of Scrabulous has come to an end.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Computer Forensics: Beyond the Magnifying Glass
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63972.html
Computer forensics gave Michael Fiola his life back. Fiola is the former investigator with the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents who found himself summarily dismissed after an IT check uncovered pornographic images of children on his laptop's hard drive. Criminal charges followed. It was only after a defense-sponsored forensic investigation that it became clear Fiola had been given a sloppily configured laptop and that malware was the probable source of the images.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Developers' Delicate Dance With the iPhone App Store
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63962.html
Anyone can hand over $199 for the newest iPhone and see what the buzz is about. But if you really want attention, tell people you wrote a little game or other some other program that runs on the gadget. That's the part that makes the phone so darn fun to use. Several developers with Raleigh, N.C., ties have software programs available for the iPhone. They're for sale at the iTunes App Store, the only place to buy such applications. From a part-time developer who already has a day job to an entire company in Durham, N.C., they're are all attracted by the same thing.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Virtualization for the African Enterprise
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63973.html
Modern computer software applications are vital for business enterprises and organizations in profit maximization and energy saving, experts have advised. The latest computer software applications -- such as Sun Microsystems' Sun Ray Thin Client and VMware Virtualization -- use low-cost and low-power devices that require no desktop administration, unlike Microsoft Windows. Ketan Girdharlal, the Sun Microsystems architect, observed that Sun Ray clients do not need to be upgraded when new applications are introduced or more computing power is required.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Report: Hackers Getting Faster at Cooking Up New Attacks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63975.html
The bad guys on the Internet are narrowing the time frame they need to unleash computer attacks that take advantage of publicly disclosed security holes, new research shows. More and more of these attacks are coming within 24 hours after a vulnerability is disclosed. That means security flaws are being exploited in Web browsers, computer operating systems and other programs before many people even have had time to learn there's a problem, according to IBM's latest Internet Security Systems X-Force report.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Snappy iPhone Poker Game Surprisingly Addictive
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63976.html
"5 Card Touch" from Griffin Technology is a very simple game for iPhone and iPod touch that emulates the most basic poker slot machine game -- five-card draw. Here's how it works. You start with $1,000 in virtual funds and place your bet of between $1 and $5. You are dealt five cards, face up. For example, I bet the maximum and received a pair of nines, a pair of fours, and a three. After you receive five cards, you have the option of discarding up to five cards and drawing new cards to replace them.
Wed, 30 Jul 08
Can Qualcomm and Nokia Patch Up Their Differences?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63974.html
Now that mobile tech titans Nokia and Qualcomm have ended a series of long-standing patent disputes, Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs says he sees "opportunities across the board" for cooperation with his company's former foe. The settlement, announced July 23, put to rest the companies' disputes over intellectual property and royalties. The ink had barely dried when Jacobs told managers they were entering a new era. "What I said to my team is, 'Nokia is a potential customer,'" Jacobs said. "It's a change in posture."
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Cuil Trots Out Dark Horse Search Contender
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63968.html
A startup search engine launched Monday, Cuil, hopes to prove that its search technology is cooler than that of the reigning king of search, Google. Cuil's creators -- former Google search architect Anna Patterson; her husband Tom Costello, a former researcher and developer at Stanford University and IBM; and Russell Power, another former Google executive -- claim they have pioneered a new take on the search game, combining the largest index of Web pages -- 120 billion -- with a content-based relevance methodology.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Microsoft Blasts Forrester's 'Sensational' Anti-Vista Report
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63965.html
Forrester Research has unleashed a bit of ire from Microsoft with an analyst report suggesting large corporations might do well to sit out the Vista era of Windows. Analyst Thomas Mendel's July 23 report on enterprise trends contained a brief mention of Vista, comparing it to "New Coke" -- Coca-Cola's disastrous reformulation of its namesake product in 1985. Public outcry forced the company to backtrack and reintroduce the old drink.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Social Networking Gets Schooled
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63951.html
As a whole, the education industry is usually relatively slow to integrate technology into the classroom. In lots of schools nationwide, unbridled access to computers and the Internet is still the exception rather than the rule. Sure, school districts use computer networks, e-mail and teacher pages on school Web sites to more efficiently communicate with staff, students and other teachers. However, using technology to enhance learning is often a by-product rather than the thrust of technology in the classroom.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Microsoft Feathers Apache's Nest
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63967.html
In a somewhat surprising move from a company that rattled sabers with what seemed like the entire open source software world last year, Microsoft has become a sponsor of the open source Apache Software Foundation and has opened up some of its protocols for use by OSS developers. Microsoft's Sam Ramji, director of the company's Open Source Software Lab, made the announcement at OSCON. While neither Microsoft nor Apache revealed the actual amount of Microsoft's sponsorship, the Redmond-based software giant's contribution will be at least $100,000 per year.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
FCC to Hammer Comcast on Throttling Shenanigans
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63966.html
Reports continue to circulate that the FCC has enough votes to rule that Comcast illegally blocked traffic between peer-to-peer Internet applications and that the government will soon set down guidelines for the Internet service provider that could serve as a precedent regarding the hotly debated topic of Net neutrality. The FCC could issue a ruling later this week, following reports in national media that Democratic commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps have joined Chairman Kevin Martin in deciding that Comcast should face some kind of action or sanction.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
The iPhone 3G and the Risk of Great Marketing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63947.html
The iPhone 3G's battery life and problems with MobileMe have many favoring the older model, but lines are still forming for the 3G version. This showcases both the amazing capabilities of brilliant marketing and the risks associated with applying it to the wrong product. At the core of the iPhone's marketing is Steve Jobs. Someone with a very similar charisma skillset, Carly Fiorina, has popped back into the news as a spokesperson for John McCain. I think it's time to chat about the power and problems that come with excellent marketing and a charismatic personality.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
MediaForge: Finding the Way of the Widget
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63953.html
If you told Rhett Frandsen 10 years ago he'd end up being a professional widget-maker, he probably would have called you crazy. "Back then, widgets were only something you read about in your economics book," Frandsen laughed. "Until Apple coined the phrase, everybody had sort of agreed upon the fact that it wasn't anything." Webster's still agrees: Look up "widget" and you'll find "an unnamed article considered for purposes of hypothetical example." Within the Web-savvy world, of course, the word has taken on new meaning -- and that meaning has taken on a large role in Frandsen's life.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Can Apple Break Through China's Great Wall of Counterfeits?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63944.html
Apple may be making a lot of noise lately with its new iPhone 3G, but when it comes to fighting software pirates, Steve Jobs' company prefers to speak softly and carry a big stick -- the stick, of course, being legal action like its recent lawsuit against computer maker Psystar for producing machines that can run Apple software. Unlike other software companies that stage press conferences whenever they take on intellectual property theft, Apple prefers to swing that stick in a media vacuum.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Does Linux Need a Little Tough Love?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63940.html
Well, last week started out with a bang thanks to Monday's announcement of the new, Debian-powered CherryPal PC. That the low-power machine runs Linux is, of course, good news. The twist is that users won't even see it, because the entire user interface is presented through Firefox. Multiple forums immediately picked up the news, and most bloggers seemed to be skeptical. "The problem with this device is that it isn't that much cheaper than a full budget PC that will whack this into the ground," wrote bestinshow on Slashdot, where more than 350 comments had appeared by Friday.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Martian Lander in Sticky Situation
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63957.html
A sample of icy soil collected by the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is apparently stuck in its scoop, foiling efforts to analyze it. The arm picked up 3 cubic centimeters of material Friday night and lifted it over an oven designed to heat samples for analysis, mission officials said Saturday. The arm tilted its scoop, ran a tool motor to try to sprinkle the sample into the oven, and finally inverted the scoop directly over the oven's open doors. But the science instrument, called the "Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer," detected that not enough material fell inside.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
China Eclipses US in Net Numbers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63955.html
China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday. The latest figure on Web use at the end of June is a 56 percent increase from a year ago, the China Internet Network Information Center said. It said the share of the Chinese public using the Internet is still just 19.1 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
Fitness, Med Apps Turn iPhone Into Health Monitor
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63958.html
Cell phones can't actually get hot enough to pop popcorn, regardless of what you may have seen on YouTube. But some do have other unexpected abilities that just might help improve your quality of life. Dozens of new health and fitness Web applications are now available for use with the Apple iPhone, which combines a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod and an Internet browser into one gadget. The apps, which likely will eventually be available on other phones that will run on a Google-based operating system, enable third-party software developers to create a new breed of health services.
