Techo Bee

Ipad plans for Telstra unveils data

2010-05-09T02:46:00.000-07:00

Telstra unveils data plans for iPad May 9, 2010 - 5:58PM Ads by GoogleMobile PhonesCompare Mobile Phones Devices Get connected with the latest Nokia
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As Australia braces for the arrival of Apple's latest gadget - the iPad - Telstra has unveilled its data plans for the portable tablet computer.
Australian tech-tragics can pre-order the iPad from tomorrow, with the official release date May 28.
In a statement today, Telstra said it would offer dedicated data plans for iPad 3G, with all plans to be available without a contract starting at $20.
The pre-paid SIM plans offering a 1GB data allowance cost $20, with 3GB at $30 and 6GB for $60.
"Telstra's pricing for iPad 3G gives customers control and flexibility to access the Internet on-the-go while connected to the Telstra Next G network," Telstra Mobility Products executive director Ross Fielding said in the statement.
A spokesman for Telstra added that the company's stores would not be retailing the iPad but it had created the plans in anticipation of very strong demand for the product.
"iPhone is one of our most popular phones and we expect this new category of device is going to be extremely popular," he said on Sunday.
The iPad can be pre-ordered from Monday through Apple's online store and it will be available through Apple resellers on May 28.
The device was released in the US market on April 3 but huge demand there forced a delay in its international release.
US sales have already exceeded one million.
Optus is still finalising its iPad pre-paid data plans but will be offering its so-called BYO plans that are post-paid but with no contract.
A spokeswoman today said Optus's 2GB BYO plan would have a $20 monthly access fee, $30 for 3GB and $60 for 8GB.
She said details of Optus's pre-paid iPad 3G plans could be released as early tomorrow.

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New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'

2009-11-16T01:21:00.000-08:00

Even though a computer mouse rightly can be thought of as one of the more peripheral of peripherals, a new one just arrived that can honestly claim the adjective "transformative."

Apple Inc.'s $69 Magic Mouse truly brings change this reviewer can believe in.

Until now, a mouse had a singular purpose, more or less: to move a cursor, or pointer, around the screen in a graphical environment such as Microsoft Windows or Apple's Macintosh operating systems. A "click" function would let you select from various menu options or open, close or move a program "window" or an on-screen "folder" of data. Stuff like that.

As computer environments became more graphical, however, other needs arose. Wouldn't it be nice, for example, to be able to enlarge part of a computer screen to read the type more easily or appreciate the detail in a photograph? What about scrolling up and down or from side to side in an application window? And wouldn't it be nice to have the functionality of left- and right-click buttons without some of the mechanics that could break or jam?

Enter the Magic Mouse, announced a few weeks back. Although it is a "normal" computer mouse in the sense of being able to move the cursor around, its clicking, scrolling and "sweeping" actions make it more like the latest notebook touch pads than the older mice this new device has rendered obsolete.

The firm calls it "the world's first Multi-Touch mouse" and is including it with the new iMac computers, also introduced recently. The rest of us have to shell out the simoleons to buy one. Believe me, it's really, really worth it.

Within minutes of installing the hardware and updating my copy of Mac OS X 10.6, I was computing with the same ease that users of those latest notebook touch pads have. Clicking was a simple press of the mouse — once on the left side for a left-click, once on the right for a right-click. Scrolling is now supereasy and very fast: The software controls for the Magic Mouse let you control the scroll rate.

But it's the very act of scrolling with the Magic Mouse that is, well, magical. Unlike using the scroll wheels on many (most?) of today's mice, the simple move of gliding one's fingers up and down the mouse feels more natural than I can describe in words. It just works better.

I would submit, though, that while such simple things as easier scrolling and clicking may seem beyond improvement, the changes the Magic Mouse brings to these operations will mean easier and better computing for me, which means some amount of time savings, which means happier computing. You can't really put a price tag on that, but if Apple wants to say it's worth $69, I won't fight them there.

This is the place where it's good to note that Apple says the Magic Mouse will work only on a Mac-based computer with a Bluetooth connection and the latest Wireless Mouse Software, which an Internet-connected Mac will seek out once the mouse has been "paired" with the device. It's powered by two AA batteries, and I don't have an estimate on how long those batteries will last. Apple says the device can work for southpaws as well as for right-handers, and the very comprehensive software lets you switch left- and right-click buttons to make a left-hander feel more comfortable.

Until a user spends a few minutes with the Magic Mouse, I fear that any description, no matter how enthusiastic, won't properly convey how good a product this is. After decades of using computer input devices, I think this is the finest mouse ever.

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Microsoft Banning Modded Xbox 360 Consoles

2009-11-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

icrosoft has gone ahead with its plan to ban from the Xbox Live service those users that have modified their gaming consoles and are using it in order to run pirated videogames. The move comes as more and more developers, as revealed by a survey from TIGA, are saying that they are afraid of the impact piracy can have on their businesses and are actually looking for new ideas, like digital distribution and free-to-play models, in order to combat it.

A representative of Microsoft told Gamesindustry.biz that “We have taken action against a small percentage of consoles have been modified to play pirated game discs. In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox Live community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox Live.” Why anyone is using a modded console actually registered to access Xbox Live is another question.

The software giant has refused to actually say how many consoles were banned but some are speculating that the number is close to 600,000 accounts, which is significant. Getting banned from using Xbox Live means that players will not be able to actually engage in multiplayer matches or socialize with their friends who are also playing on the Microsoft home console. The recent ban might be connected with the release of Modern Warfare 2, a game that is an obvious target for pirates because of its blockbuster nature.

Another company that has recently stepped up its anti modding measures is Nintendo. The popular DS handheld is easily modded with the R4 chip, which is widely available. The Japanese console manufacturer is aiming to make the mod chip illegal in a number of territories and it is also pressuring manufacturers and distributors with legal action.

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Microsoft Windows 7 Hit By Zero Day Vulnerability

2009-11-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

Laurence Gaffié, a security researcher, has discovered a weakness in Windows 7 and published all the relevant details on the full disclosure mailing list archives at Insecure.org.

The bug has been recognised by Microsoft but its importance has been minimised by the software company. On his blog, Gaffié went as far as providing with a proof of concept which he used to remotely crash Windows 7 (and Windows Server 2008 R2) on a local area network.

Such an attack is also possible through any version of Internet Explorer even older ones (or broadcasting NetBIOS Name Server "trick") even if the system's firewall is activated. The vulnerability, which is found in the Server Message Block (SMB) file sharing protocol, could effectively be used to perform a denial of service (DOS) attack through an infinite loop.

Canada-based Gaffié also maintains that the bug was a "real proof" that Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle had failed. The temporary solution, according to him would be to, "Close SMB feature and ports, until a real audit is provided." However, the flaw doesn't allow hackers to gain unauthorised remote access to information on any machine.

Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/www/news/article/2009/11/15/microsoft-windows-7-hit-zero-day-vulnerability/#ixzz0X0pf1aTa

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Microsoft to launch Office Mobile 2010 for Windows Mobile 6.5 OS

2009-11-16T01:15:00.000-08:00

Bangalore: Microsoft is reportedly preparing for the launch of new software for the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system (OS), the latest version of its platform for mobile phones. The new software is none other than Office Mobile 2010, which might not make users of a WinMo-based device wait too long before it becomes available for them.

Office Mobile 2010 can be launched from one's start menu on any phone running Windows Mobile 6.5.4. One can also open Office file attachments within his/her e-mail or documents stored on his/her Windows phone directly.

Also, one can publish his/her documents to SharePoint Server 2010 or Windows Live services, and access and view documents from his/her smartphone browser. One can also access InfoPath forms via a full-featured mobile browser powered by SharePoint Server 2010.

In addition, Office Mobile 2010 will run exclusively on Windows Mobile 6.5. This means that older versions of the platform won't see it available for them, but that does not meant that the future Windows Mobile 7 will not support it. Previous reports already suggested that Office Mobile 2010 was set to be launched sometime at the beginning of the next year, and that launch time frame might not have been changed so far, yet more details should emerge shortly.

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Brightcove 4 Adds Support For The iPhone, Facebook, Live Video, And More

2009-11-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

It’s been about a year since Brightcove released the last upgrade to its professional online video platform with Brightcove 3. On Monday, it’s going to release Brightcove 4, and it’s a massive upgrade.

Brightcove 4 now supports a native video player on the iPhone, in Facebook, and live video streaming on the Web. It’s got Twitter integration for sharing videos, faster-loading video players, the ability to switch between Flash streaming and HTTP, adaptive streaming based on a user’s device and bandwidth, behind-the-firewall video delivery, support for most major ad servers, better analytics, and a new, cheaper, entry-level subscription service called Brightcove Express.

The biggest new feature is the iPhone player. Instead of clicking off into the Quicktime player, Brightcove uses the Quicktime APIs to render the player within an app. Developers are going to love this because they can skin the player any way they want, tie it into the same ads served through a publisher’s Brightcove player on the Web, add email and Twitter sharing, and Coverflow-style browsing.

The Facebook integration will also be popular. Brightcove 4 offers a template which allows for Facebook Connect logins with realtime comments which appear in each commenter’s Facebook stream. Brightcove videos shared on Facebook will also be playable within the stream, just like YouTube videos.

Brightcove 4 will also support live video streams for the first time. Live videos of events can be scheduled, archived, mixed with on-demand videos, and tied into the same advertising backend. If a publisher has a huge event and would rather use their own CDN, they can do that as well. Why now? “We waited until there was sufficient market demand,” says CEO Jeremy Allaire. Yet more evidence that live video on the Web may be finding its legs.

So far Brightcove is mostly used by media companies and professional video publishers who can afford to pay at least $500 a month for the service. But with this release, Brightcove is also trying to broaden its appeal with service plans which now begin at $99 a month. It’s still not a consumer platform, and probably never will be. But for professional Web video publishers and companies with video marketing budgets, the new entry point should help to expand Brightcove’s market.

I am not sure why Brightcove holds all of this good stuff back until they can package it in a new, numbered release, since it is a Web-based service, which could just as easily upgrade on a rolling basis. But doing it all at once like this does highlight all the changes to the code-base, and shows why Brightcove is considered the leading Web video platform for professional use. Brightcove boast 800 customers which use its players across 2,500 different Web sites. Collectively, they reach 135 million unique viewers per month, according to Allaire.

He won’t disclose exact revenues other than to say that it is in the “tens of millions” of dollars a year, and growing at a 50 percent annual rate. But he does say that the company, which has raised a total of $91 million in venture capital, isn’t burning any more cash. “During the first half of this year we were profitable and cash flow positive,” he says. Like everyone else, Brightcove cut back on expenses last year, and even went through layoffs of 13 percent of its workforce. The fourth quarter was the low point, but demand started picking up again at the beginning of the year, especially from branded goods companies, marketing departments, and even manufacturers looking to add video to their sites. Last quarter, Allaire hired 30 people, and currently employs 180. Next quarter he is looking to hire 30 more.

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Apple Launches New iPod with Camera

2009-09-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Apple has launched the new line-up of world’s famous portable music player iPod Nano, and by continuing further with its innovations, it has added a built-in camera, mic and speaker to these new models of iPod Nano.

The new iPod Nano will enable you to shoot videos and you can easily share them using YouTube, it also has a FM radio on it, and has a new thin design, a display of 2.2 inches and available with polished aluminum and glass enclosure in nine different colors. These new iPod Nano models are available in 8GB and 16GB models, the price will be $149 and $179 respectively
Well, Apple has not introduced any new technology with this product, instead it has added some advanced and attractive features with it, you can also visit: iPod Nano Homepage

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Judge Stays Microsoft Word Ban

2009-09-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) can continue to sell its Word document processing application until an appellate court hears the company's appeal of an earlier ruling that found the product violates the patent of a Canadian software maker.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday effectively stayed a lower court's ban on Word sales that would be effective in mid-October if upheld. Microsoft's appeal is slated for Sept. 23.
Microsoft Office, which includes Word, accounted for more than $3 billion in worldwide sales in Microsoft's most recent fiscal year and is used by literally millions of businesses and consumers for everyday tasks like word processing and creating spreadsheets and presentations.

Judge Leonard Davis, of U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, ruled in August that Microsoft "unlawfully infringed" on a patent that describes how programs go about "manipulating a document's content and architecture separately." The patent, No. 5,787,449, is held by Toronto-based i4i, Inc. i4i develops "collaborative content solutions," according to its Web site.

i4i originally sued Microsoft for patent infringement in 2007.

Davis ordered Microsoft to pay $240 million in damages to i4i, plus court costs and interest. More significantly, he enjoined Microsoft from continuing to sell Microsoft Word, in its current form, in the U.S.

Specifically, Davis said Microsoft can't sell versions of Word that can open documents saved in the .XML, .DOCX, or .DOCM formats that contain custom XML. Those formats were at the heart of the patent dispute. .DOCX is the default format for the most current version of Word, which is included in Microsoft Office 2007. Custom XML is used by businesses to link their corporate data to Word documents.

Davis also prohibited Microsoft from providing technical support for infringing products sold after the injunction takes effect, or from "testing, demonstrating, or marketing the ability of the infringing and future Word products to open an XML file containing custom XML."

Davis said the injunction does not apply to versions of Word that open an XML file as plain text or which apply a transform that removes all custom XML elements—possibly paving the way for Microsoft to issue a patch that rectifies the problem.

InformationWeek has published an in-depth report on application development. Download the report here (registration required).

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Is Windows Mobile 7 in beta already?

2009-09-04T13:50:00.001-07:00

What if Windows Mobile 7.0 wasn't as far off as some would expect? What if the operating system was already in early beta testing phase somewhere deep inside the caverns of Redmond? What if Windows Mobile 7.0 devices arrived less than a year after the first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices? Microsoft might just stand a chance then. It's a long stretch, but Hand Huang's LinkedIn profile, which says he's a Chinese Senior Engineer at Motorola, puts the words "Windows Mobile 7.0" and "Beta" right beside each other:

3. Joining Caesar product development, lead a team to do telephony feature and other applications development. Migrated relative applications from Windows Mobile 6 to Windows Mobile 7
Language: C++
Tools: VS2008, AKU, Platform Builder
Runtime Environment: Windows Mobile 7.0 (Beta)

UX Evangelist found this mention of Windows Mobile 7.0, and a ton of other ones, while scouring LinkedIn. If you're wondering, the "Caesar" reference is likely the same one as the one on Siddharth Saxena's LinkedIn profile: "Responsible for the integration of BCM4325 wlan chip on Caesar Platform (OMAP3430) on WM7 as a native host driver." In other words, it's just one of the many chips Microsoft is making sure the next version of Windows Mobile will work with.

Windows Mobile 7.0 being in beta so soon is not as farfetched as it might sound at first. The operating system has already been in development for years and last month, we noted how the Windows Mobile 7 Search and Windows Mobile 7 Browser teams were looking for internal testers.

Rumors have April 2010 pegged as the month the OS will hit RTM, and November 2009 the month Windows Mobile 7.0 gets put into testers hands. For that to be true, Windows Mobile 7.0 would have to be in some beta form by now. So what's so special about November? Unsurprisingly, it's when PDC09 is taking place. (Will attendees get a beta copy or at least some glimpse of the new mobile OS?)

At the same time though, we have a separate rumor from last month that states Microsoft will update Windows Mobile 6.5 in February 2010 (new whispers are calling it Windows Mobile 6.7), positioning it against Google's Android, while in Q4 2010 the company will unleash Windows Mobile 7 against the iPhone. April 2010 doesn't fall into Q4 2010, and although Microsoft might end up taking its sweet old time between RTM and actual devices, that's a rather long wait, even for the software giant. Nevertheless, we always love to note how Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer declared in March 2009 that Windows Mobile versions need to start coming out faster, so there's still hope.

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China Unicom officially says "ni hao" to iPhone 3GS

2009-09-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Apple and China Unicom have finally succeeded in reaching an agreement to bring the iPhone to China. Details are scarce at this point, but China Unicom officials revealed during a press conference on its recent financial results that it has made a three-year deal to sell the iPhone, and it should go on sale later this year. "This will provide users with brand new communication and information experience," according to a statement released by China Unicom.

The deal is the result of a long and winding process. Apple originally hoped to work out a deal with China Mobile, the country's largest carrier. However, China Mobile balked at Apple's original revenue sharing model. When Apple launched the iPhone 3G and moved to a more common subsidized model, negotiations began again with China Mobile, but supposedly broke down over operation and control of the App Store.

Meanwhile, Apple began negotiations with China Unicom, the country's second largest carrier, sometime early this year. It's believed that being second made China Unicom more willing to court Apple, and its recently built WCDMA 3G network was a perfect fit for the iPhone. (Most carriers in China use a homegrown, Chinese-specific 3G network). Apple apparently made a few concessions, including disabling the WiFi feature—which is prohibited on mobile phones by Chinese law—and adding what appears to be a China Unicom startup screen. Most recently, Apple executives traveled to China to hammer out the final details with China Unicom—today's announcement suggests those negotiations went well for both companies.

As of 9pm Beijing local time, Apple's Chinese website is now taking customer information to be notified when details of the iPhone's arrival are known (as pointed out by iPhone in China). China Unicom expects that to happen sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.

Entering the Chinese market is a major coup for Apple, as the country's roughly 700 million mobile subscribers represent the largest potential market for the iPhone in the world. If Apple is able to reach just two percent of those customers (that's Apple's current share of global mobile market), that represents 14 million more iPhone sales—a 56 percent increase over the roughly 25 million Apple has sold so far, over two years and in 80 countries.
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First Windows Mobile 6.5 phones arriving on October 6, 2009

2009-09-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has announced that the first Windows phones, identified by the fact that they are running Windows Mobile 6.5, will be made available at retail stores worldwide on October 6, 2009. Microsoft is underlining that version 6.5 of its mobile operating system brings an improved user interface and that the Internet Explorer Mobile browser includes a new engine as well as built-in Adobe Flash Lite support. These new phones will also come with two new services: Microsoft My Phone, which allows customers to automatically backup and sync photos, music, contacts, and text messages from their phone to the Web, and Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a store for mobile applications that will be accessible from both the Windows phone and the Web.

Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile group, confirmed with Ars that the Marketplace for Windows Mobile will be available on the same day and that the next version of Office Mobile, which is slated for release next year, will work with the upcoming phones. This is just the beginning, though. "We have the broadest ecosystem out there and you'll be seeing a lot of announcements from us and our partners in the coming months," Ferguson told Ars.

Here are the partners around the globe that Microsoft says are committed to phones with Windows Mobile 6.5:

* North America
Mobile operators: AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS, and Verizon Wireless
Phone manufacturers: HP, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Toshiba
* Europe
Mobile operators: Orange, T-Mobile, and Vodafone
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba
* Latin America
Mobile operators: Telecom Italia Mobile Brasil
Phone manufacturers: HTC, LG Electronics, and Samsung
* Asia Pacific
Mobile operators: NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank Mobile, SK Telecom, Telstra, and WILLCOM
Phone manufacturers: Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba

In February 2009, Microsoft first officially announced Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft My Phone, and Windows Marketplace for Mobile. In March 2009, Microsoft gave developers details on Windows Marketplace for Mobile, in July 2009 the company confirmed that the store would support Windows Mobile versions 6.0 and 6.1 by the end of 2009, and two weeks later the store started accepting application, game, and widget submissions.

Microsoft refused to give any more details on Windows Mobile 7, and so right now, Ballmer's statement from March 2009 about how the Windows Mobile team needs to speed things up remains nothing but an empty statement. With whispers of the RTM slated for April 2010 and talk of the first 7.0 handsets set to arrive in Q4 2010, Redmond needs to work much harder if it wants to keep rumors just rumors and deliver on the big Windows Mobile comeback it keeps talking about.

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Apple TV might be on the agenda for September 9 event

2009-09-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

It's just a week before Apple will "rock and roll" us with the latest update to its iPod line. However, a sudden shortage of 40GB Apple TVs—Apple is quoting a 1-2 week wait for a new one—has Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinking an Apple TV update could make an appearance at Apple's special event.

The Apple TV, which never officially made it out of the "hobby" stage, got its last serious update almost two years ago at Macworld Expo 2008. It certainly seems plausible that an update might be in the wings. For instance, Munster made a series of Apple prognostications recently that included a revamping of iTunes Store video content, with Apple expanding its library and possibly adding some kind of monthly subscription model. Apple may also be looking to showcase its HTTP Live Streaming technology, which would be a great fit for iTunes video content. Folks would also love to be able to stream online content, such as Netflix and Hulu, directly to the device. However, such features could be easily implemented in software.

Other changes, though, would require new or revamped hardware. If Apple were to leverage HTTP Live Streaming, it would effectively eliminate the need for a large hard drive inside the device, relying instead on a smaller amount of buffer memory. Or perhaps Apple plans to move to solid state storage, eliminating the noise and heat from a mechanical drive. And, despite all objections to Blu-ray's "bag of hurt" licensing, I know there are Apple TV users wishing for an optical drive, which would eliminate the need for yet another device in the A/V stand.

While Apple has been more or less content to let the Apple TV merely function as a TV-connected gateway for iTunes content, Apple always made more money selling iPods than iTunes tracks. If the Apple TV were to transition to a more versatile media playback device with the iTunes Store serving as one potential source for content (as it does with iPods, since music can also be obtained from eMusic, Amazon MP3 Store, CDs, etc), it seems likely Apple would be able to move it beyond the "hobby" stage.

Of course, the invitation to Apple's event was headlined, "It's only rock and roll, but we like it." That doesn't really suggest anything remotely Apple TV-related to us. We also note that there is no similar shortage for the 160GB Apple TV model as there is for the 40GB one. If the whole event is just iPods and music—no Apple TV, no iTablet—don't be the least bit surprised. (Update: The Loop has sources that appear to agree with us.)

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LostWinds sequel coming to WiiWare, release date unknow

2009-09-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

When Nintendo originally launched its downloadable WiiWare service, one of the first games to grab everyone's attention was the beautiful platformer LostWinds. And though plans for a sequel were revealed soon after the game's release, it's been a while since we've heard any news. But now developer Frontier has officially announced the next entry in the series, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias.

The sequel will once again have players controlling the wind as they aid a young boy on his quest to destroy an evil curse, though it will add new gameplay mechanics to help keep things fresh. The biggest is the ability to switch between the summer and winter seasons, which will more than likely play a big part in the puzzle solving throughout the game. There are also new wind abilities, such as the cyclone, which can act as both an attack and a form of transportation.

Story-wise, Winter of the Melodias will take place soon after the first game, as Toku sets off in search of his missing mother, only to come across a town plagued with perpetual winter and hidden monsters.

Unfortunately, Frontier has given no indication on when we can expect to actually play the game, saying only that it's "coming soon." Stay tuned to OT, or follow the game's official website, for more details as they arise.

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Gran Turismo gets its own PSP Bundle on October 20

2009-09-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

PlayStation Portable Entertainment Packs are like the weather in Kentucky: if you don't like what's going on right now, wait fifteen minutes and you'll get something different. Sony has announced one more Entertainment Pack that's coming on October 20 for $199.99. What will you get with that package?

Gran Turismo—Developed exclusively for the PSP system by the internal team of designers and engineers at Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo features more than 800 vehicle models from the world’s top manufacturers (over 4,500 total paint variations) and 35 tracks (60+ total layouts)—including famous world circuits, city courses and other environments. Seasoned Gran Turismo fans will recognize the depth of content and unparalleled visuals the series is known for, including graphics running at a stunning 60 frames per second. Additionally, a first in the Gran Turismo series is the ability to trade and share unlocked vehicles with others online via ad hoc mode, a feature that is not available in any other racing game on the PSP system. Rated “E” for everyone.
Exclusive car download—Includes an exclusive PlayStation Network voucher to download a white version of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 for Gran Turismo, the same car featured on the cover of the game.
PlayStation Network movie voucher—Consumers can easily download a movie from the PlayStation Network to their PSP system. Title to be announced.
2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo—Leverages the PSP system’s multimedia functionality by storing photos, music, videos, and game saves.
Music voucher—Consumers can download 10 free songs onto their PC or Mac using Sony Music Pass. Available to U.S. residents only.

Not a bad deal for $199.99, especially if you're not interested in the PSP Go. Lord knows we'll get a few more Entertainment Packs in the coming months, so we look forward to making more regional humor in the near future.
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Second Look: Samsung Q1UP Tablet PC for retro gaming

2009-09-04T13:42:00.001-07:00

My recent look at using at Samsung tablet PC for retro gaming generated quite a bit of interest from gamers, and also some moaning over the high price of entry. Now that I've traveled for two weeks with it and have done some more gaming on it, I thought it appropriate to post a follow-up for those who are thinking of adding such a system to their holiday wish list.

First, the good news: you don't actually need the $1,300.00 Q1 Ultra Premium edition, with a 1.33GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, Vista Business Edition to do Infinity Engine widescreen gaming. I down-clocked the CPU with Samsung's utility to 800MHz and suffered no loss of performance in gaming or overall system snappiness; I also downgraded my system to XP Tablet Edition (I described this in the original article). So you can pick up an XPTE Q1 with an 800MHz CPU for between $600 and $900 either new or refurbished and get the same gaming experience, but it has only 1GB of RAM. This is probably not a problem, but there are instructions online for upgrading the RAM if you decide you need to.

Ultimately, what all of this means is that you can put together a perfectly adequate Q1 tablet system for retro RPG gaming for about half of what I shelled out for mine, especially if you're willing to get a refurb unit. This might bring the project within the grasp of some readers who were excited about the idea but turned off by the price.

The bad news in this second look is that the battery life is about half what I implied in my original review. I didn't formally test the battery (I wrote the review the day after I had gotten everything set up and was able to play around with it to confirm that it worked as planned), but later formal testing indicates that I can play Planescape: Torment for 5 hours on a single charge (WiFi off, CPU throttled to 800MHz, LCD on two ticks of brightness).

Five hours of retro RPG gaming is still pretty sweet, especially given that the spare battery is quite compact. I had no problems keeping myself entertained with the unit on a roughly 11-hour flight from Paris to San Francisco.

On a non-gaming note, the Q1UP works extremely well as a mobile Skype device. It has two microphones on the bottom, the WiFi reception is very good, and everyone I've called on Skype has remarked on the clarity of the sound. While traveling in Europe, we used it like a WiFi Skype phone to do cheap international calling.
On second thought, maybe mediocrity killed the MID/UMPC

Overall, my travels with the Samsung Q1UP have slightly changed my assessment of what's wrong with the MID/UMPC form factor. Yes, it's still a drag to use a desktop OS on a small touchscreen, but the Q1UP's combination of notebook-caliber performance, long battery life, a bright 7" touchscreen, a PSP-style thumbstick that works quite well for mouse control, and generous accessories (two cameras, dual mics) go a long way toward making it a really useful entertainment and communications device for traveling with a family.

In other words, all software usability issues aside, Atom-based MIDs just don't offer the right combination of screen size, battery life, performance, and functionality to be widely compelling. Fix that, and the MID form factor might just have a future, especially if Microsoft can get its act together and offer some sort of multitouch MID/UMPC edition of Windows 7 with a completely rethought, finger-friendly interface. I'm not holding my breath, though.

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PlayStation Store Update: Can't get no satisfaction edition

2009-09-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

Another Thursday has passed, and that means another weekly update to the PlayStation Store. This week features a brand new episode of Qore, which takes a look at Uncharted 2, Gran Turismo PSP, Brutal Legend, and the PSP Go.

On the gaming front, 2K Sports has released NBA 2K10: Draft Combine ($4.99), which allows users to create their own player and guide them through the process of an NBA draft. The downloadable game also connects to the retail version of NBA 2K10, so users can then see how their hopeful fares in the big leagues. Also hitting the store is Battle Tanks ($9.99), a multiplayer action game where you...battle tanks. Cool Boarders 3 is also available as a PSOne Classic for $5.99

Capcom is offering a pair of bundles this week for those who missed out on some of their terrific downloadable games. The Capcom Super Pack ($49.99) includes the following: Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Flock!, Age of Booty, 1942, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando, Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix, and Rocket Man: Axis of Evil with the It Came From Uranus add-on pack. Meanwhile the Capcom Combo Pack ($29.99) features: 1942, Wolf of the Battlefield, SPF2HDR, R:AoE and add-on pack.

We also have a pair of demos available for both Fight Night Round 4 and the previously mentioned NBA 2K10: Draft Combine. In terms of add-on content, F.E.A.R. 2 is getting a new map pack for $9.99, while Pain gets a host of new characters for $0.99 each, or $1.99 for the bundle.

DLC returns to Guitar Hero with the release of GH5, and it includes the following Rolling Stones songs:

* "I'm Free (Live)"
* "Prodigal Son (Live)
* "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Live)"
* "Under My Thumb (Live)"
* "You Gotta Move (Live)"
* The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack ($8.99)

Meanwhile Rock Band gamers get the following singles:

* “And She Was”— Talking Heads
* “Crosseyed and Painless”— Talking Heads
* “Girlfriend Is Better”— Talking Heads
* “Once in a Lifetime”— Talking Heads
* “Take Me to the River”— Talking Heads
* Talking Heads Pack 01 ($8.49)
* “Bat Country”— Avenged Sevenfold
* “Supersonic (Live)”— Oasis
* “Guerrilla Radio”— Rage Against the Machine
* “Going Underground”— The Jam
* “Town Called Malice”— The Jam

Rock Band: Unplugged, meanwhile, gets both "Lucid Dreams" by Franz Ferdinand and "Riad N' the Bedouins" by Guns N' Roses. As per usual all music tracks are $1.99 each.

As for the PSP, it gets a pair of new downloadable games, including the original Patapon ($15.99) and the fighting game Fate/Unlimited Codes ($29.99). Both the PSP and PS3 also get a number of different premium themes this week, as well as the usual assortment of trailers and other video content. And that's this week's PlayStation Store update.

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Microsoft's 720p requirement for developers dropped

2009-09-04T13:39:00.001-07:00

Publish Post

It seems that the Xbox 360 requirement that games be presented in at least 720p has been "retired" by Microsoft. The news has come about thanks to Black Rock's technical director David Jefferies in a guest article he wrote for online magazine Develop. The reasoning for this decision? It will allow developers to create games with better image quality that won't be sacrificed to meet higher resolution requirements.

HD TV manufacturers have been making their 720p LCD televisions with resolutions different than true 1280x720. "The lovingly crafted 1280x720 image has gone to be replaced," says Jefferies, "by something dependent on the quality of the LCD scaler." Because of this scaling, game visuals are upsampled by TV hardware, no matter how good the graphics actually are.

As a result, developers' work to create 720p graphics are a superfluous effort; by dropping the requirement, though, Jefferies claims that developers can add visual features like extra anti-aliasing to make the image actually look better, even if it's presented at a lower resolution than 720p.

According to Jefferies, "If we instead assume that the LCD is going to rescale then, for some games, it might be more sensible to present it with a better anti-aliased but lower resolution image in the first place." Jefferies also explained that the requirement was originally waived for Halo 3, which was presented at a resolution of 1152x640.

However, the problem with LCD TVs upsampling 720p games probably won't be such a hassle in the future: "As more and more LCDs ship with the full HD resolution of 1920x1080 then this will become less of an issue, but I’ve just had a look on Amazon and all the 26" and 32" Sony and Samsung TVs are still 1366x768."

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Sony casting for reality star: a game tester?

2009-09-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Auditioning for reality shows is a pain: waiting in line lasts for hours, forcing you to stand around with a slew of other hopeful cast members who act as obnoxious as possible in order to attract attention from camera crews. For many of us, spending ten to twenty hours waiting around in line is time that would be far better spent sitting on a comfortable couch and playing the latest games with our friends. Now, though, gamers are getting a chance at their own reality show, thanks to Sony.

Dubbed "The Tester," open casting for the show is set to start soon, according to the Playstation Blog. An undisclosed number of hopeful gamers will "face-off in a series of elimination challenges designed to test their mental toughness, endurance, and video game knowledge as they compete for a job working as a PlayStation game tester." The show's winner will get a job working in the Quality Assurance department at Sony's San Diego offices.

In the meantime, anyone interested in being a part of this show can try out for a cast position on the official audition site. According to Eurogamer, the show is being created by 51 Minds Entertainment, the group behind many of VH1's hit "celebreality" TV series. The series will supposedly be hitting the Playstation Store this winter, and viewers can purchase individual episodes or buy a series pass.

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Mozilla makes much ado about nothing over browser ballot

2009-09-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's practice of including a Web browser with its operating system has faced renewed scrutiny this year. Following complaints from Opera and Mozilla, the European Union has applied pressure to Microsoft and has compelled the company to present users with alternative browser options. Microsoft has proposed a browser ballot system that will give users the ability to choose which Web browser they use with Windows. Mozilla vice president and general counsel Harvey Anderson has responded to Microsoft's proposal and has expressed concern about several aspects.

Anderson's primary concern is that various mechanisms in the operating system that are controlled by Microsoft could create conditions that encourage users to unintentionally reset their default browser to Internet Explorer.

Microsoft's proposal specifically addresses some of these issues, but the language is somewhat vague and there is a lot of room for different interpretations. Anderson wants there to be no ambiguity or room for Microsoft to circumvent the intent behind the proposal. Despite these concerns, he thinks that the browser ballot proposal has the potential to be a reasonable and effective remedy if Microsoft conforms with it in good faith.

When Internet Explorer is launched, it will display a message asking users if they would like to make it the default. Anderson wants to make sure that this prompt is only displayed when the user intentionally launches Internet Explorer, not when Internet Explorer is launched automatically by platform-related behaviors.

"Not offering updates through Windows Update to an off-switched IE is a good start. But most users won't have IE turned off, even if they have other browsers as their default. When IE is not the default, any launch of IE, user intended/initiated or not, may prompt the user to restore IE as his default browser," he wrote. "This may be a reasonable action for an intentional user-initiated launch of IE, but it's an abuse when it's not user-initiated and has the impact of undoing user choice."

Although his concern on this matter is understandable, it's worth noting that Microsoft already conforms with some of his expectations. In Windows XP, the message prompting users to make Internet Explorer the default browser is not displayed when the browser is launched by selecting the Windows Update item from the start menu. In Windows Vista, the update system doesn't use the Web browser at all. Other Web related features, such as the "Windows Catalog" in the start menu, launch in the user's default browser.

Anderson is also concerned about the behavior of other Microsoft applications, particularly Microsoft's dominant Office suite.

"Microsoft Office 2007 and other Microsoft programs should not 'hard code' links, shortcuts, or icons to launch an already installed IE when IE is not the default browser. If Microsoft applications need to launch a browser, they should only launch the user's default browser."

In my extensive tests with Microsoft Office 2007 and other Microsoft software, I was unable to find any instance where the user's default browser setting is ignored. During my tests, links in Office 2007 were all properly opened in Google Chrome, my default Windows browser. It's unclear exactly what Anderson is referring to, but it would sure help illustrate his point if he could provide even one example of a Microsoft program launching Internet Explorer when another browser is set as the default.

Anderson says that there are some unanswered questions about how the browser ballot provisions will be applied to OEMs and hardware vendors that ship computers with Windows preinstalled. In particular, he says that Microsoft's proposal doesn't stipulate whether OEMs are required to display the browser ballot screen in their default Windows installations. He believes that the proposal should be clarified to specifically address this issue. It's worth noting, however, that the proposal does include detailed provisions stating that OEMs will be able to preinstall any browser of their choosing and that Microsoft will not use threats or partnership incentives to compel OEMs to choose its Web browser.

It's not entirely clear what the basis is for some of the issues that Anderson raises. Some of his complaints are reasonable, but many lack substance—much like the EU's entire case against Microsoft shipping its own browser by default. Market share statistics continue to show that Firefox is experiencing significant growth and that it has an especially strong presence in Europe.

As Mozilla celebrates its billionth download milestone and enjoys a 22 percent global marketshare amidst an increasingly competitive browser market, it seems difficult to justify invasive government intervention aimed at boosting competition. If the EU thinks that the current browser ecosystem represents an example of market failure, then maybe they need to reevaluate how they define competition.