Tue, 29 Jul 08
AOL's Makeover Moves: Priming Itself for a Sale?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63956.html
AOL is shutting three data storage services, including one of the Internet's earliest photo-sharing sites, as it seeks to cut costs and focus resources on its advertising opportunities. AOL Pictures, the year-old media-sharing site BlueString and the online backup service Xdrive will likely shut down by year's end, though the company is looking to sell at least Xdrive, which AOL bought in 2005 for an undisclosed fee. Company officials denied speculation Friday that the closures were meant to prime AOL for a sale.
Mon, 28 Jul 08
Twitter and Twitterers: Running Full Speed Ahead to Keep Up
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63943.html
"What are you doing?" That question is the rocket fuel for Twitter -- a hot social network service that lets you tell people what you are up to at any given moment of the day -- via cell phone, instant messenger or the Web. Never heard of it, you say? "What are you doing?" is the question Twitter asks "Twitterers" to answer in a simple text message as they connect with friends, coworkers or the wider world. Twitterers "tweet" about everything from what they had for lunch to how much they enjoyed their latest Netflix DVD.
Mon, 28 Jul 08
Open Web Foundation to Play Freedom Cop for Net Specs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63945.html
The Open Web Foundation introduced itself to the world last week at OSCON, the Open Source Convention, held in Portland, Ore. The consortium of individuals and Internet companies is an effort to build a home for community-driven specifications on the Web. The organization follows open source models already seen in the Apache Software Foundation. Its goal is to provide a lightweight framework that will help communities handle the legal requirements necessary to create successful and widely adopted specifications.
Mon, 28 Jul 08
Beware the Hype for Software as a Service
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63926.html
Time to dispel a few popular myths. SUVs are not cool. They never were. You Hummer guys were drawing snickers a few years ago. Now, with the price of gas nearing $5 a gallon, we're laughing out loud. And Microsoft's Vista is not a failure. To date, the software company has sold more than 150 million units. Vista has made Microsoft a ton of money. Yes, yes -- it's preloaded on every new computer. And yes, of course -- it stinks. But no, it's not a failure.
Mon, 28 Jul 08
Parsing the '3G' in iPhone 3G
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63924.html
Here's a question: Over the past couple of months, how many times have you heard the expression "3G?" You have probably heard it at least a thousand times, because every ad and every article for the new iPhone has called it the "3G iPhone." The obvious question: What is 3G? In order to understand 3G, it is helpful to get in a time machine and go back to 1983. There, we would be able to see the birth of the first commercial cell phone systems in the United States. It was the age of the big cells phones: the car phone, the bag phone and the brick phone.
Sun, 27 Jul 08
Web Video and the Net's Creaking Backbone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63942.html
Two weeks ago, Apple and AT&T outlets opened their doors to massive lines of fans eager to buy the new iPhone 3G. The stores were stocked and ready to sell, but the network -- shouldered with the burden of activating so many new phones -- was quickly overwhelmed, and the process slowed to a crawl. Is this sort of pile-on some sort of preview of what hides around the corner with the surge of video downloads on the Internet at large? Is the Web's infrastructure inching toward collapse?
Sun, 27 Jul 08
Cloud Computing: When Computers Really Do Rule
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63954.html
In the nightmare scenario of Luddites everywhere, The Computers have been entrusted with mankind's accumulated knowledge. All is well until that fateful day when the machines band together, creating a mammoth, all-powerful, living network that thinks, grows and takes over the Earth. Think "The Terminator" or "Colossus: The Forbin Project." These days, the geek buzzword for this is "the Cloud" and the catchphrase is "Cloud computing." First, the bad news, at least for the Luddites: The Cloud is already here.
Sun, 27 Jul 08
Smash, Grab, Then Make a Killing Online
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63938.html
At first it seemed like ordinary shoplifting -- stuffing a few pairs of jeans into an oversize bag and walking out of the store. But the thieves got bolder. They began showing up in groups of five or six in the middle of the day, spraying store clerks with mace and knocking customers out of the way as they gathered armfuls of clothes. Sometimes they tossed a brick through the glass. Sometimes they drove a truck through the front door. The thieves aren't looking for just any kind of jeans. They're snatching high-end designer duds that sell for $150 to $350.
Sun, 27 Jul 08
Lightening the Load for the iPhone's Wimpy Battery
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63911.html
Question: In your recent review of the new iPhone 3G, you mentioned that it had weaker battery life between charges than the original iPhone, but that you learned various techniques to minimize this problem. Can you elaborate? Answer: The biggest battery drain is the fast, but power-hungry, 3G cellular network, which lessens battery life on all phones. So, when you are able to use WiFi instead for data, you can turn off 3G reception using a setting Apple provides. You will still be able to make and receive voice calls over older networks that won't drain the battery as fast.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Leaked DNS Exploit Drives Admins Bonkers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63950.html
A significant domain name system flaw first spotted by Dan Kaminsky, IOActive director of penetration testing, is now out in the wild, and unfortunately for Internet users, it's the kind of danger that isn't easily seen. Imagine you're heading home from work, and you arrive at what appears to be your home. So you use your keys, and you enter through the front door. You take off your shoes, stretch, grab a drink from the refrigerator, and start paying bills. In this analogy, there's no hacker lurking over your shoulder -- the hacker is the house, a replica of your home.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
eBay's Paul Strong on Building the Data Center of the Future
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63922.html
In this age when an Internet eon is roughly the equivalent of a calendar year and any given company titan can flicker out of existence in a flash, few companies, especially those solely Internet-based, are seen as enduring and solid and fated for perpetuity. Among these rarities, the world's largest online auction company, eBay, certainly holds it own. Even so, eBay too can be gobbled up by the times if it stands still even for a minute. Survival for eBay, like many companies, depends more on advances in science than it does on marketing trends of the day or P&Ls that speak of profits past.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Microsoft's Quest for Search Cred Leads to Facebook
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63946.html
Microsoft is forging ahead with plan B, now that its proposed merger with Yahoo is all but dead. It is expanding its relationship with Facebook to broaden exposure of its Windows Live Search as well as increase its own search ad business. This latter goal, of course, had been the point behind the failed Yahoo acquisition. It is unclear, though, whether Microsoft can catch up with Google in this space without Yahoo -- and, if it can, whether this is the best strategy to do so.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Scrabble-Scrabulous Fuss Lands in Court
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63941.html
Hasbro, maker of the word game Scrabble, has issued the ultimate double challenge to social network Facebook and its wildly popular Scrabble-like application Scrabulous: a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement. The suit, filed Thursday in a New York district court, claims the application violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Hasbro has asked Facebook to remove the game, but as of press time, the network was still allowing users to download the Scrabulous application.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
If You Can Get Past the Rocky Rollout, MobileMe's a Winner
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63939.html
I haven't experienced many of the problems that are reportedly plaguing Apple's new .Mac replacement, MobileMe. The new version of Apple's $99 online storage, e-mail, photo-sharing, calender and contacts service launched July 11 -- the same day the company released the iPhone 3G and the App Store. Shortly after launch, MobileMe promptly broke for many users, over and over again, leaving some without e-mail for days on end. Last week, Apple sent a message to MobileMe subscribers, noting that the transition from .Mac to MobileMe was "a lot rockier than we had hoped."
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Consoles Sell Like Hotcakes, Yahoo Cuts a Deal, Sysadmin Caves
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63936.html
As much as I love zombie movies, I really don't care to count how many times I've been invited to BECOME a zombie on Facebook. Yeah, you know the one I'm talking about. That's what you get when you open your platform to developers with all sorts of agendas -- you get a handful of good stuff, and you get oceans of crap -- spammy, garbagey applications -- the software equivalent of Cracker Jack prizes. So at Facebook's F8 developer's conference, the company announced what it calls the "Great App" program.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Internet Habits and the Presidency
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63929.html
When it comes to the Internet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently said that he's "an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get." In an era where the Internet is playing an ever greater role, does such an admission matter, and does it say anything important about the age gap between McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama? This is not the first time a politician has come under fire for sweeping claims about the Internet. Recall, for instance, Al Gore's comment that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet."
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Sony Turns the Page on E-Book Business Model
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63935.html
Sony announced Thursday that the new iteration of its Reader digital book will be able to read electronic books published in the .epub file format, a file type gaining acceptance among major trade book publishers, many of whom have committed to begin publishing forthcoming e-books in the format. Beginning in August, the new PRS-505 Reader model will support .epub files as well as Adobe eBooks with digital rights management technology and have the capability to reflow standard text-based Portable Document Format e-books, the company said.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Internet Collaboration Drives Electric Car Conversion Crusade
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63934.html
A Finnish Internet community is seeking to apply the collective approach taken by online collaborators like the authors of Wikipedia to start a mass movement toward electric cars. The plan is to encourage the conversion of used gasoline-powered cars to run on electricity, with the first rollout due this year. The Finnish-language forum, eCars - Now! claims to be first of its kind in the world, and is working in the tradition of the open source projects used in information technology, like the Linux OS, which also came from a Finn.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
Mac Bloggers on Surprise Products, Snagging 3G iPhones and Squeezing Out Battery Life
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63930.html
While Apple's third quarter financial performance report kicked off the week's news, it was Apple's Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's commentary about a possible mystery product that really had bloggers typing. The iPhone 3G remains a hot topic as well, but finding one is still posing a problem for many would-be owners, and for those who have an iPhone 3G in hand, the challenge is keeping it running throughout the day. Apple's third quarter financial report had all the expected raw numbers.
Sat, 26 Jul 08
The Spam World's Election Season Blast
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63925.html
With the political election season ramping up, spammers are again using news headlines about the candidates to saturate in-boxes. Researchers have uncovered two new spam clusters with subject lines relating to Barack Obama. At certain points, one of these spam runs accounted for up to 18 percent of all spam, according to MessageLabs. Overall, spam levels for the U.S. in June reached 86 percent of all received mail compared with spam levels at 81.5 percent in the rest of the world. Some U.S. states are more affected than others, according to a recent monthly spam trend report.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Facebook Tags Best Apps, Springs User Data
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63933.html
Facebook on Wednesday announced several changes in the way applications and user information are handled. The social networking site's new measures include Facebook Connect, the Great Apps program and the Facebook Verification program, officials said at Facebook's F8 developer's conference. The company also announced a new developer's site. More than 400,000 developers have created applications for the Facebook platform; they're used by the site's 90 million-plus subscribers.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Google's Knol: More Rules, More Accountability, More Money
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63928.html
While the beta testing seems never to end at Google -- Gmail is still in beta well past age 4 -- the world's largest search engine and advertising machine has released to the public a new knowledge base called "Knol." A "knol," according to Google, is a unit of knowledge. More specifically, Google says Knols are authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects. The company first announced Knol late last year, and instead of populating its databases with articles from everyone, Google kept Knol an invitation-only party -- until now.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Intel Unveils Atom-Powered System-on-Chip Plans
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63918.html
Intel announced on Thursday new processors built around its plans for a new category of highly integrated, purpose-built and Web-savvy system-on-chip designs. The company also unveiled its first eight products under its Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor family for security, storage, communications and industrial robotics. Intel is basing several of these SoC chip designs on the same blueprints as the company's existing processors that run much of the Internet, called "Intel architecture," according to company officials.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
UK ISPs to Fling Wide Net for Music Pirates
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63927.html
British parents who don't know what their kids are downloading on the family computer may want to start paying more attention, thanks to a new antipiracy agreement among the six largest Internet service providers in the United Kingdom. The U.S. music industry will no doubt track developments in the UK. That's because the effort, announced by BT, Virgin Media, BSkyB, Orange, Carphone Warehouse and Tiscali, will start with warning letters to suspected illegal downloaders but could eventually include penalties like online monitoring and reduced Internet speeds to households.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Is Web 2.0 Security's Achilles Heel?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63904.html
We're facing a Web security gap. The Web has become the primary source of infections in enterprises, surpassing e-mail. Although most enterprises do some form of URL filtering on their Web traffic, it's proven to not be an adequate security solution alone. Only 15 percent of organizations are performing the deeper inspection and blocking on Web traffic necessary to protect their employees, according to Gartner. And the problem is growing, with over 9,000 Web sites hosting malicious code being added each day.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Court Nixes Law Aimed at Protecting Kids Online
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63917.html
Proponents of the beleaguered Child Online Protection Act suffered yet another blow Tuesday when a federal appeals court deemed the law unconstitutional once again. The 1998 law, known as "COPA," aims to keep children from viewing pornographic materials on the Internet by making it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access "harmful" material. Penalties for violators include fines of as much as $50,000 and up to six months' imprisonment.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Mac Wares for the Jurisprudence Crowd
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63916.html
"The Jury Loved My iBook" is how Peter Zavaletta begins his testimonial on MacLaw Online. A personal injury and medical malpractice attorney in Brownsville, Texas, Zavaletta attributes his victory in an obstetrical negligence case in part to his array of Mac tools. He edited his video depositions in iMovie (for OS X) on his PowerMac G4 733, burned them onto DVDs with iDVD 2, and played them on his iBook 600, which was connected to the courtroom's built-in Epson projector.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Prominent Cancer Doc Urges Curb of Cell Phone Use
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63923.html
The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning from Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
MindTouch Sharpens Its Deki App Masher
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63910.html
MindTouch announced on Wednesday the latest version of its open source collaboration and collective intelligence platform, MindTouch Deki. Dubbed "Kilen Woods," it features new workflow capabilities, enterprise adapters and usability improvements. The release targets information workers, IT professionals, and developers looking to collaborate and connect enterprise systems and data sources. It builds on the wiki-based collaboration interface.