Update: Mozilla's Asa Dotzler has provided some additional clarification on the Windows Update issue via e-mail. He explains that Anderson's complaint with Windows Update is that major updates of the IE browser, such as the update from version 7 to version 8, will cause the browser to launch and prompt the user to make it the default. There is certainly some strong anecdotal evidence indicating that this behavior can lead to unanticipated changes in the default browser settings, so the issue may warrant further consideration as Anderson suggests.

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The Zune as we know it is gone; long live the Zune HD

2009-09-04T13:34:00.001-07:00

The Zune as we know it is going the way of the dodo, and its replacement is of course the Zune HD. "As you know, the new Zune HD device—featuring a touch OLED screen, HD Radio, HD video out capabilities, Internet browser and more—is available for preorder now and will be available at retail on September 15," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "Additional flash Zune devices (Zune 4GB, 8GB and 16GB) and hard drive devices (80GB and 120GB) will continue to be available at retail until sold out, though we will not continue to manufacture those devices."

The spokesperson also touted Microsoft's upcoming Zune software and service and the arrival of Zune video on Xbox Live this autumn. The software giant intends to provide a "great entertainment experience through software and services across multiple screens and devices."

When Ars asked if the Zune 4.0 software would be available for the old Zunes, the Microsoft spokesperson said "yes" and also noted that more details about updates to the software will be revealed soon. In terms of firmware for the old Zunes, Ars was told that Microsoft "will also continue to provide updates for previous devices as they are needed for stability."

The SuperSite Blog was first to break the news, reporting that all of the current Zunes are being discontinued. The fate of the smaller Zunes was sealed when Microsoft officially detailed the Zune HD in May 2009. In August 2009, the Flash-based Zunes (Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 16) disappeared from the Zune Store and Zune Originals, leaving only the HDD-based Zune 80 and Zune 120. Naturally, suspicions were raised to sky-high levels. The store still looks as it did last month, but now we know that it's worse than just the Flash-based Zunes being discontinued; all Zunes will be gone once the stock runs out.

This is a very risky move on Microsoft's part. We learned in August 2009 that the 16GB version will be priced at $220 and the 32GB will go for $290. What if someone wants more than 32GB? Sure, there's a rumored 64GB version coming later, but some users want even more than that. What if someone wants a Zune but doesn't want to spend more than $200? What if they want a smaller device, both in size and capacity?

Recall that the original Zune 30GB is considered first generation, that the Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 80 are considered second generation, and that the Zune 16 and Zune 120 are considered third generation. When the Zune 30 was discontinued, some consumers were unhappy, but they couldn't get very vocal because there was a mere $20 difference between the Zune 16 and Zune 80. Discontinuing the Zune 30 made sense.

This time around, however, Microsoft's strategy is questionable. We all knew that hard drive-based media players would be phased out sooner or later, and it's completely possible that a 128GB version of the Zune HD, possibly a second-generation, will see the light of day eventually. The move is understandable on the right side of the spectrum. On the lower end though, it's not as clear as to what Microsoft is going for. A Zune HD that is smaller and cheaper than the 16GB simply won't cut it for the sake of the touchscreen and the accompanying apps. Also, Microsoft might simply think that 4GB and 8GB sizes will no longer be wanted in a few months (those who like to run with small MP3 players will of course disagree). Finally, it may be simply that Microsoft just doesn't want to keep supporting the Zune in its current form and that it sees the Zune HD as a much more profitable beast.

The Zune HD has a lot of potential, but Microsoft has significantly slimmed down the Zune's potential market—especially with its biggest competitor, Apple, selling audio players in sizes ranging from 4GB to 120GB. Microsoft believes it's making a precise surgical slice, but it may just be shooting itself in the foot by giving would-be Zune owners fewer choices.

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Get Windows 7 for free by hosting a launch party (Updated)

2009-09-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

Microsoft is finally going to take advantage of the best form of advertising for the next release of Windows: word of mouth. The world's largest software maker has partnered with House Party, apparently the world's leading party organizer, to encourage technology enthusiasts to throw Windows 7 launch parties in their communities between October 22 and October 29.

Microsoft won't let just anyone host such a party though; the company is being very selective. If you're interested in becoming an official host, there's an application process you'll have to go through over at houseparty.com/windows7. Furthermore, the offer is only open to residents of 12 countries: Australia, Italy, Canada, Japan, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, the US, Hong Kong, the UK, and India.

Chosen hosts around the world will be among the first to see, use, and share Windows 7 with their friends, says Microsoft. If you're selected as a host, you'll receive a special Signature Edition of Windows 7 Ultimate. You'll also get a Windows 7 Party Pack to share with your guests, based on one out of four themes that you choose from: PhotoPalooza, Media Mania, Setting up with Ease, or Family Friendly Fun. Party packs will be delivered by October 10, 2009.

* All hosts will receive:
o One limited Signature Edition Windows 7 Ultimate
o One Deck of Playing Cards with Windows 7 Desktop Design
o One Puzzle with Windows 7 Desktop Design
o One Poster with Windows 7 Desktop Design
o Ten Tote Bags with Windows 7 Desktop Design for hosts and guests
* Also included in USA party packs:
o One package of streamers for decoration
o One package of balloons for decoration
o One table top centerpiece for decoration
o One package of Windows 7 napkins

US residents will also be entered for a chance to win a $750 mini-notebook computer. A total of 64 winners will be notified once all the parties are over (after October 30, 2009).

The first step of the application process is simple: you have to tell Microsoft about yourself, how the company can contact you, where to send the Party Pack, and finally pick a screen name and password (for checking the status of your application). After that, you have to confirm that "by applying for a host spot, you are agreeing to conduct yourself in the spirit of House Party—sharing a product you love with the people you love, through an experience that is fun, free, and exclusive" and that you will abide to five rules:

1. Submit only one application per household (per party)
2. Answer all questions accurately
3. Plan and host the best party you can
4. Share your party package with your guests, as intended
5. Not attempt to obtain extra party packages

Once you've agreed to all that, you have to answer six more questions (are you really surprised there are seven in total?). One of the questions of the survey is worth noting as it asks the participant what they are willing to do for the party. As such, it's clear what Microsoft will ask from party hosts:

* Host a party on any day between October 22 through October 29th, featuring Windows 7 Ultimate Operating System
* Invite at least 10 guests to join you
* Use a free party website to plan your party, invite guests, upload photos, read and post to a party blog, etc.
* Fill out an online survey after the party has happened

The second last step is to confirm a legal agreement, and then bam, you'll get a confirmation e-mail. You must then finalize the application by clicking a link. Now the rest is up to Microsoft and all you have left to do is frequently check the status of your application.

Microsoft has not disclosed how many hosts it plans to pick, but the website does insist that "host spaces are very limited." If this is the type of party you want to host, then by all means, hurry up and apply!

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be kicking off the official Windows 7 launch at an event in New York City on October 22, 2009, the day of Windows 7's general availability. It looks like Microsoft wants to turn what is normally a single launch day, into a launch week. Since the beginning of 2009, the media has been praising Windows 7, and Redmond obviously wants to keep that momentum going strong.

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Nokia "evolves" away from Internet Tablets with new N900

2009-09-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

It's turning out to be a busy week for Nokia. Days in advance of NokiaWorld in Stuttgart, and a couple of days after lifting the curtain on its first netbook, Nokia has announced the Nokia N900, the successor to its almost four-year-old lineup of Internet Tablets.

The N900 follows in the footsteps of the N810 with its slide out keyboard, but adds for the first time built-in 3G (Nokia calls it 3.5G) functionality, making the N900 the first Nokia tablet with the ability to go online without a WiFi connection or cellphone pairing. It's also the first Nokia device to run Maemo 5, Nokia's homegrown Linux distro.

As one might expect, Nokia has also upgraded the hardware inside the N900. It's now powered by a 600MHz ARM-based OMAP processor (compared to the N810's 400MHz CPU), supports OpenGL 3D graphics acceleration, and has 32GB of internal storage (expandable to 48GB via a microSD card). Like the N810 (and N800 with a Bluetooth add-on), the N900 also functions as a GPS. Nokia has also upped the ante on the camera with a 5-megapixel sensor and dual LED flash. Nokia has kept the 800x480 pixel resolution but has shrunk the touch-sensitive display from 4.13" to 3.5", making it one of the highest-resolution handhelds available.
n900_phone.jpg

Nokia has changed the branding on the N900, dropping the "Internet Tablet" identifier that has been present since the launch of the 770 in December 2005. The Finnish hardware giant is instead touting the N900 as an evolution from the "previous generation" of tablet devices. From the looks of it, the N900 falls squarely into the Mobile Internet Device (MID) category, but the device's quadband EDGE/WCDMA/GPRS radio means that it should be able to function on most cellular networks as a vanilla cellphone, as the Nokia product shot at right shows.

On the software front, the N900 ships with built-in Flash support (take that, Apple), its own Mozilla-based Maemo Browser, as well as the usual contacts, e-mail, calendar, and media player apps seen on earlier versions. It can handle all the popular audio and video formats, too (with the obvious exception of DRMed iTunes content).

When the first Internet Tablet hit the market in December 2005, it was a revelation with its built-in WiFi, Linux OS, full-featured Opera browser, and 4.2" 800x480 touchscreen display. Each succeeding iteration of the Internet Tablet family has been a significant upgrade from the previous model, but the competitive landscape has changed even faster. The N900 is an impressive-looking piece of hardware, but it finds itself swimming in a sea of iPhones, BlackBerrys, and Android devices (and maybe, someday, some Atom-powered mobile Internet devices). With the announcement of the N900 and the Nokia Booklet 3G (rumored to be priced in the $800 range), Nokia has shown that it is interested in being a part of the MID and netbook conversations.

The N900 will carry a retail price of €500 before subsidies and will launch in "select markets" in October. No word on US pricing or availability yet.

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Unlaunched Atom-smasher shows up in Samsung X series laptops

2009-09-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

Samsung announced its new X series of laptops this morning, and the company let a detail slip about the X120 portable that's less trivial than it may initially sound: the thin portable eschews Intel's netbook-oriented Atom line in favor of a new ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processor from Intel. The SU4100 ULV processor and its siblings will formally launch later this month and have been getting press recently under the internal Intel acronym CULV (for consumer ULV). These cheap ULV processors mark a subtle but important shift in the chipmaker's notebook strategy, and they also spell bad news for rival AMD.

Intel has been putting out ULV variants of its notebook chips for years; these parts have significantly lower power usage than their regular mobile counterparts, while keeping the same performance levels. Because of this combination of low power and high performance, they've historically commanded a significant premium over normal notebook chips, making ULV-based portables a rare, expensive, and often Japanese luxury.

The netbook craze has made it clear that there is a huge consumer appetite for the combination of small form factor and large battery life that the Atom-based machines offered, but many netbook users have been frustrated enough with Atom's anemic performance that they've actually returned the machines to the store. Anecdotally, many netbook purchasers thought they were buying a small, very cheap laptop with great battery life, only to get the device out of the box and find that you get what you pay for, performance-wise.

So going into the first part of 2009, there was a huge price and performance gap between the Atom-based netbook and its higher-end, C2D-based notebook relatives. AMD made a run at this gap with its Yukon platform, and at this past CES we handled a few netbook-like portables based on these parts. But Intel isn't going to leave this space to AMD.
Like a netbook, but way better

The ULV processors that power the upcoming Samsung X series haven't technically launched, but when they do, Intel confirmed to Ars that they will be "similar in specs" to the ULV processors that the company recently launched this past June, but cheaper.

"In general, these [upcoming ULV parts] are priced lower than those," an Intel spokesperson told Ars. "The intent was to enable those kinds of form factors, but at more mainstream price points."

In other words, notebooks powered by the new ULV line will have a netbook form factor coupled with notebook performance, at a price that puts them in between Atom-based netbook and upcoming Nehalem-based notebooks.

While the chipmaker wouldn't give us any more detail on the specs of the new chips, Samsung has spilled a few of the beans by revealing on its site that the CPU in the X120 is the as-yet-unannounced 1.3GHz Intel Pentium ULV SU4100 with 800MHz FSB and 1MB cache. Note that the normal SU9x00 series has 3MB of cache at speeds ranging from 1.2GHz to 1.6GHz, so Intel is clearly cutting back on the amount of cache in the new parts to justify the lower prices. There's little doubt that the S4100 ULV and its siblings will fit within the same 10W TDP as the existing ULV line, and enable the same form factors (~11 inch screens, between 0.8 and 1" thick) and battery life (7 hours or more), but at prices that put the resulting machines in the $600 to $1,000 range.

In all, a line of Core- and Core 2-based ULV parts aimed right at the price/performance gap between Atom and the forthcoming Nehalem mobile variant is great news for netbook users who love the netbook form factor but hate the performance enough that they would pay a roughly $200 premium for a real CPU. The new ULV parts will also make AMD's job harder, and one has to wonder if they won't hurt Atom a bit, as well.

In terms of performance, the year-old Core Solo that powers the Samsung Q1UP tablet whips Atom up and down the block, and does so in a unit that's 2lb and has a five-hour battery life. This being the case, you'll have to really want to save the $200 or so to opt for the Atom and take such a massive performance hit.

The Samsung X series doesn't have a stateside price or launch date, yet, but the UK price suggests that the X120 will be around $1,000. That's enough to put it well into "notebook" territory and out of the reach of a move-up netbook buyer, but cheaper notebooks based on the lower-end members of the upcoming ULV line (the SU4100 is definitely not at the bottom of what will be announced) should start showing up before long.
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Background Location Finds A Loop(t)hole On The iPhone

2009-09-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

A location-based social network is not going to truly take off on the iPhone until it can run in the background. You know it, I know it, and even Loopt, which makes such an app, knows it. That’s why they’ve done something about it.

Beginning today, Loopt is rolling out a trial for background location on the iPhone. Yes, you read that right.

If you’ve been following the iPhone at all over the past couple of years, you’re undoubtedly asking yourself how this is possible, since the device does not allow third party apps to run in the background. Has Apple changed its mind about background apps? Not yet. Instead, Loopt is partnering with other companies in the mobile industry for what it’s calling “Always-On Location Service.”

Loopt co-founders Sam Altman and Alok Deshpande would not disclose the names of any of these partners, noting that the system set up to make this happen is very “complex” and involves a number of players. But at least one of them has to be AT&T, which is, of course, the network the iPhone runs on. Loopt, which seems to be particularly good at carrier relationships, has cut deals with AT&T in the past.

What this means is that these guys have gotten around the iPhone’s limitation by keeping a pipeline open on AT&T’s side that is constantly sending your location data to Loopt. This doesn’t require any app to be running on your iPhone — not even Loopt — and the location data will be sent even when you’re on a call or surfing the web on your iPhone. Most importantly, because there is no app required to do this, it doesn’t drain your battery life, Altman tells us.

So what does Apple think about all of this? Altman refused to comment on that, but given the cordial relationship Loopt has had with Apple (being featured both at WWDC last year and in an iPhone commercial), it seems likely that the two sides at least talked about this before Loopt pulled the trigger. That said, because no application is actually involved in this process, it looks like Loopt has essentially found a loophole around Apple on this one.

Privacy will undoubtedly be a major concern with such a feature. But Altman notes that you have to go to a website to actually sign up for this, and you can turn it off or on at anytime on that site or via an SMS message. And he believes some of privacy concerns will fade as people get used to such services. “The future of location-based services is always-on,” he says.

looptI agree, this seems like a huge win for Loopt (well, if users are okay with paying for the service, more on that below). I’ll be using it a lot more now because first of all, I don’t actually have to open the app to update — but more importantly, none of my contacts will either. So oddly, I probably will be opening the app itself more now too because of that. And eventually, you could see such background location functionality playing a roll in advertising on the iPhone.

They way this will work is that you will be able to receive alerts (emails or text messages) when people or places of interest are nearby to your current location. Loopt can also now build what it calls a “Life Graph” for you — basically, keep a log of where you’ve been. Again, this will be opt-in.

Altman would not comment on if its competitors like Whrrl or Brightkite could also strike similar deals, but Deshpande confirms that no one else is offering this (at least not yet). And Loopt is getting ready to come out with a version 2.0 of its iPhone app that should take on other competitors like Foursquare.

As it seems clear that AT&T is the key factor in making something like this happen, it’s nice to see them doing something innovative to actually help their iPhone customers get a feature that many of us have long wanted. Assuming it works well, it might even be enough to make us forget the whole months-late MMS thing.

But this good news has a price. $3.99 a month, to be specific, which users can sign up for on this site. Initially, Loopt is going to limit the trial to 5,000 testers.
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Sony Adds a Little Chrome to the VAIO

2009-09-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

If you buy a new Sony VAIO computer, you're going to get a new browser. No, Internet Explorer isn't going anywhere. But Financial Times is reporting that Sony has signed a deal to preinstall Google's Chrome on its PCs. Chrome-equipped machines are making their way to customers even as we speak.

I'm not sure whether Chrome is now the defaultbrowser on new Sony computers-the FT doesn't explicitly say so, although Download Squad does-but it's an interesting development. For years, Microsoft has benefited hugely from the fact that IE is the default browser shipped on most of the world's personal computers. Some folks discover IE this way and continue to use it because they like it; many others keep on running it out of sheer inertia.

Sony is only one manufacturer, but the FT reports that Google says it's working on similar arrangements with other companies. What if it were able to strike deals with, say, HP, Dell, and Acer? Maybe by cutting them in on the advertising revenue it gets from searches performed with Chrome's toolbar and default homepage?

For a browser that's nearly a year old and which is backed by the most powerful company on the Web, Chrome has failed to catch show explosive growth-Ars Technica says that around two or three percent of Internet users run it. (The Technologizer community is apparently a lot fonder of Chrome than the Internet at large-about eight percent of you visit the site via Chrome.) It's still not entirely clear to me whether Google sees Chrome as a side project, a prank, or a core component of its mission. And it can't pummel IE into submission until it's caught up with Firefox (which, according to a new report, is used by more than 23% of all Internet users). But if any browser company is in a position to nudge IE out of its position as the world's default browser, it's Chrome.