Fri, 25 Jul 08
Giving Your Site a Social Life
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63880.html
The world of online business communication has introduced two industry-changing elements for small business: more customers and more competitors. Circa 1999, you were ahead of the competition by simply having a Web site to preview your service or products. By 2004, Web transactions were the norm, and convenience was the king. Both those previous core competencies have become expected norms, with social interaction, immediate consumer feedback, and a live and evolving social network and Web presence the new differentiators for cutting-edge online small business best practices.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
CE Makers: What the World Needs Now Is Another Wireless HD Standard
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63915.html
Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp and Sony have joined forces with Amimon, a developer of wireless home digital interface technology. The companies have pledged support for the creation of a new interoperable industry standard for audio, video and control that could connect multiple high-definition devices around a home without the use of wires. The group's goal is to enhance the current WHDI technology in order to enable wireless streaming of uncompressed HD video and audio between consumer electronic devices.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
Renegade Sysadmin Gives Up Secret Passwords to SF Mayor
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63912.html
Usually, it's a mayor who hands out the key to his or her city to residents deserving special recognition. In San Francisco's case, it was Mayor Gavin Newsom who took back the key to his city's computer network from the man who held it hostage for more than a week. The only positive recognition system administrator Terry Childs is likely to get from his escapade is credit for alerting other cities to take a second look at their information technology security practices.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
Microsoft Opens Xbox Dev Community to Gaming Masses
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63913.html
Microsoft announced several changes to its Games for Windows Live and Xbox Live services Tuesday. Chief Technology Officer Chris Satchell outlined the changes at the company's Gamefest 2008 Conference held in Seattle. The software maker has removed its fees for Games for Windows Live, so now multiplayer game play functionality is available at no extra cost at all membership levels. Microsoft will also roll out its Games for Windows Live Marketplace, adding a digital distribution component to the PC gaming service, as well as a revamped user interface.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
The Road to 4G: WiMax Leads the Way
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63903.html
Gathering momentum and now moving swiftly, a host of companies are progressing with efforts to develop and prove so-called fourth generation, or 4G, wireless technologies. Eagerly anticipated, what exactly constitutes 4G is yet to be determined. Though this process is driven in the main by international industry associations, no one group's efforts span all the evolving technology and international definitions and standards that will go into defining and applying it.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
JasperSoft Fires Up New OSS Forge
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63902.html
Open source business intelligence firm JasperSoft on Wednesday announced its next-generation community platform at the O'Reilly Open Source Conference. The new platform features tools to enhance community project developers as well as business users. The new JasperSoft Forge responds to the changing needs of both open source software developers and a new class of business users drawn to the forge JasperSoft created two years ago.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
MySpace Casts Lot With OpenID
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63905.html
The online hangout MySpace took another step Tuesday in cooperating with rival Internet services, joining a coalition that allows people to use the same accounts and passwords across the Web. The OpenID coalition now includes Time Warner's AOL, Google's Blogger, Yahoo and blogging services Vox, WordPress and LiveJournal. Users with a supported account can activate it for use at other sites accepting OpenID; this way they won't have to keep creating new accounts and remembering passwords.
Thu, 24 Jul 08
Backup Batteries Give Your iPhone Extra Juice
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63895.html
It's late in the day and again my iPhone 3G's battery is running low. Instead of giving this iPhone a name, as many people do with their gadgets, I'm using a mantra: "Another day, another charge." That makes this an apt time to take a fresh look at an increasingly important part of our gadget portfolio, those portable charging devices that provide a shot of juice in a pinch. Do you know someone seemingly at the edge of disaster because of a misplaced phone charger? Or maybe, after a nap with the music on during a lengthy plane ride, you find you don't have enough power to call the office?
Thu, 24 Jul 08
Riding the Digital Signage Wave the SaaS Way
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63893.html
Digital billboards and digital signage networks in retail are driving the rapid expansion of outdoor/out-of-home advertising, rivaling the Internet as the fastest-growing advertising medium. What's fueling this growth? The ability to reach the elusive consumers while they are out of home, and especially while they are shopping. And the ability to customize each message to audiences at any location and even at any area within a location is another unique value that it brings to marketers.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Researcher Spills Beans on DNS Flaw Specs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63901.html
Details about the massive Domain Name System flaw revealed less than two weeks ago were made public on the Internet Monday. Halvar Flake, a reverse engineering expert, posted a hypothetical theory about the vulnerability on his blog. A few hours later, a researcher at Matasano Security who knew the specifics about the bug posted a response to Flake's blog, confirming his hypothesis. Shortly afterwards, the Matasano post was removed, and company executive Thomas Ptacek apologized, admitting that the company had "dropped the ball."
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Esquire to Put Digital Moving Pix on Mag Cover
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63900.html
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Esquire magazine, the publication's editors plan to release 100,000 copies of its October 2008 edition with a cover made of electronic paper. E Ink, an electronic paper developer, has taken the technology it used in devices such as the Amazon Kindle and Sony eReader to develop a version of the technology for use on the Esquire cover. The resulting cover, hitting newsstands in September, will feature words and images that scroll across the flexible electronic page.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Facebook Repaints Wall in New Design
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63898.html
Facebook's new look is all about the Wall, the blank space on a profile page that the social network's users can fill in with stories, photos, links and the ever-popular Status Updates. In turn, Facebook executives hope a less-cluttered Web site will eventually fill in their bank accounts with more advertising revenue. The second-ranked social network is slowly introducing its users to its redesign, keeping in mind the public relations disaster that was Beacon, Facebook's controversial attempt to link customer data to advertisers.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Web 2.0 the Enterprise Way
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63884.html
Web 2.0 technologies are empowering enterprises in ways we could only have imagined a few years ago. They have evolved beyond consumer-grade blogs and wikis into enterprise-class solutions driving collaboration, productivity, sales and cost savings. But despite the business value they deliver, are enterprises ready to fully embrace Web 2.0 technologies? Companies that don't are risking more than just their competitive edge, according to one analyst firm.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
TiVo, Amazon Put a Little 'Buy Buy' in the 'Boop Boop'
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63896.html
The company that pioneered the concept of skipping past television commercials is now introducing a new kind of TV-based advertising. TiVo has joined forces with Amazon to create an interactive system that will let viewers buy products featured on TV shows -- right from their remotes. TiVo Product Purchase will present options on the screen and give users the opportunity to order without interrupting the program. Think of it this way: If you're watching "Oprah" and her guest is an author, the book he wrote might pop up on-screen.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Are VM Environments Open to Attack?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63888.html
New adopters often see virtualization as the Holy Grail of enterprise computing. It enables consolidation of separate servers and databases to provide more economic operations. Running consolidated computers from one virtualized machine also eliminates the electrical waste spent to keep idling servers and data-processing machines running. However, a virtualized computing environment can also set up unexpected tripwires for security. For instance, virtualization can sometimes bypass network security standards that rely on hard connections to function.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Wait! Don't Upgrade to iPhone 3G
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63881.html
In a move that will certainly win me no friends at Apple, I simply can't in good conscience recommend the iPhone 3G to existing iPhone customers. Don't get me wrong. I have an iPhone 3G myself, and I upgraded from my existing iPhone, and I love both. As I've mentioned before, once you go iPhone, you never go back. Still, there are only a few situations where it makes sense to upgrade from iPhone to iPhone 3G -- and what's more, there are several reasons why you shouldn't.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Follow the Money: Do-It-Yourself Reality Check on Pols
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63878.html
Money talks. So it's important for voters to know how candidates get their money, who gives it to them, and what they do with it. This information used to be buried in obscure volumes and government reports, but digital databases have changed all that. Anyone with a Web connection and the desire to do a little research can quickly learn just about whatever they want to know about candidates, politicians and money. One comprehensive source of information is the Center for Responsive Politics.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
New Cell Service Lets Callers Make Beeline for Voice Mail
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63890.html
The old song had it right: Breaking up is hard to do. But a free new phone service called "Slydial" might make it easier to get through that and other awkward moments -- without actually having to talk to anyone. Slydial lets you connect directly with another person's cell phone voice mail, bypassing the traditional ringing process that often results -- sometimes disastrously -- with someone picking up on the other end. Users call (267) SLY-DIAL from either a cell phone or a landline, and are prompted to enter another person's cell phone number.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
The iPhone Wanders Outside Apple's Realm
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63892.html
In the Soviet days, Russians asked their American friends to bring blue jeans, rock records and other Western goods into the country. Today Russians can buy almost anything they want here -- but they are still begging for one item: Apple's slick iPhone. The new iPhone went on sale in 21 countries July 11 and will soon be released in 70 nations. Officially, Russia and China are still on hold -- neither last year's original iPhone nor the updated model have been launched in those countries because Apple is still negotiating with mobile service providers.
Wed, 23 Jul 08
Brocade Eyes Cisco Customers With $3B Foundry Buy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63889.html
Brocade Communications System, dominant in an obscure corner of the data storage market, wants a piece of a bigger pie: Cisco Systems' cash cow business of networking equipment that shuttles Internet traffic. Brocade said Monday it has agreed to pay $3 billion to acquire one of Cisco's much-smaller competitors, Foundry Networks, to try and make that happen. The proposed acquisition would meld two companies with presence deep in the data center and pose a direct challenge to Cisco, which at $29 billion in annual sales is the world's leader in Internet networking equipment.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
Qik Lets Video Cell Phones Broadcast to the World
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63887.html
Streaming mobile video service Qik opened its doors to all comers Monday, moving from the invitation-only alpha it began late last year to an open beta program. The company also announced a bevy of new features, distribution partners and support for more mobile handsets. With Qik (pronounced "quick") software, members can stream video directly from their mobile handsets to the Web. They can stream videos to contacts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter or use a mobile phone as a camcorder to capture and post videos of events.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
CherryPal Mini PC Makes Firefox the OS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63883.html
PC users seeking an environmentally friendly desktop system can add the new CherryPal C100 desktop to the list of contenders. The machine, announced Monday, was designed by green computer maker CherryPal and contains no moving parts. With 80 percent fewer components, the minimalist system uses a scant 2 watts of power. "The design goal was to build something [people were used to] with the same user experience, with the same performance metrics but in a very green, very efficient way," said Max Seybold, CherryPal CEO.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
VKernel: Seeking Simplicity in the Wild, Woolly World of Virtualization
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63873.html
VKernel is a young company with its finger on the pulse of the virtual server market, one of the hottest in the software world. Buzz over virtual servers is so high-pitched, in fact, that CEO Alex Bakman sees the potential for a steady stream of new hires that will swell his company's workforce to 5,000 people over the next five years. Why the positive outlook? As organizations rapidly virtualize their data centers, they are experiencing a whole new set of systems management challenges which cannot be solved with traditional vendor tools in an acceptable time frame.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
Analysts Puzzle Over iPhone 3G Shortage Mystery
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63882.html
Apple's new iPhone 3G is rapidly becoming the Nintendo Wii of the smartphone world: a must-have-but-can't-have-because-you-can't-find-it technology product. And that has some conspiracy theorists wondering if Steve Jobs' company is creating the shortage to keep demand as high as weekend temperatures in New York City. The summer heat was just one of the obstacles facing consumers who stood in long lines outside New York's Soho Apple Store to lock in their iPhone purchase before stocks ran out.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
Study: OSS Communities Are Often Slackers in Security
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63875.html
The most widely used open source software packages for the enterprise are exposing users to significant and unnecessary business risks, according to an open source security study from security firm Fortify Software. The study, released Monday, concludes that open source software development communities have yet to adopt a secure development process and often leave dangerous vulnerabilities unaddressed. Additionally, the study found that nearly all OSS communities fail to provide users access to security expertise to help fix these vulnerabilities and security risks.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
The Power of Balance
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63866.html
I like writing about conflict because it gives you more than one dimension to a story, and there were two interesting conflicts that I ran into last week. The first, more near-term, will likely define the direction of the notebook market, and it is important because it implies an ether/or decision when most of us want both. The other is the constant conflict inside Apple -- which, as was explained to me last week, results in regular and famous screaming matches that in turn help create products like the iPhone.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
The Importance of Purity on the Linux Desktop
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63869.html
Well, the dog days of summer have begun to set in, so it's not too surprising that the Linux blogs were relatively quiet last week. Linux geeks across the nation were no doubt seeking refuge wherever they could -- it's hard to withstand flames on the blogs when you feel like you're aflame yourself! One topic that did set off quite a discussion, however, was an article Matt Hartley posted last weekend on Datamation regarding the question of purity on the Linux desktop.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
Feckless MySpace Pix: A Prize for Prosecutors
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63877.html
Two weeks after Joshua Lipton was charged in a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a woman, the 20-year-old college junior attended a Halloween party dressed as a prisoner. Pictures from the party showed him in a black-and-white striped shirt and an orange jumpsuit labeled "Jail Bird." In the age of the Internet, it might not be hard to guess what happened to those pictures: Someone posted them on the social networking site Facebook. And that offered remarkable evidence for Jay Sullivan, the prosecutor handling Lipton's drunken-driving case.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
Bellying Up to the iPhone App Bar
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63863.html
Some are useful. Many frivolous. A bunch will waste your time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. My Seinfeldian statement has to do with the scores of programs available free or for sale at the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch. It is the killer app many of us expected, even if the same cannot be said for every program in the joint. Some programs address the iPhone's deficiencies -- there are several audio recorders, for example. However, I still haven't stumbled upon a program to let you shoot video via the iPhone's digital camera.
Tue, 22 Jul 08
The Prepaid Phone Trafficking Web of Crime
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63861.html
Cell phone trafficking operations siphon millions of dollars from the wireless industry and its customers every year. Until recently, little could be done to fight back, but a vigorous counter-attack that has yielded several victories in federal courts across the country is beginning to turn the tide and help the wireless industry put a stop to a spreading epidemic. Cell phone traffickers have created a complex network of individuals and companies in the U.S. and around the world that steal subsidies from wireless companies used to lower the cost of their phones for legitimate customers.
Mon, 21 Jul 08
A Webcast Odyssey
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63868.html
NASA has Houston. Benjamin Higginbotham has Eden Prairie. What, you've never heard of it? The southwest suburb of Minneapolis serves as ground control for his SpaceVidcast, a daily Internet show about space travel. An admitted tech-obsessed geek, Higginbotham, 30, gets excited when he boasts about the motorized satellite dish on his roof that he can control from anywhere in the world or the equipment upgrade that will allow him to go completely high-def. However, he becomes downright giddy when talking about sending people back to the moon, on to Mars and beyond.
Mon, 21 Jul 08
NComputing: Little Box, Big Aspirations
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63847.html
Stephen Dukker believes he has what the world is looking for: The People's PC. But it's not really a PC. The chairman and chief executive of NComputing in Redwood City, Calif., is pursuing a computer revolution with a small box that turns low-cost desktop computers into servers that feed dozens of work stations. In tech parlance, it's called "thin client" technology -- devices that have no processing power and store information on servers. NComputing's virtualization software taps into unused capacity in high-performance PCs and disperses that power to up to 30 other terminals.