Meanwhile, I kind of like the system Microsoft came up with to pacify Europe's concerns over IE: aballot screen that lets Windows 7 users pick whatever browser they prefer. Wouldn't it be cool if Chrome, Firefox, Flock, IE, Opera, Rockmelt, Safari, and any other worthwhile browser that came along all got an equal shot at being the world's most popular browser-based on quality alone?

Microsoft, Intel Build Fast, Efficient Windows 7 Machines

2009-09-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has made enhancements to its upcoming Windows 7 operating system that will speed up applications on machines with Intel's multicore chips, resulting in better overall system performance and less power consumption.

Hardware hooks in Intel's new chips will help Windows 7 deliver performance gains when running applications like DVD playback compared to Windows Vista, the companies said in a joint press briefing on Tuesday. The improved performance is accompanied by more efficient power usage, as the OS makes better use of power management features included in Intel's latest chips.

Microsoft has designed the OS to scale application performance by intelligently breaking up tasks like video encoding for simultaneous execution over multiple cores and threads, the companies said. For example, a Microsoft engineer could render a high-resolution image 10 percent faster on a Windows 7 system with a quad-core processor that ran two threads per core, versus a system that ran one thread per core.

The performance improvement depends on the application and usage scenario, said Ruston Panabaker, principal program manager at Microsoft. Microsoft and Intel officials were unwilling to talk in general about overall OS performance improvement compared to Windows Vista or Windows XP. Windows 7 is due for release on Oct. 22.

Most Intel chips included in consumer PCs execute only one thread per core. However, Windows 7 users may see real performance boosts when Intel releases new laptop and desktop chips based on the Westmere microarchitecture that can execute two threads per core. The new chips -- respectively code-named Arrandale and Clarkdale for laptops and desktops -- will be in production in the fourth quarter this year. The chips will be manufactured using the advanced 32-nanometer process and could reach systems by early next year.

While improving system performance, the intelligent breakdown of tasks could also reduce power drawn by systems, said Mike Angiulo, general manager of the Windows planning and PC ecosystem. Clock speeds of each core can be reduced when tasks are distributed among cores, which makes a processor more power-efficient.

Microsoft has made some kernel changes in Windows 7 to improve the power management of cores on Intel's chips compared to previous operating systems. A demonstration showed the power drain during DVD playback on a battery-powered Windows 7 laptop of 15.63 watts, compared to a drain of 20.48 watts on a similar Windows Vista laptop. Such power savings could improve battery life of a laptop by hours, Panabaker said.

Microsoft also makes better use of a timer system that puts cores in Intel processors back into sleep mode when idle. Depending on usage, the OS can intelligently put different cores into different power states, and processors remain in idle mode for a longer period in Windows 7 compared to Windows Vista, Panabaker said.

Intel's Westmere chips will also feature new onboard instructions for AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), which gives hardware instructions to speed up encryption of data, said Mark Swearingen, director of Microsoft program office at Intel. Microsoft has added the AES instructions to the Windows API (application programming interface) so application developers can build programs using the feature.

One program that takes advantage of on-chip AES is BitLocker, a Windows 7 feature to encrypt data in a system. Typically disk encryption and AES-type functions have some CPU overhead and new instructions help to reduce that overhead, Swearingen said.

Another feature included in Windows 7 that takes advantage of Intel chips is XP Mode, an environment that allows users to run Windows XP-compatible programs. The technology uses Intel's on-chip virtualization technology, and it is particularly useful for small businesses that need a safety net to run legacy applications. This feature is also supported on AMD's AMD-V virtualization technology, which comes with most AMD chips.

Microsoft's Angiulo said the software maker took a different development approach during Windows 7 to better tune it to the latest hardware. Instead of delivering a beta of an OS with potential ideas like in the past, Microsoft tried to deliver an OS that was close to a complete version. The feedback from beta testers helped prioritize engineering ideas, which helped improve the OS with relation to system performance and power management.

It is also the first time Microsoft hasn't doubled system requirements for Windows with a new release, Angiulo said. The Windows XP to Windows Vista upgrade in 2007 required users to have faster processors and more memory, but Windows 7 can run on hardware from netbooks to servers, he said. The company also worked with other hardware and software partners to ensure compatible software and drivers were available at the launch of Windows 7.

For example, Windows 7 will support a new API called DirectX 11, which breaks up tasks over multiple CPUs and graphics processing units for better graphics and multimedia performance. The software giant is working with top graphics chip makers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices on those features.

Microsoft isn't the only company to make hardware-related improvements to boost OS performance. Apple has changed the basic architecture of its Mac OS X 10.6 OS, also known as Snow Leopard, by enhancements that allow the OS to divvy up tasks for simultaneous execution across multiple CPU and GPU cores.

fast food usb drives: i can has cheeseburger and fries with that

2009-08-31T01:41:00.001-07:00

Now we’ve certainly seen our share of odd food-themed USB drives here at technabob, but it seems that there’s an entire cottage industry in China dedicated to creating a never-ending supply of even weirder flash memory devices, seemingly just so we can write about them.

usb_cheeseburger

These fast food USB drives come in two flavors: cheeseburger and french fry. The french fry drive stores 4GB of files, and tastes better with salt and ketchup and sells for $19.99 (USD). The 8GB cheeseburger memory is already loaded with all of the toppings you’d want on a burger and sells for $29.99.

french_fry_usb_drive

At this point, they’re not offering any Chicken McNugget, Filet ‘O Fish or McRib drives, but I figure it’s only a matter of time before they do.

How to Make Your Internet Run Faster :

2009-08-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Slow Internet can make anyone frustrated and annoyed, especially if you want to do your work or check your emails. The Internet has become such a big part of our lives that it's imperative we have a fast connection... but if yours is running slow, there's luckily an easy trick to make it faster.

The problem with the Internet is that so many people simply blame the provider for a slow connection. Although this is a common problem, there's also another side to the story which could set your connection free if you fix it. Although many people blame the providers, your computer could actually be the cause of a slow connection. More specifically, a part of your computer called the 'registry' could be causing your slow Internet connection, meaning that in order to speed up your web; you just need to be able to fix the problems in the registry.The registry is basically a big database of settings and system files, which your computer relies on to work. Everything from your latest emails to your homepage is stored in this database, and when you visit a website, its images and contents are also stored in there too. Because Windows has been designed to store as many Internet files as possible in the "cache" so it can load them up quicker when you next go on them, the speed at which pages load is generally determined by how many files are saved on your computer.

The problem with most computers is that most of the time, the temporary Internet files inside this database actually become corrupt or damaged, making them incredibly difficult for your computer to read. This makes your PC slow down as it tries to read them, slowing down your Internet speed as a result. The more corrupt files that are in your registry means the slower your Internet will run, and with many computers having 1,000's of these damaged files, it's actually one of the biggest causes of a slow connection.

To fix this problem and speed up your Internet dramatically, you just need to use a tool called a "registry cleaner" These tools have been specifically designed to go through the registry and fix all the bad and corrupted files that are in there. Because the temporary Internet files are kept in here too, it means that all the corrupt Internet files will be cleaned out, allowing your computer to smoothly and quickly read any Internet page at the optimum speed possible.
Using a registry cleaner to speed up your Internet speed is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do it.

Zune HD is competitive in price against ipod.

2009-08-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

August 14, 2009 , Microsoft announced the availability of the Zune HD on September 15th. The Zune HD is also competitively priced. Coming in at $219.99 for the 16GB base model (Compared to Apple’s 16GB at $299), and $289.99 for the 32GB (Apples 32GB at $399). In all matter of opinion, the Zune HD looks absolutely extravagant.The key point Microsoft is hitting with the Zune HD is gaming. NVIDIA’s Tegra offers a great amount of power, in a very small area. The Zune HD runs off of the Tegra 600 series, and is the first device to be sold with it. The Tegra 600 series buffs huge support for many features, such as a 12MP camera , and smooth high definition media playback.The new Zunes will also be able to play downloadable videos. And with the use of optional docking stations, they'll even be able to play HDTV-format videos on a TV set.
Lastly, the players, which will have touch screens, will also be Wi-Fi equipped for Web browsing and downloading audio and video.

How To Put Videos on ipods,psp,3g mobile,mp4player

2009-08-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Source:http://www.pspvideo9.com/
Now, you can enjoy Videos For YourIPod,psp,3g mobiles and so on!!PSP Video
9 is a free PSP video converter that converts video files of your choice,
YouTube videos, movies and DVD's so you can play them and enjoy on your
PSP and ipods. The software can convert all types of video files (avi,
divx, xvid, flv, x264, vob, mpeg, DVD's, YouTube, etc.) into the proper
video formats (MPEG-4, H.264) that play on the PSP. It is available for
Windows and Mac.

-

Yahoo Comes Full Circle With Retreat From Search

2009-08-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

Source:http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=8207337
by jano
Yahoo Inc. invested billions of dollars in its Internet search engine during the past six years before realizing it made more sense to entrust the job to an outsider — hearkening back to a conclusion the company's co-founders reached shortly after they started their Web directory in the mid-1990s.The latest shift in direction will put rival Microsoft Corp. in control of the search results and the ads that appear alongside search results on Yahoo's highly trafficked Web site, assuming the proposed partnership is approved by antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe.The 10-year deal announced Wednesday blows up a search expansion undertaken under Yahoo's former chief executive, Terry Semel, who resigned under shareholder pressure two years ago. The repudiation of Semel's strategy returns Yahoo to a philosophy embraced by co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo in the company's early days.

Microsoft’s sweet Yahoo deal to take on Google !!!

2009-08-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Source:http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6736245.ece
By Jano
Not long after Carol Bartz took over at Yahoo in January she dropped the “F Bomb”. Explaining what was wrong at Yahoo, the tough-talking executive said there were “a lot of people running around telling engineers what to do but nobody is f*****g doing anything”.If anything, that endeared Bartz to potential critics. After years of bloodless management, here was a woman fired up to get Yahoo moving again.She arrived as the floundering internet giant was showing co-founder Jerry Yang the door. Shareholders were furious that Yahoo had rebuffed a $33-a-share offer from Microsoft and today the shares are worth less than half that.It had lost its way defending against the software giant and was falling ever further behind Google. Bartz was going to give Yahoo “some friggin’ breathing room” so it could “kick some butt”. Seven months later it’s Bartz’s butt that is getting the kicking. She is accused of selling off Yahoo’s crown jewel for a song.Microsoft finally reached a deal with Yahoo last week to, in effect, take over its search business. It will make Microsoft’s Bing search service Yahoo’s search engine, handing the Windows software giant almost 30% of the search market and is the end of an era in internet search, reducing the field to two key players: Microsoft and arch enemy Google.Microsoft will pay Yahoo 88% of the search revenue generated from its sites in the first five years of the agreement, the companies said. But for Yahoo, once the leader in online search, it is the end of the road.

Google sill in love with Youtube

2009-08-01T10:51:00.001-07:00

Source:http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/07/31/google-still-loves....By Jano
The video-sharing site loses money and has failed to attract quality studio programming. So why does Google continue to pump money into it?YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley (left) and product manager Salar Kamangar YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley (left) and product manager Salar Kamangar You would think Google’s executive triumvirate — CEO Eric Schmidt and co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page — would be worried about YouTube. Almost three years after they forked over $1.65 billion in stock to acquire the video-sharing site, YouTube last year delivered only an estimated $240 million in revenue and is deeply in the red.YouTube is the largest video platform in the world. Users upload 20 hours of video to it each minute, at tremendous cost to Google (GOOG). The company doesn’t break out YouTube’s expenses, but analysts believe it spends tens of millions of dollars each month just on network capacity to host all those videos.And, oh, what videos! Four years after its inception YouTube remains a repository for “long tail” content that appeals to niche audiences: clips of cats on skateboards, babies laughing, and kids lip-synching. (There are occasional mass-audience moments, like the clip of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent, viewed 71 million times.) Gallery: See YouTube’s greatest hits But despite Google’s repeated efforts, YouTube has failed to create an environment for professional video content, where many advertisers are clamoring to put their money right now.Instead, Google’s executives have watched rival Hulu, a joint venture of GE’s NBC, News Corp.’s Fox, and now Disney’s ABC, catapult to success among consumers and advertisers alike. With its sharp media player and an interface that feels comfortingly like traditional television, Hulu has become the second-most-watched video site (after YouTube) since it launched in March 2008 and began hosting episodes of Saturday Night Live and The Office. YouTube’s attempt to capitalize on professional content? A tab on the site marked “Shows” that is home to programs like Bewitched. Really.

Mozilla Firefox Hits 1 Billion Downloads

2009-08-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Source:http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Mozilla-Firefox-Hits-by Jano
Mozilla Firefox, the open-source challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, passed the 1-billion download mark on July 31, with a Web site and Twitter feed marking the occasion. Although Firefox has managed to seize an increasing percentage of the consumer market since its original rollout in 2002, its gains have been somewhat slower in the enterprise, where a variety of factors have kept Internet Explorer as the browser of choice for many IT administrators.Mozilla's Firefox browser hit 1 billion downloads on July 31, with the open-source foundation using the occasion to trumpet itself as a viable alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.On August 3, Mozilla plans to launch a Web site to mark the achievement; details of the site content are under wraps, but the foundation plans on highlighting "how global and diverse our community has become," according to a posting on a corporate site. Mozilla also set up an account on Twitter counting towards that 1-billion mark.Resource Library:Navigating The Recession For Competitive Advantage With IBM's Dynamic Warehousin Stripping Complexity from SMB IT: Virtualization Does It Data in Action: Effective data management for smarter outcomes Integrating SharePoint with Lotus Notes: Drive SharePoint Adoption While Managin At the moment Firefox hit that milestone, the browser was being downloaded some 24 times per second.Since its original release in 2002, Firefox has slowly managed to gain market-share in the consumer market. A report by research firm StatCounter in early July found that the various versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer held 54.4 percent market share, down from 65.8 percent in March 2009, while the next-to-newest version of Firefox, 3.0, held a 27.6 percent market share.

Gaming on the Apple iPhone

2009-07-31T03:08:00.000-07:00

Since Apple launched its iTunes Application Store in July 2008, iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded more than a billion “apps” - city guides, translation dictionaries, travel tools, photo-sharing widgets and restaurant-finding applications - on to their devices.But it is the unexpected success of the iPhone and iPod touch as a gaming platform that has taken everyone by surprise.The touch-screen interface and motion-sensing capabilities of Apple’s devices have allowed video-game developers to experiment with new kinds of gameplay. Instead of simply bashing buttons, as on a conventional hand-held games console, players instead tap the screen of their iPhone, or move the device itself, to control on‑screen action.Games account for 14 of the 20 most popular paid-for iPhone and iPod touch applications of all time, and six of the top 20 free applications.While games companies such as Sony and Nintendo are largely dismissive of the threat posed by the iPhone and iPod touch in the portable gaming space, they ignore the platform at their peril. Apple has sold more than 35 million touch-screen devices worldwide since July 2007, creating a huge potential audience for a growing number of game developers who are making titles specifically for Apple’s gadgets.
And a recent software update has enabled the use of micropayments in applications - this means that users will be able to make in-game purchases, splashing real money on virtual weapons, armour and new levels, generating more revenue for Apple and game makers, and keeping players engaged with their favourite games.

Windows Mobile to be Windows Phone!

2009-07-31T02:49:00.001-07:00

Now, this is one rumor we seriously wish remains a rumor. So, someone from Microsoft's naming department (we made that up, alright) seems to think Windows Mobile, the age old mobile operating system needs a name change. And why not? In the midst of the Androids and the OSX'es of the world, Windows Mobile juts out like a Ford Model T in the midst of a dozen Lamborghinis.So, after zillions of round table conferences and board room meetings, they seem to have come up with the "Windows Phone" moniker for the revolutionary Windows Mobile 7 (sigh) OS that is set to hit the shelves by next year. This is not the first time we have seen Microsoft's obsession with the word "phone". In fact, earlier this year, we had heard of the same name crop up and then die a natural death. If the rumors have sprung up again, it more or less looks likely that this one might just not remain a rumor.Why would someone want to change something that's been doing so well? Windows Mobile is still cool! Why fix it if it's not broken Microsoft?

Researchers identify critical iPhone security flaw

2009-07-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

Researchers have identified a critical iPhone security flaw that could allow hackers to take control of the shiny device. Although Club Cupertino was warned of the ulnerability in July, it has yet to issue a patch or even comment on the issue.Security experts Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner explained that the public needed to be cognizant of the fact that iPhones were at least as vulnerable to attack as personal computers."If we don't talk about it, somebody is going to do it silently," Mulliner told Reuters at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. "The bad guys are going to do it no matter what."According to Mulliner, hackers could exploit the flaw to prevent users from making calls, acccessing the Internet and exchanging text messages. He added that the two have already tested the hacks on four German carrier networks. The hacks - which are reportedly enabled by an SMS memory corruption bug - were also successfully implemented over the AT&T network in the US.

How To Improve Your IT Job Skills

2009-07-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

By D M
SOURCE:With courtcy of:http://www.howtodothings.com/careers/a4502-how-to-improve-your-it-job-skills.html

Staying on top of your game in the IT job market requires constant re-skilling. This is what attracts many people to IT in the first place; it is always changing and evolving at a fast clip. So whether you would like a job in a new area of computing, you would like to advance with your company, or you simply want to retain your current position, follow these steps to improve your IT job skills.

1. Check to see if you company offers in-house training. It's a competitive IT market, and companies want to retain their talented IT staff. Many companies offer in-house training, either in small classes or off of the corporate website. This is likely to be in areas of IT that the company is looking to expand or augment, so if you are interested in going into a new area of IT within your company, this is something to consider. This is also a good way to brush up on your current skills. Perhaps there is a new version of your programming
language; these kinds of classes will help you stay current.
2. Check to see if your company offers tuition reimbursement. Many companies will offer to pay for classes you take to improve your IT job skills. They may have a set-up with a local college, or may allow you to choose where you go. Some companies have a cap of tuition allocation, so if you want to...
2. pursue schooling whose tuition is beyond your company's support, consider how you will pay for it when tuition reimbursement ends.
3. Talk to other parts of the IT department (and others) to see where your company is going as far as new technologies. Your boss may be impressed that you are looking to keep current with what the company is doing, and that you have enough company loyalty to want to branch out. HR is also a good link to what jobs your company will soon be looking to fill.
4. Request catalogs from local colleges. Because they often get more funding per student from the state, a lot of community and state colleges have the most cutting-edge IT classes. Once you have a sense of what direction of IT you would like to explore, looking through the catalogs from local schools is a great way to find a way to improve your IT job skills.
5. Consider online classes. Your company (or one you would prefer to work for) may be deploying a rather esoteric technology that local schools don't teach. You likely can find an online class that teaches it. Talk to your boss to see if you can do this on company time. If not, then consider it an investment in your future career. You'll be glad later.
6. See if your alma mater offers free or low-cost programming classes to alumni or the spouses of alumni. If you are still located near where you went to school (or if they offer online tutorials/classes), your college is likely to offer classes at a fraction of what you paid - or would pay - for tuition. These may be classes just for alumni, or they may be the actual classes that current students are taking. Either way, you will gain new IT job skills that are complimentary to the curriculum
that you were initially taught.

You will need to improve your IT job skills sooner or later if you plan on staying in the field. If you consistently stay current with new technologies, then you will be assured of getting and keeping a job that you'll love!

Microsoft Released Silverlight 3 !!!

2009-07-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

Report By Jano
Microsoft has rolled out Silverlight 3 with a lot of new stuff including the Smooth screening feature. Silverlight is a browser plugin that enables rich media experience, audio playback, vector graphics and animation. Silverlight 3 was released a day early, as it was supposed to be out officially on July 10. Currently, Silverlight 3 supports Internet Explorer 6/7/8, Firefox 2/3 and Safari 3/4 browsers - no support for Opera and Chrome browsers.Microsoft's Silverlight is a direct rival of Adobe Flash and is available for download from Microsoft's Silverlight site.This new Silverlight 3 RTW (3.0.40264.0) version brings along a number of features, including Smooth Screening, GPU hardware acceleration, H.264/AAC/MPEG-4 Video support, and out-of-the-browser experience without any additional plugin downloads. Thousands of other API features are enumerated by Tim Heuer, program manager for Microsoft Silverlight. Microsoft touts that Silverlight 3 brings streaming of high-definition video in full screen with stutter-free live and on-demand video. For a demo of Smooth Screening, head to this special link for checking out the Smooth Screening experience of playing HD video at any point of time, instantly. The third version will allow streaming of 720p HD content over the web with an ability to Pause and Rewind the video.The GPU hardware acceleration support will allow this framework to make the best of the available graphics in the user's system. Apart from that, version 3 is a mash up of streaming video and offering Rich Internet Applications experiences. Developers would be able to create Silverlight based apps so that videos can be seen even if the browser is shut off.

World Has 2,000 BlackBerry Apps

2009-07-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Report By Jano
In just over 4 months, Research in Motion managed to get double their applications on their App World store for the BlackBerry in hopes to get more Apple users on their side. This will be pretty hard to achieve, seeing that the iPhone App Store now has about 50,000 applications up and running.Although they're not even close, RIM is pretty happy with the number of apps, saying that "it doesn't matter whether it's 40,000 or 2,000, you've still got a broad range of choice".This month, RIM's 2,000 BlackBerry apps will be available to users in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, with Brazil and India to follow in the coming months.

The first men to walk on the Moon

2009-07-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Report By Jano
The crew of Apollo 11, the first men to walk on the Moon, helped their families plan for their deaths before they launched, memorabilia to be sold at auction has revealed.When the crew of Apollo 11 set off for the moon in 1969, they were feted as heroes and praised as pioneers.But mementoes to be sold at an auction commemorating the mission's 40th anniversary shows how the three astronauts secretly feared they may be on a one-way ticket – and how they helped their families to plan for their deaths.With insurance companies unwilling to cover them for such a treacherous venture, and aware that government compensation in the event of their demise could be modest, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins dreamed up an idea for securing their loved ones' futures: autographed first-day covers.One of the signed envelopes – bearing the Apollo 11 mission emblem and postmarked at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on July 16, 1969, the day of the launch – is among 400 lots going under the hammer in a sale of rare space memorabilia at Bonhams auction house in New York."Since we were unable to obtain adequate life insurance due to the high risk nature of being an astronaut, we signed this group of covers and evenly distributed them to our families for safe keeping while we performed our mission," explained Buzz Aldrin, 79, in an accompanying letter certifying authenticity."If an unfortunate event prevented our safe return, the covers would have provided a limited financial means of support to our families."The auction, one of many events marking the anniversary later this month, is expected to draw bidding from space enthusiasts and collectors around the world, and raise at least $1.5 million. (Report By Jano)

Lightning delays shuttle launch

2009-07-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

Report By Jano
The launch of US shuttle Endeavour has been delayed after a thunderstorm around Cape Canaveral, Nasa officials say.Blast-off was postponed for 24 hours to allow technical teams to assess the effects of lightning strikes near the launch pad on Friday.Two previous launch attempts in June were scrapped because of a potentially hazardous leak in a hydrogen vent line.The craft is to take and install a last piece of Japan's space station lab.Lift-off had been scheduled for 1939 local time (2339 GMT) on Saturday.But on Friday evening, the area surrounding the launch pad was hit by 11 lightning strikes.Head of mission Mike Moses said the launch would take place at 1913 local time (2313 GMT) on Sunday.He added weather forecasts suggested there was a 60% chance of acceptable conditions for take-off.Nasa: 'We're just being cautious'Forecasters earlier had predicted that stormy weather could delay the launch.The launch pad is rigged with lightning protection system designed to attract bolts away from the shuttle.But Nasa said that while none of the strikes hit the shuttle or its external tank and rocket boosters, there were strikes to the lightning mast and water tower.Mike Moses, chairman of the pre-launch Mission Management Team, said checks were continuing but there was no indication so far of any damage to the shuttle's systems."We need to be 100% confident that we have a good system across the board," he said.

Check Twitter for Bargains

2009-07-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

By Jano
Businesses from your preferred airline to your favorite cafe are using Twitter to trumpet last-minute discounts and giveaways. You, too, can get looped in to these immediate and often exclusive deals.Users of the social network (Twitter.com) can sign up to "follow" stores or clubs they like. Messages, or "tweets," from businesses, like those from individual users, are limited to 140 characters.The best bargains, such as free meals at your local diner or cross-country flights for less than $20, may be gone in a few hours."For people that are on the go all the time, this is a great way to find the deal and it might be the only way to find a deal," said Hillary Mendelsohn, who uses Twitter to find bargains for her Web site, thepurplebook.com, an online shopping guide.Find your favorite businesses by using the search or "Find People" tools on Twitter.com. A quick search for a key phrase like "deals to Vegas" or "cheap laptops" will also yield a stream of messages, which you can then re-post to share with other users or keep to yourself -- you don't have to post tweets to take advantage of these deals.Stick to brands and names you trust to avoid scams and be wary of imposters, since Twitter is still developing a verification process for users who register well-known names..

Apple iTunes App Store is 1 year old this week

2009-07-11T06:26:00.001-07:00

Report By Jano
In case you didn’t know, Apple are celebrating the 1 year old milestone of the iTunes App Store this week. As a result of this, the company are promoting and recommending some of their favourite apps and games.As reported from Cnet, in just one year, the Apple App store has managed to accumulate more than 50,000 apps, a staggering number when you think about it. They have also notched up more than 1 billion app downloads and made the App store one of the most essential things about the iPhone.Well I guess congratulations is in order, isn’t it? Well not if your an angry developer who have had their apps swiftly declined by Apple. Let us know your thoughts on the milestone.

YouTube Became hit by Singer's airline tune !!!

2009-07-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Report By Jano
A strung-out musician who blames United Airlines for breaking his prize guitar has taken revenge by writing a song that has become a YouTube hit.Dave Carroll composed "United Breaks Guitars" after his Taylor acoustic was damaged at Chicago's O'Hare airport.The fretting Canadian said he wrote the tune after months of trying to get the carrier to pay compensation.United Airlines said the 41-year-old musician's song would be used for internal customer service training.Mr Carroll says his instrument was wrecked by clumsy ground staff as he switched planes last year in Chicago, en route between Halifax and Nebraska. The musician was left with a 1,400 Canadian dollar ($1,200; £740) repair bill, he says.When the airline apparently struck a bum public relations note by refusing to take responsibility, he made the humorous folk music video and posted it online.Featuring his friends posing as indifferent flight attendants and butter-fingered baggage handlers, by Friday the clip had been viewed nearly 1.4m times on the video-sharing website.A United Airlines spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times: "His video is excellent and we plan to use it internally as a unique learning and training opportunity to ensure that all our customers receive better service."

* News * Technology * Google Google's new platform Chrome aims to show Microsoft's Windows the door

2009-07-11T06:19:00.001-07:00

It is the technology industry's equivalent of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Google, the web upstart founded 11 years ago, has announced it will go head-to-head with Microsoft with an operating system (OS) – the programs that make a computer work – for machines ranging from handhelds up to desktop computers.If Google can get enough people to buy computers running its new Chrome OS, it will cut into Microsoft's two biggest cash cows: Windows and its Office suite of programs, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft, which once spoke of "cutting off the air supply" of a web-based rival, Netscape, has woken up to find a new threat reaching for its throat.The confrontation has been expected for years – despite Google's insistence it had no such ambitions – but it still caught observers by surprise when a Google spokeswoman confirmed to IT news service IDG that it plans to announce this week the names of computer makers in Taiwan and China signed up to work with Chrome OS, and said that it will show off Chrome's user interface later this year.The challenge to Microsoft is implicit, yet also direct. In a blog post, Sundar Pichai, Google's vice-president of product management, and Linus Upson, engineering director, explained that "the operating systems that browsers [used to access pages on the web] run on were designed in an era when there was no web". That is a swipe at Windows, which dates back to the 1990s. Pichai and Upson also promise that with Chrome OS, "we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS" to ensure that "users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates" – another swipe.

Gmail, Google Apps Finally Out of Beta

2009-07-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

It may be difficult to believe, but Gmail and Google Apps are finally out of beta, indicating Google is getting serious about marketing its products to large businesses."More than 1.75 million companies around the world run their business on Google Apps, including Google," the official Google blog states. "We've come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn't fit for large enterprises that aren't keen to run their business on software that sounds like it's still in the trial phase. So we've focused our efforts on reaching our high bar for taking products out of beta, and all the applications in the Apps suite have now met that mark."Gmail users aren't going to notice a difference, but it's true that removing the beta tag may help Google convince companies to begin using paid versions of its software. Google hopes to get Gmail, Docs, Calendar and other software it develops into the corporate workplace, charging companies for additional perks and benefits unavailable in the free versions.Furthermore, removing the beta tag from some its services indicates their maturity and a stronger dedication towards the corporate workplace.Joining Gmail and Google Apps, the Mountain View-based company also removed the beta tag for Google Calendar and Google Talk (enterprise and consumer); with many computer users previously wondering if the popular services would always be in beta.Although Gmail and other services have continually had a beta tag since launch, they've been stable, reliable services for both home users and businesses for quite some time now. It's unsure why the services remained in beta so long, with Google lacking a true set of policies or rules as to when software can be removed from beta.Google continues to be well known for creating multiple services for its users, but then seemingly keeping all of its services in beta. The company still has dozens of other services and programs that are still in beta, and it's obviously highly unlikely they'll all lose their beta tags in the future.

ANALYSIS-Google-Microsoft war may bring down PC prices

2009-07-09T06:32:00.001-07:00

Report By Jano
Google Inc's (GOOG.O) bid to compete with Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Windows operating system may help lower the cost of personal computers at a time when prices are already being pinched by inexpensive netbooks Google said it will offer its just-announced Chrome operating system for free when it is launched in the second half of 2010, a move that could force Microsoft into a price war.Although Windows is the dominant operating system -- installed on 90 percent of the world's PCs, Microsoft won't take Google's challenge lightly, analysts said. Its new Windows 7 operating system will be available in October."Microsoft's strategy is likely to be to compete on price," said Brent Williams, an analyst with the Benchmark Co. "Now there's a competitor with the muscle and the brand recognition. Google is that company."Google said Chrome OS, which is based on the open-source Linux code, is being designed for all PCs but will debut on netbooks. It makes sense for Google to initially target the stripped-down, Web-centric netbooks, one of the only segments showing any growth in a PC market that is contracting.Netbooks generally sell for $300 to $400, but prices are dropping as new offerings flood the market and wireless carriers offer subsidies with the purchase of a data plan.Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu noted that while the prices on nearly all PC components have been falling, "the one thing that has not been coming down is the cost of the operating system. This is going to put some pressure on Microsoft."Microsoft doesn't say how much it charges PC brands for Windows, but analysts estimate it gets $20 to $40 for the older XP system used in the vast majority of netbooks, and at least $150 for the current Vista system.Wu said price competition could ultimately give a bump to PC makers' margins."I think overall it should improve the profitability for PC vendors. It's really a question of how much they pass on to the customers," he said. REWRITING THE RULES

Nokia N97 with £30 of vouchers included!

2009-07-09T06:30:00.001-07:00

Report By Jano
Those of you that are not enamoured with the iPhone or Pre might be pleased to know that e-tailers are looking after your Nokia (NYSE: NOK) needs with the N97 and some good deals!eXpansys is one of those companies, and are currently offering the N97 for £499.99 - but with £30 of vouchers in there, for you to spend on what you like in the rest of their store:Buy the Nokia N97 from eXpansys and we’ll give you £30 of eXpansys vouchers to spend on accessories so you can make the most out of your new phone. Why not use them to get yourself a car charger or a spare battery so you never run out of power? Follow this link for full terms and conditions.Running Series 60 5th Edition, the Nokia N97 Smartphone makes connecting more personal with the touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. Take top-quality 5 megapixel photos and watch widescreen videos on the large screen or download the latest games

iPhone apps get down to business

2009-07-09T06:28:00.001-07:00

Report By Jano
The enduring popularity of the Zippo branded lighter app for the iPhone has not been lost on the business world. Its virtual flame has been spotted lighting up concerts around the world, keeping Zippo safely at the top of the iTunes charts.Australian businesses are now getting in on the act, adding their home grown applications to the iTunes app store in the hope that some of the iPhone's marketing magic rubs off on their brand.Starting out as a cottage industry, most iPhone applications in the app store today are the creation of small developer-entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the faddish appetite for novelties and gaming applications.While a handful of them have reaped small fortunes from apps that went on to top the charts, it is brand visibility rather than profit that has lured companies like ANZ and Honda Australia onto the platform.Both companies chose to act quickly to gain a presence on the iPhone, to project their brand as innovative and forward thinking. ANZ beat competitors to the punch with its first transactional banking app delivered alongside the Australian iPhone launch - which has since been downloaded 50,000 times.Sam Plowman, head of online banking said: "It was very apparent to us that Apple had developed an interface that would bring forward the use of browser and internet apps on mobiles. We decided we had to be ready with app when the iPhone launched here.''

China to send first woman into space

2009-07-09T00:22:00.001-07:00

Report By Jano
China could launch its first woman into space as early as 2012, state media reported.Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China's first astronaut and is now in charge of new recruits for the space programme, said the search for the first woman in space was under way, the China Daily said."I believe Chinese women will soon be seen in space," said Yang during a webchat, the paper reported.Sui Guosheng, an officer in charge of recruitment with the Chinese Air Force, said the female "taikonaut," China's word for astronauts, was expected to blast off in 2012.The potential female astronauts would be recruited from among 16 female fighter pilots who graduated in April, Sui told the Nanfang Weekly, according to the China Daily report.The pilots, who were chosen from 150,000 high school graduates, were the first batch of Chinese women qualified to fly fighter jets, the report said.China became the third nation to put a man in space when Yang piloted the one-man Shenzhou-5 space mission in 2003, part of the country's rising space ambitions.The Chang'e-1 probe was launched in 2007 and is the first stage of China's lunar programme, which includes landing an unmanned rover on the surface by 2012 and a manned mission by around 2020.The world's first female astronaut was the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova, who stayed in space for three days in 1963.

US judge prunes damages from YouTube copyright suit

2009-07-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

YouTube won a small victory this week in the website's everlasting campaign not to have its pants sued off by copyright owners.A US federal judge has dismissed some damages brought by a lengthy roster of sports and music copyright holders, led by the UK-based Football Association Premier League.US District Judge Luis Stanton said in a court order issued July 3 that the plaintiffs cannot request damages for videos posted on YouTube that don't have US copyrights attached to them. Stanton wrote that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 "bars statutory damages for all foreign and domestic works not timely registered."The judge, however, agreed that the plaintiffs could seek damages for claims over live broadcast footage. Getting live coverage OK'd for statutory damages was obviously a major issue given the case is being helmed by a soccer league.Stanton's order does not touch on the key issue of the lawsuit, which is whether YouTube is responsible for allowing copyright infringing videos to be posted in the first place. Because of similarities of their complaints, the case has become tied with a looming showstopper: Viacom's $1bn copyright lawsuit against Google, YouTube's parent company. The media conglom argues YouTube is liable for copyright infringement when its users publish clips and episodes from Viacom library of television shows.

The World's Oldest Christian Bible Gone Digital !!!

2009-07-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

Time is never kind to paper manuscripts, particular those written more than 1600 years ago. Some 800 pages remain of the Codex Sinaiticus, a version of the Christian Bible written in the fourth century, and the original text is thought to be nearly twice as long. Historians believe the book may be world's oldest Christian Bible. Studying the original text has proven challenging, however, as sections of the work are scattered in four locations around the globe.But thanks to today's online publication of the Codex Sinaiticus, scholars can examine the entire book from the comfort of their desks. Curious? You can explore the document yourself. Stephen Bates of The Guardian explains the significance of the online edition:". . . so sophisticated is modern technology that scholars will not only be able to read the document on their screens using a standard light setting, but also separately by a raking illumination that highlights the texture and features of the very parchment on which the 800 surviving pages of text were written."It's fair to say the online edition of Codex Sinaiticus won't have mainstream appeal. But the project does illustrate the power of the Internet to advance educational pursuits. We'll likely see similar efforts in the future for other historical documents.