Mon, 21 Jul 08
Mac Enterprise Security: Flawed in Fact, or Flawed Facts?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63835.html
On Tuesday, Computerworld published a story about so-called security flaws in Mac OS X that affect the enterprise. The six arguments actually amount to a collection of shibboleths. Security Flaw #1: Apple Updates. The argument is that security updates pop up unannounced and insufficient information is provided to make a decision as to whether to roll out the update. Reality: Experienced IT administrators who maintain Macs have access to information that helps them better understand the updates.
Mon, 21 Jul 08
Online Peer Lending: Blazing an Easier Path to Cash
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63791.html
Some people are finding it tougher than ever to get a bank loan amid the nation's credit crisis, but many are getting a warmer welcome at the "teller window" on the Web. People are flocking to social network sites such as Prosper.com and Zopa.com, which connect lenders and borrowers at the grassroots level, using an eBay-style auction of loans and interest rates. Sites and players have multiplied in the nascent industry -- known as peer-to-peer online lending -- which is barely 2 years old.
Sun, 20 Jul 08
The Freewheeling Web's Privacy Noose
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63865.html
It's no secret that individual privacy has already suffered since the Internet era began, but privacy law expert Daniel Solove believes things are likely to get even worse -- much worse -- and he illustrates his vision in living color with a wealth of examples from the here and now. In The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet -- now available as a free download -- Solove begins his dark tale with the classic story of "dog poop girl," a young woman now famous for refusing to clean up after her dog on a South Korea subway train.
Sun, 20 Jul 08
Second Life: A Wide World for Med, Science Students
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63867.html
Judith Kung Fu may be just one of more than 14 million computer-generated characters in the 3-D virtual world Second Life. But with her help, her creator may one day save your life. In Second Life, Judith has walked through the walls of a human cell. She has, in a flash, conducted complicated science experiments that took the world's best minds years to complete. She has helped her creator, 21-year-old Jacqueline Rodriguez, a senior biology major at Texas Wesleyan University, take crucial steps toward becoming a doctor.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
Samsung, Sun Give NAND Devices 5 Lives
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63872.html
Samsung and Sun Microsystems have partnered to develop a single-level-cell NAND flash memory device for use in solid state drives with significantly high endurance levels, the two companies said Wednesday. The new device will provide much higher endurance levels than other flash memory devices currently available, according to the companies. Potential applications for the server-grade SLC flash technology include video streaming, high-transaction data processing, search engine operations and other high-speed server functions.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
The Part-Time CSO
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63850.html
Physicists tell us that time is not constant. Interesting as that may be for physicists, it's also a concept that the rest of us can get behind once we put a little bit of a different spin on it. I'm not suggesting that we should all get out our lab coats and play make-believe cosmologist. Instead, I'm suggesting that we put the scientific implications of the statement aside and look to what it might say about how we view time in the workplace. Many of us tend to assume that every hour we pour into our jobs -- or particular tasks within our jobs -- is equal.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
No Recession for Game Console Makers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63864.html
Americans are tiring of $4.50-a-gallon gasoline, dire warnings from Iran and nasty political rhetoric. So they seem to be taking our their frustrations by blasting alien invaders and enemy soldiers and playing tennis with their TV sets. Video games seem to be providing consumers a better entertainment bang for their buck this summer, as a dour economy forces them to choose "staycations" over vacations. Year-to-year June sales of video-game consoles surged 54 percent, spurred by strong sales from Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3, according to an NPD Group industry report.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
Network Held Hostage, Cyberterror Battle Plan, Evil Genius Wannabe
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63862.html
A City of San Francisco systems administrator is a living testimonial to the importance of preventing any one person in an organization from having too much power. Terry Childs, who is now in jail, holds in his brain the passwords that will let city officials access San Francisco's Fiber Wide Area Network. Apparently, Childs was cheesed off that his supervisors tried to fire him for poor job performance, so he created an account that gave him exclusive access to the network, then refused to tell anyone the password.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
Mac Bloggers Size Up New Rivals, Break Down iPhone, Watch MobileMe Fall Flat
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63854.html
While iPhone 3G shortages still abound, Mac bloggers have still been hitting the new handset from all angles -- including from the inside out. Of course, there's more to Apple than the iPhone -- how about the company's rising PC market share, which now puts Apple in third place in the U.S. Also, Apple TV took a couple punches this week from Microsoft and Sony, and MobileMe is perhaps not so pushy after all. The release of the iPhone 3G spawned posts across the blogosphere.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
An Open Source Seeing Eye Dog for Web Surfers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63849.html
Blind people generally use computers with the help of screen-reader software, but those products can cost more than $1,000, so they're not exactly common on public PCs at libraries or Internet cafes. Now a free new Web-based program for the blind aims to improve the situation. It's called "WebAnywhere," and it was developed by a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington. Unlike software that has to be installed on PCs, WebAnywhere is an Internet application that can make Web surfing accessible to the blind on most any computer.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
The Growing Threat of Job Site Scams, Part 2
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63845.html
A troubling up-tick in the frequency of Internet fraud attempts and the growing use of more sophisticated botnets and crimeware is leading a growing number of organizations to enlist the services of specialized Internet anti-fraud security services. Operating in a digital realm beyond the reach of law enforcement agencies, private companies and Internet security providers are increasingly joining in efforts that involve taking offensive action against Internet fraud in defense of themselves and their customers.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
SCO to Cough Up $2.5M for Novell's Unix Royalties
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63859.html
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that The SCO Group must pay more than $2.5 million in royalties to Novell for licensing the Unix computer operating system software to Sun Microsystems. The decision by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball in Salt Lake City came in the long-running dispute between Novell of Provo, Utah, and SCO. In 2007, Kimball ruled Novell still owned pre-1995 copyrights to the Unix system that it sold that year to The Santa Cruz Operation. Lindon, Utah-based SCO bought the system in 2001 from Santa Cruz.
Sat, 19 Jul 08
Gore Pitches 10-Year Plan to Wean US Off Dirty Fuels
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63857.html
Former Vice President Al Gore called Thursday for a "man on the moon" effort to switch all of the nation's electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years, a goal that he said would solve global warming as well as economic and natural security crises caused by dependence on fossil fuels. "The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels," Gore told a packed auditorium in Washington's historic Constitution Hall.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Security Sleuths Sound Alarm on Asprox Flare-Up
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63846.html
Web security firm Finjan issued a warning Thursday about a new wave of mass Web attacks that it said has affected more than 1,000 Web site domains, including government, retail, healthcare and advertising sites. Security vendors have been aware of the attack toolkit, dubbed "Asprox," for several years. However, they have noticed an uptick in the popularity of the malware since 2007. In May, cyber-criminals began a new round of mass Web attacks that successfully targeted a large number of government and top business Web sites around to the world, the firm said.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Obama Calls for Cyberterror Czar
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63842.html
The presidential campaign is turning a focus to cyberterrorism. Democrat Barack Obama has unveiled plans for a "national cyber advisor" position as well as updated standards for protecting computer-based infrastructures if he is elected. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has spoken of the need for increased cyber security in recent weeks as well. Already this year, the current administration has increased its efforts to protect America from Internet-based attacks, with plans for a $30 billion effort to expand federal network monitoring over the next seven years.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Wireless Headphone System Lets Lots of Listeners Hear the Tune
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63830.html
The i2i Stream digital music broadcaster is the latest wireless music delivery innovation from Aerielle. It enables users to stream audio wirelessly from any device, including iPods, MP3 players, computers and home entertainment systems. The concept of wireless voice and music transmission over short distances from player device to listener is nothing new. Wireless FM modulators and wireless headsets predate Bluetooth devices and had a strong following among music listeners who don't like to deal with wire tangles.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Analyst: Xbox 360 Best of Show at E3
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63839.html
This week's E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles gave each major console maker -- Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo -- the chance to showcase the future of their platforms. Microsoft added social functions and new entertainment options to the Xbox 360, Sony trumpeted a video store and an upcoming price cut for the PlayStation 3, and Nintendo showed gamers glimpses of a new controller add-on and upcoming games like "Wii Sports Resort." However, if any of the Big 3 could be said to have "won" E3 this year, then Microsoft takes the top prize, according Yankee Group's Mike Goodman.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Smart Appliances: Too Smart for Their Own Good?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63829.html
In Internet time, it's been an eon since "smart appliances" were said to be stocked on the near horizon, but many sunsets later -- eight years, actually -- the futuristic devices are still, well, in the future. One would think the green movement, among other things, would have pushed this concept along. "During the tech boom and the push to Interent-ize everything, I expected to see an explosion of remote control/remote detection appliances before now," said John Ragsdale, vice president of research at the Service and Support Professionals Association.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
All Signs Point to Virtualization
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63820.html
Virtualization has evolved from a development tool running on the desktop to an essential component of IT infrastructure strategy. Companies use virtualization as a means to increase desktop, server and storage utilization, to consolidate data center operations and utility costs, and to reduce the data center's floor space. A recently published Aberdeen benchmark, Virtual Strategies: Managing Servers, Desktops and Storage for Infrastructure Efficiency, found that 92 percent of companies have implemented some type of server virtualization.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Jumping Into the Software Application Lifecycle Cockpit
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63832.html
In an effort to shine more light on the traditional "dark art" of software development, Borland Software on Monday announced Borland Management Solutions. The three-pronged product leverages Borland's Open Application Lifecycle Management framework, and is designed to enable users to better orchestrate, measure, predict and improve software delivery. BMS, according to the Austin, Texas, company, plugs into a customer's existing ALM tooling infrastructure and provides what Borland calls a "cockpit" to give visibility and control over the entire application lifecycle.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Early Martian Water World May Have Harbored Life
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63837.html
Nearly 4 billion years ago, much of the surface of Mars was like a soppy carpet. The planet was covered by a thick atmosphere, and it was warm but not exactly picturesque. Those conditions, an international team of three dozen scientists has concluded, could have supported primitive forms of life. However, over time -- some 800 million years -- Mars dried up and took on the rocky, desert-like appearance that exists today. The scientists' findings are based on mineralogy data collected by the Reconnaissance Orbiter, a U.S. spacecraft that has circled the Red Planet since March 2006.
Fri, 18 Jul 08
Lionsgate Secures Its Cut in YouTube Ad Deal
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63838.html
Google said Wednesday that it will partner with filmmaker Lionsgate Entertainment to share revenue from ads that Google places on YouTube clips from the studio's movies. The deal will put advertising on clips uploaded by users and by the studio itself from Lions Gate movies such as the "Saw" horror series and "Dirty Dancing." The deal would make Lions Gate the second major moviemaker to try to profit from the popularity of online movie clips.
Thu, 17 Jul 08
Microsoft Doubles Live Mesh Test Force
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63828.html
After unveiling its Live Mesh cloud computing service back in April, Microsoft on Wednesday opened up the software's preview version to a larger number of early users in the United States. "This week we did two things," wrote the Live Mesh Team on its official blog. "[We] doubled the maximum number of users we'll allow to access the Live Mesh Technology Preview," and "[we] simplified the Tech Preview sign-up process."
Previously, Live Mesh was available only to a closed testing group.
Thu, 17 Jul 08
Gamers Get a Handle on the Wii's Future Features
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63825.html
When it first came out, the main thing that drew me to the Nintendo Wii was its potential for first-person shooter games. Finally, here was a console on which I could play a "Metroid Prime" game despite my infirmity. By my infirmity, I mean my inability to play an FPS game with any degree of skill or finesse without the aid of some sort of motion-sensitive device. Ever since the days of "Duke Nukem 3-D," I've always been tethered to a mouse to aim those tiny little crosshairs at a target.
Thu, 17 Jul 08
Whedon's 'Dr. Horrible' Triggers Downed Server Epidemic
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63823.html
During the recent Hollywood writers' strike, Joss Whedon found the cure for all his sudden downtime. The man who gave us "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" created a genre-busting musical about a mad doctor with a bad case of evil-mastermind-wannabe inferiority complex. And the only place to fill this prescription for cult horror-comedy? The Internet. Whedon, using his own money, called up some actor friends -- including "How I Met Your Mother's" Neil Patrick Harris -- and shot on unused Universal Studios lots.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
My Net Is Your Net: Providing Guest Access Without Blowing Security
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63796.html
The other day I was visiting a partner company and asked if they had wireless Internet access I could use. The IT guy said they had not installed a wireless network due to security concerns, so instead he let me plug into the network to get access to a Web site I needed for our discussion. I don't believe he saw the irony in that decision. It's amazing how many companies delay implementing key technologies like wireless due to perceived security risks but allow non-employees to plug directly into the corporate network without thinking about the incredible risk.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
AbiWord: A Scalpel, Not a Chain Saw
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63815.html
A master carpenter would neither drive a finishing nail with a sledgehammer nor trim a tabletop with a chain saw. Such a craftsperson needs tools that are small, versatile and cheap. One such tool -- for writers and anybody who needs to kick out anything from a short memo or letter to a full-length report -- is AbiWord. This free, open source word processor is available for Windows, Macintosh and Unix computers of just about every variety.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
iSCSI: The Perfect Storage Complement to OS X?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63809.html
Mac OS X users who face growing storage requirements due to larger, more complex projects and ever-expanding file sizes often turn to storage area networks to help overcome their challenges. With benefits such as leveraging existing IT equipment and expertise, and a lower-cost of entry when compared to other storage networking protocols, many Mac users are turning to Internet SCSI SANs as an easy, low-cost way to reap the benefits of a SAN in an OS X environment.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Mars Rover Technology Helps Earth Explorers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63819.html
NASA has developed "toylike" autonomous robots to carry out scientific surveys of treacherous areas of the Arctic and Antarctic. The SnoMotes robots are designed to operate in terrain deemed too dangerous for scientists. The devices can record data including barometric pressure, temperature and relative humidity that will help scientists improve climate models. Ayanna Howard, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, worked with scientists at Pennsylvania State University to create the devices.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Playtime for the iPhone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63821.html