Windows 7 testers have long path to upgrade

2009-07-07T05:09:00.003-07:00

Going from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is relatively straightforward. So one might think that moving from a pre-release version of Windows 7 to the final version would also be simple.One would be wrong.That's because the upgrade versions of the Windows operating system (the cheapest way to move to the final version) check for a previous paid version of Windows on the drive. That means, if a user did a clean installation of Windows 7 on their test system (as recommended by Microsoft), that same user will have to back up their data, reinstall their original operating system (XP or Vista), then install Windows 7, restore their data, and then reinstall their applications.For testers who were running XP, that means doing a clean installation of Windows XP over their Windows 7 test build and then a clean installation of Windows 7 over that. Vista users have the option of reinstalling that operating system and then doing an in-place upgrade or a clean installation of Windows 7.Testers looking to move from a test version of Windows 7 to the final product may find the move not only costly, but time consuming.Microsoft says that, for what it's worth, that's roughly the same thing that was required for those moving from pre-release versions of Windows Vista to the final release.Even so, it's an unfortunate burden for those who have provided lots of feedback and indeed been some of the operating system's biggest champions. Users were also pushed to do a fresh installation when moving from Windows 7 beta to the latest test version, although some users found ways around having to do this.It's just one of several scenarios in which users may find getting to Windows 7 to be a tricky proposition. In general, most people get Windows through buying a new PC. But there are still plenty of folks who decide to update their existing machines.That's proving to be tricky, not just for testers, but also for people who want to upgrade their Netbooks. That's because such machines, by their nature, don't come with a DVD drive. However, a source says Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 via flash drive--a move that could make that upgrade easier.Microsoft is also trying to lower the other barrier to those moving from a test version to the final Windows 7--the cost. The software maker has a limited promotion--through July 11 in the U.S.--that lets people buy an upgrade copy of Windows 7 for as low as $49.

Blogger Released Beautiful Touch Screen Web Tablet

2009-07-07T05:01:00.000-07:00

As a blogger for TechCrunch, Michael Arrington has often pined for a simple, cheap tablet that's made primarily for browsing the Web. He's now putting his money where his mouth is, and has formed a company to sell a Web tablet called the CrunchPad.The CrunchPad is expected to be a light, thin device that is primarily used for browsing the Web, reading e-mail, and viewing videos from Flash-based Web sites like YouTube and Hulu. The device will have a 12-inch touch screen with an "iPhone-like" virtual keyboard, and the device will useIntel (NSDQ: INTC)'s Atom processor.The CrunchPad will use a customized Linux kernel that boots directly to a Webkit-based browser. The device is expected to come with 4 GB of internal memory, and a USB slot for an external keyboard. Arrington said having the device boot directly to the browser means it won't need a lot of hardware horsepower to operate smoothly.Arrington said he recently incorporated a company called CrunchPad in Singapore to manufacture and sell the device. He expects the tablet to be available within a couple months for under $300."I'm tired of waiting -- I want a dead simple and dirt cheap touch screen Web tablet to surf the Web," Arrington wrote nearly a year ago at the CrunchPad's genesis. "The goal is to keep the machine very simple and very cheap. I think this will be a lot of fun, and it may just turn into an actual product that we use to surf the Web and talk to our friends."It is unclear if the CrunchPad will find a wide audience beyond the tech-savvy early adopters, as it will be competing with netbooks that offer more-familiar interfaces and applications. Additionally, Apple is rumored to be working on a similar device that will cost more but can tap into its popular App Store infrastructure.

Yahoo Enhances and Broadens Access to Search Pad Tool

2009-07-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

Yahoo will significantly expand on Tuesday the number of people who can test its Search Pad service, an online notebook for saving and sharing notes, links and Web site content when conducting research using the company's search engine.Search Pad, announced in February, has been in limited testing, but now Yahoo will make it available to people in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.Yahoo has refined and broadened the service's features since unveiling it, such as adding ways to share its content, previously limited to e-mail. Search Pad content can now be shared through Yahoo's Delicious social bookmarking service, Facebook and Twitter. However, Search Pad is still considered to be in a beta test period.Search Pad combines functionality from online notebooks and social bookmarking sites, but since it is a feature of Yahoo's search engine, Search Pad has a very specific purpose, unlike standalone notepad-type Web applications.Thus, Yahoo doesn't foresee Search Pad replacing Delicious. Rather, Yahoo describes Search Pad as an "online personal research assistant" designed to let people capture information they find for specific projects, such as a major purchase, a vacation or a party.Yahoo hopes that Search Pad will become an online option for people who save information they find on the Web in word processing files or scraps of paper, and by creating browser bookmarks.

Teen hacker releases Windows and Mac jailbreaking programs for iPhone 3G S

2009-07-06T01:22:00.001-07:00

The teen hacker who unlocked the original iPhone is at it again. George Hotz, 19, claims to have created an app that can “jailbreak” the iPhone 3G S.That means the program, dubbed purplera1n, can install third-party software on an iPhone 3G S, even if that software is not approved by Apple. It didn’t take him that long to hack the iPhone 3G S, which has only been available since June 19.Jailbreaking is a big deal because it shows that it isn’t impossible to overcome Apple’s built-in security features for the iPhone. To some users, jailbreaking adds value to the phone because they are able to run a variety of unauthorized apps. Apple tries to close off vulnerabilities that make jailbreaking possible, but hackers such as Hotz look for new ones in a cat-and-mouse game.Note that while Hotz originally was able to “unlock” the iPhone so that it could make phone calls on non-AT&T networks, “jailbreaking” is different in that it merely allows unapproved apps to run on the iPhone.Hotz released software on Friday that works with Windows-based computers and the latest version of iTunes, as well as an iPhone 3G S running the latest iPhone 3.0 software. He talked about it in a blog post. Today, he released a Mac version. He warns that people who try the software should do a backup before they start.

Atlus U.S.A., Inc unveils release details for Demon's Souls

2009-07-06T01:19:00.001-07:00

Demon's Souls is an upcoming action RPG, produced by Atlus and exclusive to the PS3.Atlus announced on July 4th that the title will be entered in the Atlus Spoils fan appreciation program and that a deluxe addition will be released, including an exclusive 150+ page strategy guide and a collectible outer slipcase. Additionally, pre-orders for both the standard and deluxe editions will receive a bonus art book that includes concept sketches and designs.According to a recent press release by Atlus, Tim Pivnicny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, stated, ""Atlus Spoils is all about giving back to our fans and thanking them for their support, and we're excited to be able to do something very special for Demon's Souls."The game's North American release date is currently set for October 6, 2009. The standard version will retail with an MSRP of $59.99, and the deluxe edition with an MSRP of $69.99. Pre-orders for the deluxe edition will begin July 8th.

Five fab apps for iPhone OS 3.0 and the new 3GS

2009-07-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

Apple Inc. has an interesting pie-slicing problem coming as far as developers of iPhone (and iPod Touch) applications are concerned. All of those first- and second-generation iPhones run the same operating system -- the just-released iPhone OS 3.0 -- as the new 3GS model. But the latter includes new hardware such as a magnetometer, a faster CPU and faster GPU, as well as more memory. If developers build shiny new apps with only those features in mind, they'll limit their market. What to do?So far, most developers seem to be focused mainly on expanding existing apps to incorporate iPhone OS 3.0-enabled capabilities, such as push notifications and MMS support (in some markets). They're evolutionary changes, much as the newest iPhone itself is evolutionary, but still offer an interesting look at where the iPhone hardware/software combo is headed.Here's a quick look at five applications iPhone and iPod Touch owners should consider. The easiest way to track them down is by accessing the App Store on the iPhone and searching for the app title. (You can do it in iTunes, too, if you want.)

‘Conduit’ brings firepower, but Wii game fails to impress

2009-07-04T08:07:00.001-07:00

The Wii’s controller is perfect for first-person shooters. Instead of using a joystick to move crosshairs around the screen, the Wii remote mimics a real gun. You point, you click, you make a guy dead. It’s the shortest point between you and mass murder. That’s why it’s surprising that there are only a few FPSes on Nintendo’s system.“The Conduit” aims to fill that void. It’s not just an underpowered downgrade of popular Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 games, such as “Call of Duty.” “The Conduit” is the first FPS since Nintendo’s own “Metroid Prime 3” to be designed specifically and exclusively for the Wii.Technically, “The Conduit” is perfectly calibrated for the system. The graphics are the best you’ll see on the Wii from a game not made by Nintendo. The controls are both great and highly customizable, letting you decide your optimal setup for shooting a ton of dudes. It even offers a fully formed online component, with various solo and team deathmatch modes - a feature as rare for the Wii as an “M” rating. Clearly a lot of work went into “The Conduit.” Maybe the obvious effort and good intentions are why the game is ultimately so disappointing.“The Conduit” is clearly hindered by the Wii’s underpowered hardware, which makes the graphics slightly more impressive than an exceptionally good first-generation Xbox game. It looks better than most Wii games, but can’t compare to even mediocre 360 or PS3 visuals. We expect that from the Wii, though, so that’s not necessarily why “The Conduit” disappoints.

Facebook criticised over privacy

2009-07-04T08:05:00.001-07:00

The social networking site Facebook has come under fire for planned changes to its privacy settings.It wants to "simplify" the process so users only have to set them once, instead of for each individual feature.Facebook says the change will help people share more information with one another.However, critics argue the new set up could lead to members being persuaded to share too many personal details - their date of birth for example.Tom Royal is from Computeractive magazine.He said: "I'm a little bit worried about the settings recommended by Facebook because as far as I can see it's actually sharing quite a lot of information with quite a few people."That's not something we'd advise people to do. We'd very much recommend people choose the 'limited' option instead.'One size fits all'"For example, just your date of birth can be a security question for lots of internet applications."Facebook argues a 'one size fits all' approach will make things more straightforward for users."The effect of more and more settings has made controlling privacy on Facebook too complicated," according to the site's chief privacy officer Chris Kelly.It's also phasing out regional networks like London and Manchester because Kelly says "they don't adequately reflect a world where people choose the audience they want to share with".The number of people using Facebook has risen above the 20 million mark this year in the UK.It is the most popular social networking site in the world, with 200 million members globally.

Employee shot, wounded at Virginia Apple store

2009-07-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

An employee at an Apple store near Washington D.C. was shot and wounded Friday morning, police have confirmed. The victim, a 26-year-old woman, is currently at an area hospital recovering from a wound to the right shoulder. She is said to be in serious but stable condition.Police say the shooting occurred about 10:15 a.m. EDT at the Arlington, Va., Apple store at 2700 Clarendon Blvd., in a busy, upscale shopping area. Some media outlets are calling the incident an attempted robbery, but Detective Crystal Nosal of the Arlington Police Department told CNET News it's "still too early to tell." The victim, she says, "is obviously under medication in the hospital so interviewing is difficult."The victim was shot by a man who rang a doorbell at a back service entrance of the store, according to police. A short time later, another employee heard a gunshot.Police say customers were present in the store at the time of the shooting, and employees helped them exit. No other people were injured.Mike Evans, a software developer, was shopping for a new laptop at the time of the shooting and told the Washington Post at least a dozen employees and about 30 customers were inside when he heard what he thought was "boxes falling.""It never crossed my mind that there would be a shooting there, in Clarendon," Evans told the newspaper. "An employee went to the back room and then we heard a woman's scream. I didn't wait to find out what happened."Police are describing the suspect as a black male between 35 and 45, with a medium build and facial hair. He was wearing light-colored pants, a light-colored short sleeve shirt, and a dark baseball hat. He was carrying a handgun.Police say the incident does not appear to be related to any other crimes in the area.

Dismissal of MySpace Case 'Proper,' Defendant Says

2009-07-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

A Missouri mother said she never should have been prosecuted for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old girl who ended up committing suicide.A federal judge this week acquitted Lori Drew of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization, finding that the law she allegedly violated was unconstitutionally vague. U.S. District Judge George Wu stressed that the ruling is tentative until he issues it in writing.Friday, on NBC's "Today" show, Drew said she never should have been prosecuted."In my view, it was proper that this case was dismissed, primarily because I simply did not do what the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles accused me of doing," Drew said.Drew was found guilty in November, but the judge said that if she were convicted of illegally accessing computers, anyone who has ever violated the social networking site's terms of service would be guilty of that offense. "You could prosecute pretty much anyone who violated terms of service," he said.Prosecutors said at a news conference that they will decide to appeal after reviewing the written ruling. Drew's attorney, H. Dean Steward, said the ruling should mark the end of her criminal case.The parents of Megan Meier, the teenager who killed herself, were in court for the ruling. Later, her mother, Tina Meier, said that in spite of the disappointment, she thought that justice was done because "we got the word out."Much attention has been paid to Drew's case, primarily because it was the nation's first cyberbullying trial. The trial was held in Los Angeles because the servers of the social networking site are in the area.

Firefox 3.5 patch coming soon as Mozilla cranks up downloads

2009-07-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mozilla Foundation notched up five million downloads in the first 24 hours after it released Firefox 3.5 earlier this week.The open source browser maker also confirmed it would be bringing out version 3.5.1 soon to squash bugs its development team hadn’t managed to eradicate ahead of the launch.Mozilla’s security patch is expected to rock up in the next few weeks. It will kill at least three bugs and “topcrashes” that remain present in the latest iteration of the popular Internet Explorer rival."[The] goal of this release should be a quick turnaround that fixes topcrashes and bugs we almost held ship for," said Mozilla earlier this week in its status meeting notes.One of those fixes includes a patch for TraceMonkey, the outfit’s speedy JavaScript engine.Indeed, Mozilla was forced to hold back the release of Firefox 3.5, nee 3.1, by about six months, because of the number of showstopping bugs it found in the pesky little monkey JavaScript engine.

New Facebook Privacy Controls Take On Twitter

2009-07-03T08:25:00.001-07:00

In a move that may actually pass without a huge uproar, Facebook has begun testing new privacy options that will make the service pretty much just like Twitter, but only if you want it to be. Or so they say.If these changes pass without a big user protest it would mark something of a return to normalcy for the service, which in the recent past has become globally-recognized for its ability to tiff users at seemingly every turn.Once the changes--now in beta and not yet final--are complete, users will be able to decide who can see their Facebook posts on a post-by-post basis. The sounds like a chore, and may be if not implemented properly, but it also makes Facebook potentially much more flexible and useful than Twitter.With the enhanced privacy controls, described by Facebook execs here and here, users will be able to select quite specifically--from everyone on the planet down to a single friend--who sees which posts.Twitter makes no such allowances. Once you've accepted a follower, they see everything you Tweet. That aspect is part of what makes Twitter more like a news or announcements service and less a way to share information with only your close friends. That, and the 140-character message limitation, which Facebook lacks.The new Facebook controls, as I understand them, would allow me to post links to blog posts like this one for everyone to see, while items of interest only to my ham radio friends would be visible only to a group of people that I've specifically selected.Create enough groups and you could make Facebook publishing a pretty granular thing, while still maintaining a public face by posting to everyone. This could become complex, but only if you want to add lots of groups and sometimes forget to select the proper setting before sharing.Reading Facebook's description of the planned changes, which include getting rid of the oh-so-useless regional networks, I can’t find anything that makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. That is an unusual experience with Facebook lately, so I'll have to go back and reread a few times.

Microsoft's Bing Gains On Google,

2009-07-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's 'Bing' search engine continues to gain market share against the worldwide industry leader, Google. However, the recent death of pop superstar Michael Jackson has made some Bing users wary of leaving Google for good.Bing officially launched on June 3, initially taking over what was previously the Microsoft 'Live Search' market share. However, after a month on the Web, Bing has slightly increased its share from 7.81% of all U.S.-based searches to 8.23%.Microsoft has aggressively marketed Bing, launching it in a storm of advertising on television and online. Microsoft also beat Google to searching "tweets" from Twitter users; the microbloging site which has gained popularity for its ability to break trending news online.Yet in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, Bing's search result architecture couldn't keep up with the public demand for instant news."By most reports, Bing did not deliver the best experience for our customers soon after TMZ posted the news on their blog," Bing senior product planner Jacquelyn Krones explained. "As Search Engine Journal pointed out, we had the story but it was hidden at the bottom of the main page and even deeper in our xRank result."

Apple Obliquely Addresses iPhone 3GS Overheating

2009-07-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

While not acknowledging a problem, Apple has added the iPhone 3GS to the heat-management advice it has given for the older version of the smartphone.The support page originally explained how to keep the iPhone 3G within "acceptable operating temperatures." As of June 25, the company included the iPhone 3GS under the same advice.Users of the iPhone 3GS, which Apple started selling June 19, have been complaining that the gadget runs too hot. In the case of the white model, the heat has been sufficient to cause discoloration.Users have said through various blogs and forums that the overheating tends to occur while using applications that tap the iPhone's GPS and 3G wireless components. Apple has not acknowledged a heat-related problem with its popular smartphone, but the company has posted some advice on preventing iPhones from running too hot.First, the device should only be operated when the external temperature is between 32 degrees and 95 degrees. "Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly," Apple said.Also, the iPhone shouldn't be stored in a place where temperatures are lower than 4 degrees below zero or higher than 113 degrees. This means the gadget shouldn't be left in a parked car in the sun.If the iPhone's interior temperature exceeds the device's limits, then it could stop charging, its display my dim, or the cellular signal may weaken. A warning may also appear, telling the user, "iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it."

Animoto launches a premium app for the iPhone and iPod Touch

2009-07-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

Animoto Videos has come back with its latest version for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Called as the Animoto Videos 2.0, this application facilitates users to create and view professional-quality music videos.This latest application permits iPhone and iPod Touch users to connect their devices to their accounts at Animoto.com. Users can then synchronize and play them in any of those places. Further, the videos created on Animoto.com are immediately orchestrated with the iPhone app. It thus allows users to access all of their videos either on the desktop or on their mobile phone irrespective of the time and place.“Usage of our iPhone application has exceeded expectations. This release brings closer feature parity between our mobile and online experience but, more importantly, makes the iPhone and iPod touch the ideal mobile companion to Animoto.com since users can now view all their videos in either location while online or offline.” remarked Brad Jefferson, CEO & Co-founder of Animoto.Additionally now iPhone and iPod Touch users can store Animoto videos on their handset and view them even when they are offline. Moreover paying users are not restricted to 30-second videos within the mobile application. In order to create a video using this app users have to select pictures from their handset and also select a song from Animoto’s music compilations. The application then designs an exclusive video synchronization with the visual liveliness of a music video and the touching effect of a movie trailer.Further users can also remix their video into a fresh one or include it in their album. The essence of Animoto is the Cinematic Artificial Intelligence Technology. This technology thinks akin to a real director and editor and makes use of the similar refined post-production proficiency and practices that are used in television and film. Every aspect of the song like the genre, song structure, energy, rhythm, instrumentation, and vocals are taken care of by this technology.It ascertains that no two videos are alike, even if the videos are created with the same images and music. Both of them will have a unique set of motion design. Moreover videos are generated in widescreen format to exploit the full iPhone and iPod touch screen. It also enables users to share their videos through email effortlessly.The Animoto Videos 2.0 application can be downloaded from the iTunes App store for free.

YouTube Opens Digital J-School for Amateur Reporters

2009-07-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

Those who wish to report on the stories going on around them using 21st-century digital tools but who don't have formal training -- may find help in YouTube's new Reporters' Center. It's a channel on the video sharing site that features how-to tutorials on broad conceptual topics as well as detailed technical issues, some of which are hosted by A-list news anchors and reporters.

wi-tribe Pakistan launches commercial WiMAX

2009-07-01T04:00:00.001-07:00

The Jano is reporting that wi-tribe Pakistan, part of the wi-tribe Group and a subsidiary of the Qatar Telecom (Qtel) Group, has begun commercial WiMAX services in Pakistan. Initially the service will be available in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Commenting on the launch Sami Hinedi, CEO of wi-tribe Group said: ‘We strongly believe in improving the lifestyle of our customers by understanding their needs and offering them the best personalised customer experience. We want to provide solutions that are simple, easy and valued by individuals, businesses and the government.’The launch comes after wi-tribe Pakistan announced that it had signed a multi-year WiMAX deal with vendor Motorola in October 2008. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, wi-tribe Pakistan is a joint venture between Qtel and Saudi Arabia's A.A. Turki Group of Companies (ATCO); in May 2007 the two companies completed the purchase of a 75% stake in Islamabad-based Burraq Telecom, revealing plans to offer basic broadband and VoIP services after rebranding the operator under the wi-tribe moniker.

Green Dam: How China planned to censor the web

2009-07-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

China has a long history of restricting internet access, but the Green Dam initiative would have represented a new front in the war on information. For the last decade, China has been fighting – and largely losing – a running battle against the internet, and the free access to information it brings. The government, so used to managing and monitoring the flow of news and disemmination of information within its borders, has at times appeared impotent in the face of a universal technology that has no respect for time zones or geography.Web users in China are used to intermittent interruptions to services – access to websites such as YouTube and Google is frequently disrupted, while internet access to many foreign news websites, such as the BBC, is often prohibited. The government uses a sophisticated filtering system, dubbed the Great Firewall of China, to “sniff out” web searches for censored material, such as pornography, or politically sensitive terms, such as the outlawed religious group Falun Gong. When the firewall identifies these banned searches, access to the relevant sites is halted on the servers.
However, the Green Dam software that China wants to install on every computer would have moved internet censorship from the servers in to people’s homes; it would have given the government the ability to control internet access at the level of an individual’s computer, stopping at source any searches or web use that it deemed inappropriate.Unsurprisingly, the Green Dam project lead to an outcry from Chinese internet users and from computer manufacturers, who baulked at the prospect of having to ensure every PC they sold in China was pre-installed with the new filtering software.The government’s climb-down, just four hours before the Green Dam edict was due to come in to effect, leaves officials with red faces. It remains unclear whether the change of plans was in response to online protests from citizens, complaints from manufacturers, or simply a realisation that, at an administrative level, the sheer size of the undertaking was too great, and could not be achieved in the proposed time frame.Even if Green Dam does get the go ahead in future, it will simply be applying a sticking plaster to a wider problem. Although there can be little doubt that ordinary computer users will have their browsing experience fundamentally disrupted by the technology, those internet users who are particularly web savvy or technically literate will find a way to circumvent the software. The cat-and-mouse game between the Chinese government and its citizens for control of the web will continue.

IPhone game turns ordinary into fantastic

2009-06-29T03:30:00.001-07:00

When what you can see with your own eyes isn’t interesting enough, there’s always augmented reality. Sure, Boston Common has an excellent playground, paddle boats, an ice rink for cheap dates, and sprawling meadows for rallies. But where are the dragons, fairies, and genies?The Hidden Park (www.thehiddenpark.com) brings these fantastic creatures to your iPhone camera’s view of the Common. For me, a guy who failed to plan anything for my 6-year-old, Maeve, this summer, the game will help keep her engaged on those days we find ourselves strolling through town.The $7 iPhone game mixes augmented reality with turn-by-turn directions, geocaching, and animation.The phone’s camera and GPS transponder set the stage for Hidden Park. Armed with a Dora the Explorer-like map, you follow a troll named Trutton past the Common’s benches, over its bridges, and around its ponds. Hidden Park uses a location-based service to recognize your iPhone’s proximity to particular landmarks and then provides directions to the next spot in the game.You will be challenged with riddles and puzzles along the way. And you’ll find the answers in real-life sights and signs. In this way, Hidden Park works like one of the augmented reality tours from Boston-based Untravel (www.untravelmedia.com).Hidden Park works in a handful of other public parks and gardens. Visitors to Central Park and Kensington Gardens, for example, can also play the game on their iPhones.As you photograph various landmarks around the Common, you’ll find Hidden Park cartoon characters appearing in your shots. When you’re done, you will have an album full of things you never really saw. I think of it as meeting Walt Disney characters, without worrying about who might be lurking inside the suit.

How Many Facebook Users Will Go Public?

2009-06-29T03:26:00.000-07:00

By Jano
Marketers trying to horn in on the conversations happening on the Web are paying closer attention to what many consider the ultimate prize: Facebook's user profiles.On June 24, Facebook began testing a feature that lets users share their updates with the public—not just members they've deemed "friends." Each time a user provides an answer to Facebook's profile-page question "What's on your mind?," Facebook's software asks who may be allowed to see it. For instances when "everyone" is chosen, third-party companies are working on software that can analyze the information to see what products or services Facebook members might be interested in. And Facebook is modifying its search engine to look for these real-time feeds as well, the company has said."It opens up a whole other realm of content for companies who want to engage customers," says Marcel LeBrun, chief executive of Radian6, a software company that makes tools that let advertisers and public relations people draw conclusions from conversations on Twitter and other social-media sites. Radian6, Sysomos, and RightNow Technologies (RNOW) all have told BusinessWeek that they're modifying their current products to take advantage of Facebook's new status-broadcasting feature.The insights marketers may glean could prove intriguing. As public status updates accumulate on the site, visitors will be able to search for all mentions of specific keywords, such as "Obama" or "American Idol." Meredith Chin, a Facebook spokeswoman, says some of the site's users may choose to publicly broadcast updates about concert tickets for sale, political opinions, or other matters "widely applicable to more people than your friends."marketers are treading lightly Software companies hoping to mine Facebook's data will need to tread carefully, though. Only a small fraction of the site's 200 million users make their profile data available to companies. And marketers will need to avoid running afoul of the site's famously detail-oriented audience, which tends to bristle at any intrusions on their privacy.

Microsoft to charge Europeans double for Windows 7

2009-06-29T03:16:00.000-07:00

European customers will pay up to twice as much for Windows 7 compared to U.S. users, even though the new operating system will ship without a browser in Europe, according to Microsoft.When the company launches Windows 7 on Oct. 22, it will price Windows 7 Home Premium, likely the most popular of the three editions available at retail, at €119.99 in the European Union (EU) and charge £79.99 in the U.K., an EU member that has retained its own currency. Those prices are the equivalent to $168.66 and $132.14 U.S., respectively, at Saturday's exchange rates.U.S. consumers will pay only $119 for the same software after a two-week pre-order sales discount expires July 11. That means EU residents will pay 41% more, and U.K. consumers 10% more, than U.S. buyers for Home Premium Upgrade.Other editions will come with an even higher surcharge. Windows 7 Professional, the key retail edition for businesses, will sport a price tag of €285, or $400.60, and £189.99, or $313.84, at Saturday's exchange rate. In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price; U.K. buyers will pay 57% more.The top-end Windows 7 Ultimate, priced at $219.99 in the U.S., will cost €299 ($420.27), or 91% more, in the EU, and £229.99 ($330.36), or 50% more, in the U.K.Some of the money Microsoft stands to make on the European editions of Windows 7 comes from the weak dollar. Last week, for instance, the dollar fell against the euro the most in a month, hitting $1.41 per euro.According to Microsoft, it's also not reducing Windows 7's prices from Vista's current marks as much in the EU as it is in the U.S. Windows 7 Home Premium's EU price is down €6, or 4% from the same Vista edition, half the 8% cut that Microsoft made to Home Premium in the U.S. In the U.K., Microsoft left prices untouched; Windows 7 will be priced the same as Vista.Europe's customers will be paying more for less, as Microsoft has decided to yank Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) from Windows 7 in an effort to head off EU antitrust regulators, who may still force the company to take more drastic measures.

Private updates on Facebook

2009-06-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

By Jano
FACEBOOK is testing new privacy controls that will allow the online hangout's roughly 200 million users to decide who should see each of their personal updates.In a Wednesday announcement, Facebook said the option will enable users to customise their postings for specific groups of friends.For instance, a person may want to share certain things - like how they're feeling about the weather - with everyone while limiting the audience able to read other developments - like a wild night of partying.Some Facebook users have gotten into trouble with employers and parents who have read updates containing inflammatory remarks or tales of indiscretions.The additional privacy controls initially will only be available to some Facebook users.(Tech O Bee News)

Sat, Jun 27, 2009 Google Android, Mobile Phone, Rumors HTC Hero on Sprint?Hot for the new HTC Hero Android phone and living in the US? Well, here’

2009-06-28T11:49:00.001-07:00

HTC Hero on Sprint?Hot for the new HTC Hero Android phone and living in the US? Well, here’s a new rumor that might be of interest to you. Word is that Sprint is testing out the HTC Hero suggesting its possible debut on the US carrier later this year. If that doesn’t manage to get you excited, this next one should. In addition to the HTC Hero, talk is that they’re also trying out a CDMA/WiMAX capable Samsung Android phone. We’re sure if this will be a completely new model or just an enhanced version, but this is clearly something we haven’t heard about before. Of course, being that this is still just a rumor, take this latest bit of info with a grain of salt until we get more concrete data on this.

Help Us Test Google’s Hearing

2009-06-28T06:26:00.001-07:00

I gave the voice-mail transcription feature in Google Voice a spin this week. How well does it work? Read on, and then help us give it a few more spins.Google Voice Google Voice, an elaborate tool for managing phone calls and such, is finally opening up to new users. Voice-mail transcription is one of its most intriguing features. When someone leaves you a message in your Google Voice mailbox, Google’s systems attempt to work out what it says and then send you an e-mail transcript. There are other services that do this, but Google Voice has the advantage of being free.My colleague Brian Stelter agreed to help test the feature the other day. His message started out like this:It’s Brian Stelter, and the air conditioning’s on in the background, so maybe that makes it harder to hear, and I’m going to use big words like duchess and fashionable and moustache and unlicensed and Buenos Aires.The transcript I got a few moments later read:it’s brian doctor in the air condition is on the background my database in order to here the number use baker were it’s like a duchess and fashionable and about stocks and unlicensed and when i was there…The result was wrong enough to be kind of entertaining. So I decided it might be a fun Friday exercise to see what other nonsensical poetry the service might be coaxed into producing. This is where you come in. Pick up the phone and call my Google Voice number, [removed -- I got enough calls, thanks]. Your call will go straight to voice mail. Leave me a message. I’ll monitor the results and then post a selection of what comes in on Gadgetwise. Creativity is encouraged. Please be aware that I might post the actual audio of your message, so don’t call if you’re not comfortable with that.

China accuses Google of spreading pornography

2009-06-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

China's government on Thursday accused Google Incorporated of spreading pornography after Chinese internet users were temporarily unable to gain access to the US search giant's main website or China-based service."We have found that the English version of google.com has spread lots of pornographic, lewd and vulgar content, which is in serious violation of Chinese laws and regulations," said foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang.He said authorities "summoned representatives of Google.com in China and urged them to remove the content immediately."Qin, speaking at a regular briefing, did not respond to questions about whether China's government was blocking web users from seeing Google's site. However, he said he hoped the problem can be "resolved immediately".Google said it was investigating the reason for the outage. Chinese users were blocked from seeing Google's US site, its China-based site google.cn and its Gmail e-mail service.A Chinese watchdog agency accused Google last week of providing links to vulgar and obscene sites. Google, based in Mountainview, California, said it would do more to stop users in China from accessing pornography."I would like to stress that Google.com, as an internet enterprise providing services in China, should earnestly abide by all Chinese laws," Qin said."All the punitive measures adopted by the relevant authorities are conducted strictly according to law."The Chinese agency that oversees the internet, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.China has the world's largest population of internet users at more than 298 million. It also has the world's most extensive web monitoring and filtering system, and it regularly blocks access to foreign websites.Authorities launched a crackdown this year that closed more than 1,900 porn-related websites.Google has struggled to expand in China, where it says it has about 30 per cent of the search market. The company launched Google.cn with a Chinese partner after seeing its market share erode as government filters slowed access to its US service.

SlashGear Week in Review – Week 26 2009

2009-06-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

It has been an eventful week in the geek world with all sorts of new products and important announcements turning up for the first time. The big story of the week was the launch of the iPhone 3GS last Friday. Word came on Monday that the 3GS sold a whopping 1 million units in its first three days of availability. Unfortunately, for some users, it took them an extra three days just to get their shiny new iPhone 3GS activated. Despite the fact that activation failures were on AT&T’s side of the iPhone equation, Apple offered users $30 in iTunes credit as a sorry AT&T sucks peace offering to new owners.Apple did have a problem that was first reported last week that it had no one else to blame for. Some MacBook Pro models were having a problem with SATA speeds, but Apple issued a fix for the SATA problem on Tuesday. The issue only reared its head on Pro models that were equipped with the factory SSD option.Intel and Nokia had been teasing the tech community with promises of a big announcement that many had pegged as a Nokia MID or netbook running Intel hardware. The reveal was a letdown for many of us as the two firms announced that they would be collaborating on open source software like Moblin and Maemo and that Intel would be licensing Nokia HSPA modem tech. AT&T also released its iPhone OS 3.0 supporting AT&T Navigator application this week. The app turns the iPhone 3G and 3GS devices running the latest OS version into full featured turn-by-turn navigation devices. The big catch is that the App costs $9.99 per month.Perhaps the largest announcement this week was the official introduction of the HTC Hero Android-powered smartphone. The device may have been leaked in the excess prior to its official introduction, but it was still an important event. In fact, we got our hands on the Hero and spent some time fondling it on video just for you, and the Hero is certainly sweet. The Pre is still big news since its launch a few weeks back and word came out on Thursday that the Pre had racked up a cool one million app downloads in its first 18 days of availability.That number is better than many though at first glance when you step back and look at the number of downloads per Pre user. The stats show that most Pre users are much more likely to download an App than iPhone users are.

Windows 7 pricing announced 25.06.2009

2009-06-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

As Microsoft announced the pricing for the forthcoming Windows 7 operating system (OS), it gave news that apart from the full packaged product, customers would also be offered a lower-priced 'Upgrade' version. Europe will technically be excluded from this offering, but will still benefit from the savings it brings.While Windows 7 Home Premium (Full) will retail at US$199.99, the Home Premium (Upgrade) costs US$80 less at US$119.99 and is available for those with an existing Vista or XP Windows licence.Brad Brooks, corporate VP for Windows Consumer Marketing, explained in an interview that for us here in Europe, Microsoft "will not have a separate upgrade SKU for the packaged retail product versions of Windows 7 at GA, but we will be offering upgrade pricing on our full licences to make sure that European customers who want to upgrade have the pricing options available in the rest of the world."Sounds complicated? It may be akin to the previous restrictions following an anti-trust investigation from the Europe Commission surrounding Microsoft's web browser dominance on PCs, which is leading to an absence of Internet Explorer pre-installed on new Windows 7 PCs all across the EU."We will be offering upgrade pricing on our full licences to make sure that European customers who want to upgrade have the pricing options available in the rest of the world," said Brandon LeBlanc on the official Windows 7 blog.The Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program starts tomorrow, so anyone who buys a new PC between then and when the OS goes on sale can avail of the discounted upgrade price up until 31 January 2010.Pre-orders for Windows 7 in UK, France and Germany (and presumably Ireland too) start 15 July, and will run until 14 August.

Apple's iPhone 3.0 firmware upgrade brings powerful features

2009-06-21T23:57:00.000-07:00

The iPhone 3.0 update to Apple's smartphone operating system delivers a raft of dazzling new features, including copy and paste, Spotlight search, and user-interface refinements. The Apple nerdosphere had a meltdown Wednesday, when Apple released Version 3.0 of its iPhone firmware. Breathless, sweaty fanboys and girls filled Twitter with messages describing in excruciating detail how they were downloading and installing the software.I know all this because I was one of the nerdiest, most breathless, sweatiest, and overenthusiastic fanboys of all.The iPhone 3.0 software is a treat, making a good smartphone even better. It delivers some new capabilities, like long-overdue copy/cut/paste support, Spotlight search, and push notifications, as well as small user interface refinements that make the device more pleasant and efficient to use. And the Find Your iPhone and Remote Wipe security services are surprisingly interesting. The upgrade is free to iPhone users, $10 for iPod Touch users

Zune HD is powered by Nvidia Tegra

2009-06-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

In April, the rumors about the Zune HD were plentiful and very interesting. Among them was one that suggested the device would be powered by Nvidia's Tegra chipset. This rumor kept coming up every few weeks or so, but no one could get official confirmation from Microsoft. However, during podcast number 24 of the Zune Insider, Matt Akers, Software Development Engineer in Test, finally gave the official statement that many have been waiting for. We actually wanted to confirm something. There's been a lot of chatter going on right now about us possibly putting the Nvidia Tegra chipset in the Zune HD. Guess what we did. Ok, right now, we’re going to go ahead and confirm that. Yes, the Zune HD does have the Tegra chip in it, which is so sick. So much better battery life, graphics acceleration. I mean, this thing is like a mini laptop in your hand. It's so awesome.