Well, I guess Apple does care about games. The flood of titles on the new online App Store for the iPhone and iPhone 3G is a good sign for gamers eager to see someone other than Nintendo or Sony in the portable-gaming space. Although the first crop of iPhone games is mostly of the sort that cell phone owners have been playing for a decade ("Tetris," sudoku, poker, etc.), there are some cool, high-end titles, such as the racing game "Cro-Mag Rally," that look as good as anything you'll get on the DS.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Live From E3: PlayStation Gets Its Own Movie Store
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63817.html
At its E3 press event, Sony Computer Entertainment of America opened up a new platform for its PlayStation Store on the PlayStation Network -- a movie and TV show download service. It wasn't announced at the end of the event to create some big closer, and it wasn't accompanied by a bombastic demo like some of the upcoming games the company previewed ("Resistance 2" frightened me). Nope, the new PSN service had to settle for a few seconds of a trailer for "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Jailed SF Sysadmin Holds Parts of City Net Hostage
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63813.html
Officials have arrested a city of San Francisco IT network administrator for locking up a multimillion-dollar city computer system, according to several reports stemming from a press conference with San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. The employee, Terry Childs, 43, is accused of improperly tampering with computer systems and causing a denial of service, effectively locking out other top city administrators from the critical network. Police believe Childs set up his own secret password that grants him exclusive access to the city's new FiberWAN.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Wii Shows Its Chatty, Sensitive Side With New Accessories
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63814.html
Nintendo made news at the E3 Media & Business Summit Tuesday with additions to its Wii video game console. The game maker debuted a new accessory for gamers to enhance the sensitivity of its Wii Remote as well as a bevy of games, some of which add new functionality to the Balance Board and another that offers a different community experience. "They really have pushed the technology differentiation forward relative to what their competitors are offering," said Michael Gartenberg, a JupiterResearch analyst.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Intel's Health-Monitoring Tech May Face Rocky Road to Adoption
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63816.html
Intel has received the Food and Drug Administration's clearance to market Health Guide, an in-home device that lets healthcare providers monitor a patient's vital signs via the Internet. It also provides interactive tools such as video conferencing and e-mail to facilitate communication and education outreach. Health Guide can connect to specific models of wired and wireless medical devices, including blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Netflix Takes Center Stage on Xbox
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63810.html
Microsoft added another capability to the Xbox 360's stable of entertainment functions Monday in a partnership with Netflix that will allow users to watch streaming movies and TV shows through the Internet-connected video game console. The feature, which will launch this fall, will be available to Xbox Live Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers. Gold membership costs $60 per year. Microsoft and Netflix promise to make a library of more than 10,000 movies and TV shows available to viewers.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Sony, HP Build a Better Backup Tape
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63790.html
HP and Sony have collaborated on the creation of a next-generation digital audio tape format, the two companies announced Tuesday. Aimed at small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises with remote locations, the upcoming DAT 320 format provides improved performance and capacity over existing DAT drives, including the current generation DAT 160. While the two tech firms are jointly developing the new version, both companies will separately offer their own DAT 320 tape drives and cartridges. The storage hardware is expected to hit the market during the first half of 2009.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Intel's Tardy Centrino 2 Makes Entrance
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63811.html
Intel marked the fifth anniversary of its Centrino line Tuesday with the launch of Centrino 2 platform for notebook PCs. The chipmaker will offer the platform with a range of five new Intel Core 2 Duo processors and later this quarter, the company will release a quad-core version of the platform. The processor, chipset and wireless combo offers users up to 50 percent faster performance when multitasking, greater range and better wireless performance, as well as increased battery life that will allow consumers to watch an entire Blu-ray movie without using up the battery.
Wed, 16 Jul 08
Once You Go iPhone, There's No Going Back
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63799.html
After selling 1 million iPhone 3G models in the opening weekend -- and taking in enough receipts to eclipse the theater box office takes of "Hancock," "WALL-E," and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" -- Apple must be doing something right, and that something starts with the overall design. Even after a year, the basic design of Apple's iPhone holds up -- it's as hot and desirable as ever. The iPhone 3G is a tiny bit larger but feels noticeably lighter in your hand, and while some have bemoaned the plastic back casing, it still feels solid.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Palm Greases New Treo With Faster Network Support
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63794.html
Palm on Monday launched the latest version of its Treo smartphone, the 800w, on the Sprint network. Aimed at business users, the digital assistant and mobile phone offers access to e-mail, voice calls and other forms of messaging. The 800w has a larger screen size -- 320 x 320 -- than the previous Treo model, the 750. With dimension of 2.2 by 4.41 by 0.73 inches and a weight of 5 ounces, the 800w is thinner and lighter than earlier versions running Windows Mobile. It includes hard buttons for e-mail and calendar as well as a five-way navigation button and on/off ringer switch.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Free Laptop-Tracking System Hits the Streets
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63795.html
Adeona may have been the goddess of safe returns, but if a group of computer science professors and graduate students get their wish, they'll be viewed as the patron saints of secure laptop computer data, thanks to their new open source software service named after the Roman deity. Also, for those who worship at the altar of bargains, Adeona may indeed be a godsend: It's free. Adeona, the result of a yearlong joint research project at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego, allows users to track the location of lost or stolen laptop computers.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Bigger Phishers to Fry, Part 2: The Phuture of Phishing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63781.html
If one were to look for sure bets in the online world, phishing would be right up there on the growing list of security concerns. The art of phishing has been a remarkable study in technology innovation. It started as a simple means of luring unsuspecting consumers to visit bogus Web sites to capture basic credit card information. Now it's a highly sophisticated practice that's growing exponentially -- and attracting some very nasty, very organized players in the process. And it's only going to get worse.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Apple Sells a Cool Million iPhone 3Gs Despite Opening Weekend Hitches
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63792.html
The weekend of July 11 was a good one for Apple: With the worldwide launch of the iPhone 3G on Friday, Apple sold a cool 1 million 3G models around the world and served up 10 million iTunes App Store downloads, according to the company. "iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend. It took 74 days to sell the first 1 million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world," noted Apple CEO Steve Jobs. iPhone 3G is now available in 20 countries as well as Hong Kong. It will go on sale in France on July 17.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Australia's Illogical Withdrawal From Make-Believe Drugs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63789.html
"Elder Scrolls: Oblivion" has its stuttering, jittery skooma addicts. "Haze" has its soldiers pumped up with nectar to enhance their combat abilities. "Grand Theft Auto 4" has Jacob, a Rastafarian who is constantly smoking weed. Even Mario had a taste for mushrooms that made him grow and flowers that let him throw fireballs! The hue and cry to eliminate the influence of drugs from video games has gotten louder, and the specter of censorship looms over the industry.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
The Fall of Google, the Rebirth of Microsoft and the Changing Face of Apple and Linux
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63776.html
Sometimes it's the little things that can cause you to step back and rethink how you look at a company. For much of this decade, Microsoft has been the "evil empire" with Apple, Linux and Google on the side of the Force. With Microsoft actually doing some positive creative things for once, Apple's decision to raise iPhone prices in the face of declining consumer income, Google's attack on single parents and Richard Stallman's attack on Bill Gates' philanthropy, it appears these entities' images may be changing.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Set-Top Smackdown: Apple TV and iTunes vs. Roku and Netflix
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63780.html
Comparing the Apple TV to the Netflix Player by Roku is like comparing two wildly different kinds of automobiles -- like a Chevrolet Camaro vs. a Ford F-150 pickup. Sure, the Camaro and F-150 are both automobiles, and they can take you places you've never been before, but it's their differences that define them more than their similarities. So it is with the Apple TV and the Netflix Player by Roku. I've had several weeks to play around with the Netflix Player by Roku, and I've had an Apple TV for months.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Heavy Bandwidth Users May Face Ticking Meter
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63786.html
For as long as consumers have had high-speed Internet at home, they have surfed the Web as much as they wanted, downloading any content while paying their service provider a flat monthly fee. Those days may be ending. Internet service providers, especially cable companies, are eying new pricing models to address the rapidly growing popularity of such applications as streaming online video and the sharing of large files. These programs can eat up bandwidth and cause bottlenecks, slowing service across networks.
Tue, 15 Jul 08
Squeezing the Internet for Political Cash, Part 2: The March to November
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/63783.html
Much has been made of Barack Obama's public comments on whether or not he would choose to accept public financing for his general election campaign and Republican presidential nominee John McCain's reactions to those comments. However, the legal and political issues are far more complex than the general press is reporting, said Justin Buchler, assistant professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University. One th