Google to step up anti-porn efforts in China

2009-06-21T23:48:00.001-07:00

Google Inc. said Friday that it was working to block pornography reaching users of its Chinese service after a mainland watchdog found the search engine turned up large numbers of links to obscene and vulgar sites.Google said in a statement that company officials had met government representatives "to discuss problems with the Google.cn service and its serving of pornographic images and content based on foreign language searches."We have been continually working to deal with pornographic content - and material that is harmful to children - on the Web in China," the statement said.The statement followed accusations from the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center that Google had failed to "filter pornographic contents from its search engine results according to China's relevant laws and regulations."The watchdog said tests found that the search engine provided links to a large number of lewd and vulgar pictures, videos and articles, though it gave no specific examples.China, with the world's largest population of Internet users at more than 298 million, has the world's most extensive system of Web monitoring and censorship and has issued numerous regulations in response to the rise of blogging and other trends.While the government claims the main targets are pornography, online gambling, and other sites deemed harmful to society, critics say that often acts as cover for detecting and blocking sensitive political content.State media reported Friday that the government had stopped some of Google.cn's search functions. Details weren't given, and it wasn't exactly clear what had been closed off.In its statement, Google said the company was working to fix any problems with improper searches. "This has been a substantial engineering effort, and we believe we have addressed the large majority of the problem results," it said.Google, headquartered in Mountain View, California, has struggled to expand in China, where it says it has about 30 percent of the search market. China's homegrown Baidu search engine remains the most popular, with about 60 percent of the market.The company launched Google.cn with a Chinese partner after seeing its market share erode as government filters slowed access for Chinese users to its U.S. service.While sites on topics such as the banned Falun Gong sect or Tibetan independence are perennially blocked in China, readers could still gain some access to such information through Google's cache function.Google.cn returns search results on sensitive political topics only for sites not offensive to the government. Human rights activists have criticized the new service, which excludes search results on human rights, the Dalai Lama and other topics banned by the communist government.

How Apple, AT&T Are Closing the Mobile Web

2009-06-21T23:45:00.001-07:00

by Jano
A growing chorus claims that Apple’s questionable approval policy for its iPhone application store raises issues with net neutrality.Free Press, a group that advocates the idea of an open internet — that is, one in which consumers have the right to browse the web and run internet applications without restrictions — is the latest of several organizations to call out Apple for its inconsistencies. Free Press alleges that Apple crippled SlingPlayer, a TV-streaming application for iPhone, so that it would only work on a Wi-Fi connection; the initial version worked with a 3G cellular network connection as well as Wi-Fi. The SlingPlayer restriction is inconsistent with Apple’s approval of the Major League Baseball application, which provides live-streaming of sports events on both Wi-Fi and 3G connections, the group said.“That strikes us as odd and potentially nefarious because it really represents a carrier picking and choosing applications for consumers as opposed to letting consumers decide which videos they want to watch,” said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press. “It’s exactly the sort of thing you’d expect in an internet experience that’s controlled by the carrier.”Now nearly a year old, Apple’s App Store has received as much praise as it has criticism.
Featuring more than 50,000 applications, the App Store has made some programmers quite wealthy with sales of their apps while leaving others penniless when their software met the harsh fate of rejection. Apple has said that iPhone and iPod Touch users have downloaded more than 1 billion apps from the store since it opened in July 2008.IPhone application developer Ben Kahle also feels that Apple is overreaching in its role as a gatekeeper to the mobile internet. In May, Apple rejected Kahle’s app “Me So Holy,” which would have enabled users to fashion their faces into portraits resembling Jesus Christ. Apple said the app contains “objectionable material,” and when Kahle asked if he could modify the app to gain approval, Apple said it would never appear in the App Store under any condition.Why? Apple said it has a “worldwide market” and must “protect the sensitivity of the customers,” according to Kahle.“It’s definitely hypocritical,” Kahle said of 3G-capable live-streaming for MLB in relation to SlingPlayer, which is Wi-Fi only. “There needs to be a better system for people to choose the type of content they can download.”

T-Mobile plans July launch of new Google phone

2009-06-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

By Jano
Following huge introductions of the Palm Pre and new iPhone 3G S, T-Mobile on Monday announces July availability of MyTouch 3G, the second phone on Google's Android operating system.It's the first of 18 new Google-powered phones coming worldwide by the end of the year, Google says, declining to provide specifics. Tech and telecom analysts expect Sprint to have an Android phone by year's end.T-Mobile has sold 1 million of its first-generation Google phone, the G1. That's tepid compared with the 21.2 million iPhones sold in the last two years, but T-Mobile says it's thrilled with the response. It expects the new phone to sell at a faster clip.The MyTouch is smaller, can sync with Microsoft Outlook and has an improved battery, T-Mobile says. "We've addressed some of the concerns from customers," says Andrew Sherrard, T-Mobile vice president.Current T-Mobile customers can order beginning July 8 for delivery later in the month. General retail availability is planned for early August.The touch-screen phone — made by HTC — sells for $199 with a new two-year contract. Sherrard says T-Mobile will offer a discounted rate for current customers but hasn't finalized pricing.T-Mobile's selling point is personalization, with customizable menus, wallpapers and icons. A new program called Sherpa learns your favorite locations and preferences and makes recommendations accordingly. The phone also has instant access to Google services.Even though the Android platform hasn't taken off in public consciousness as the iPhone has, "It's important to remember that globally, this is a market of billions and billions of users," says Andy Castonguay, a Yankee Group analyst. "There's plenty of room for lots of different players."Google first announced Android in 2007. It gives the operating system to manufacturers for free. Google product manager Erick Tseng says getting phones from idea stage to manufacturer is an 18- to 24-month process. "What you're seeing now is the outcome of the development."Google has 5,000 applications available for Android from its network of developers, and the list is growing, says Tseng.Apple has a huge lead, with more than 50,000 applications available from about 20,000 developers, says Forrester Group analyst Charles Golvin. "But in the United States, there are probably more developers working with Google, after Apple, than any other mobile platform."

T-Mobile Sidekick LX photos

2009-04-18T00:32:00.001-07:00

Microsoft to launch Windows Mobile 6.5 on May 11

2009-04-18T00:30:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year Microsoft announced the latest version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, a relatively minor update focused on changes to the user interface and its touch-friendliness. But while the first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices are not expected to arrive until the second half of the year, it appears the company is ready to show off the interim operating system next month.According to a post on their corporate blog, Microsoft is going to deliver the kick off launch presentation of Windows Mobile 6.5 on May 11, at the start of TechEd 09. The session is targeted at both IT Professionals and Developers and will include “a cool demo and an outline of great stuff to come.” There are a handful of other WM 6.5 sessions on the agenda, including one on developing apps that use touch and gestures and another to help developers monetize their creations through the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

Apple may take iPhone from AT&T

2009-04-18T00:28:00.001-07:00

Apple's iPhone could see wider distribution in the US next year as the company has not yet agreed to a request from AT&T to extend the telecom giant's exclusive rights to the hit smartphone, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The report said the exclusivity deal signed in 2007 is set to expire in 2010 and AT&T is asking Apple to extend it for two years.The cult status of the phone has helped AT&T nab millions of new customers. In the second half of last year alone it signed up 4.3 million new iPhone subscribers - 40 per cent of whom switched to AT&T from other carriers. In total Apple has sold an estimated 17 million iPhones worldwide.According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T is heavily subsidizing the price of iPhones, shelling out 1.3 billion dollars to bring the price down to affordable levels. The company hopes to make up the cash with income from monthly data plans and by cross-selling other AT&T services such as landline phones, cable TV and internet access.Industry analysts say that selling the iPhone to other carriers could greatly increase its market penetration in the US and that ties between executives

GTA: Chinatown Wars - What went wrong?

2009-04-18T00:26:00.001-07:00

It has been revealed that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DSi only managed to sell 89,000 units during March in the US. The figures released have been a huge blow to Rockstar and Take-Two who had much higher estimates for the game.As reported from GI.Biz, investment company Cowan and Company previously predicted that the game would go on to sell 2 million copies in it’s first year on sale. But due to the 89,000 units stat, he company have now cut future forecasts to just 500,000.Doug Creutz explained: “Despite a strong critical reception, Take-Two’s GTA: Chinatown Wars sold a very disappointing 89,000 units in March,
Well below our more recent 200-250,000 estimate and far below the 400-450,000 we thought the title might sell upon its release.”While the console versions of Grand Theft Auto IV have had no problem selling at all, Chinatown Wars seems to be having difficulty at the moment.
e think this could be due to a number of factors. Firstly, people are not just not that interested in the Nintendo DS brand. Secondly, all the recent negative media towards Rockstar and the Grand Theft Auto franchise are starting to affect sales.

Wii Video games sales fall 17%

2009-04-18T00:23:00.001-07:00

OVERALL US video game sales fell 17 per cent in March to US$1.43 billion (S$2.14 billion), research group NPD said on Thursday, a revealing figure for an industry that had so far shown resilience in the economic downturn.Video game software sales dropped 17 per cent to US$792.8 million in the month, while hardware sales fell 18 per cent to US$455.6 million.Nintendo's blockbuster Wii was again the top-selling console in the US, selling 601,000 units. Microsoft's Xbox 360 was No. 2 with 330,000 units, while Sony's PlayStation 3 was third, with 218,000 units.Nintendo's DS was the top-selling handheld console, selling 563,000 units, ahead of Sony's PSP, which sold 168,000.Capcom's 'Resident Evil 5' was the best-selling video game in the month, selling 1.5 million units for the Xbox and PlayStation 3,

Microsoft ends mainstream support for Windows XP

2009-04-16T02:02:00.001-07:00

This week Microsoft's 'mainstream support' comes to end for their most popular operating system, Windows XP.While XP has been given a few life span extensions in stores, the 8 year old operating system is gradually -- but certainly -- getting closer and closer the proverbial end of the road. Microsoft is in the slightly strange position of ending mainstream support for XP, when adoption rates of their newer operating system, Vista, were so low that there are roughly three computers running XP for every one running Vista. What is the 'mainstream support' that we are talking about? It basically means non-critical support. Here is a chart from MS showing the difference between mainstream support and XP's extended support, which ends in 08/04/2014.

More Zune HD Details Emerge

2009-04-16T01:59:00.001-07:00

After the leaked pictures of the Zune HD appeared on Saturday, more unconfirmed technical specifications of the device have now emerged. Microsoft's new portable media player is set to go neck-to-neck with Apple's iPod Touch, as the specifications of the Zune HD make it a viable contender.The Zune HD is set to feature a multitouch (capacitive) OLED screen in a 16:9 aspect ratio and will have a TV out port on the side (apparently HDMI). Coming in 16 and 32GB versions, the device will also support wireless syncing to your computer. Some even speculate the PMP will support 3D Xbox games, if the Zune HD will actually use Nvidia's Tegra chipset.The new details also mention a Web browser on the Zune HD, which in turn supports multitouch. No word on what kind of browser this will be, but let's hope it won't be anything similar to Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile. As previously reported, the Zune HD is set to launch this fall (probably September) with new details of international availability in Canada, the U.K, and France.

How Amazonfail was born!!!!!

2009-04-16T01:57:00.001-07:00

While millions of people tuned in to Doctor Who and Red Dwarf over the Easter weekend my holiday entertainment was provided by typing 'amazonfail' into the Twitter search engine and watching the stream of outraged posts about the company that used to be the world's favourite bookstore flow across my laptop screen.The PR nightmare started at some point on Sunday when an angry post on the LiveJournal blog site by author and publisher Mark Probst broke through into online consciousness. He had noticed that his book The Filly, though still listed on Amazon's US website, had lost its sales ranking data and was no longer appearing in relevant searches.An e-mail from an Amazon representative informed Probst that his book, a romance featuring gay characters, had been classed as 'adult' and removed from the ratings system so that the search pages would be more 'family-friendly.'Two other high profile gay romance books, Transgressions by Erastes and False Colors by Alex Beecroft, had also lost their sales ranking. This meant it was only possible to find them by looking specifically for the title and author, so people searching for similar books, or similar titles were unlikely to find or buy them.It emerged that thousands of other books had been similarly delisted, including such radical texts as The Well of Loneliness and John Barrowman's autobiography, while a little research by interested bloggers found Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds, the Parent's Guide to Homosexuality and Hitler's Mein Kampf were all still searchable and proudly displayed.

Microsoft's online Office variant preps for business

2009-04-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

You'll get a taste of what a web-based version of Microsoft's Office for Firefox, Safari, the iPhone and Internet Explorer can do later this year.Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that Office Web applications - announced last October - will be ready for testing along with the next edition of its Office suite, Office 2010, in the third-quarter. Release to manufacturing for Office 2010 is due in the first half of next year.It'll be the first time you get a hands-on experience of the eagerly anticipated suite and potential competitor to the desktop version of Office and Google Docs.Details have been sketchy on Office Web applications, but Microsoft has said in the past you'll need its Silverlight browser-based media player to go beyond basic editing of one document at a time. Silverlight will provide sharp images, integration with Office Live Workspace to upload multiple files, and also the ability to share and edit documents simultaneously in real time. Also, there may or may not be ads in Office Web applications.Office Web applications are scheduled to be available for Firefox and Safari in addition to Internet Explorer, and will be able to run on Apple's iPhone.The suite promises to be the most compelling aspect of the next version of the Office family that, outside Microsoft and its immediate circle of fans, is unlikely to excite interest.Microsoft's biggest problem when it comes to shipping new versions of Office is getting the existing install base to upgrade. There has been massive inertia since Office 97, with Office 2000 and Office XP seeing slow uptake. Office 2007 seemed to change this.

Apple posts third iPhone OS 3.0 beta with minor API changes

2009-04-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Apple has released another beta of iPhone OS 3.0. This third beta has relatively few changes to the developer APIs, though Ars has learned that there has been a fairly important change to push notification types. While it appears to be relatively stable, Apple will have its work cut out to clear up the remaining issues in order to have it ready to launch with new hardware this summer.The major change in the UIKit API is that Apple has added separate types for the three notification methods: badge, text alert, and sound. Developers can register their apps for these different notification types individually for the needs of their users. Previously, apps registered to received remote notifications but controlled the type via settings. Developers we spoke to universally agreed that this was a welcome improvement.A change many developers will also welcome is an improvement to the XIB files created by Interface Builder 3.1. The format for these files has been updated to be "more diff friendly." The older format causes lots of issues when making changes and checking them in to a CVS, especially when more than one developer is working on the code.Also, Dashcode—the IDE for creating Dashboard widgets—has been updated to allow the creation of iPhone-optimized web applications. While open source projects like iUI help web developers create a native-like iPhone interface and web app frameworks like SproutCore and Cappuccino are adding iPhone-specifc views, Dashcode could be just the help some developers are looking for to make an iPhone-specific web app.iPhone OS 3.0 beta 3 still has a number of issues to patch up before the OS is ready for public consumption. Still, developers familiar with the betas concurred that 3.0 is faring far better than 2.0 so far, which wasn't particularly stable at launch and required a major point update to 2.1 before many users felt comfortable. Judging from the few API changes and the current stability, Apple should be on track to have the new OS ready in time for this summer's expected iPhone hardware update.

AT&T looks to extend iPhone pact

2009-04-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

AT&T has found the golden goose in its iPhone partnership with Apple and it wants to keep it alive.The original deal had AT&T as the exclusive carrier of the iPhone until 2008, at which time Apple would be allowed to start selling the wildly popular smartphone on other carriers. But the companies met last August and decided to extend that partnership through the end of this year.Now, AT&T wants to extend that deal a bit further--say another two years. AT&T Chief Executive is talking with Apple to keep that deal alive until 2011, according to a report Tuesday evening in The Wall Street Journal.But that shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone. Apple has sold more than 17 million iPhones since its debut less than two years ago, and the carrier added 4.3 million iPhone subscribers in the second half of 2008--40 percent of whom were new to AT&T.Certainly, Apple is making out pretty well with its AT&T partnership; the carrier reportedly offered Apple a $300 subsidy on each iPhone sold. But if AT&T was willing to go that far, Apple stands to clean up by negotiating contracts with other carriers.And it seemed the Apple-AT&T arrangement is showing signs of strain on both sides. Last month, AT&T announced plans to sell iPhone 3Gs without a two-year contract for $599 and $699, a move that Apple quickly duplicated at its own stores.Apple representatives did not immediately return calls for comment.Will this have a fairy tale ending for AT&T? Stay tuned.

Samsung SlashGear Week in Review - Week 15 2009 Feature

2009-04-14T00:28:00.001-07:00

We’ve been busy here at SlashGear getting reviews of some exciting new products for you, as well as covering all of the crazy Palm Pre, iPhone, Apple and BlackBerry rumors for you. If you missed anything last week, here’s your chance to catch up on the important stuff.I reviewed Samsung’s new Impression featuring an AMOLED display. Check out the article for my impressions (no pun intended), as well as a walk-through of the device’s overall quality.We unboxed the Hantech Siso Tablo, a handy device that turns your laptop into a tablet PC. At $99 MSRP, the Tablo offers some great features that will please many business-types and visual artists as well.

HP MediaSmart Servers updated; stream media to iPod/iPhone and PSP

2009-04-14T00:25:00.001-07:00

The HP MediaSmart servers (EX485/EX487 models) received a software update today from HP. The news software allows media to be streamed to wireless devices such as iPhone, iPod Touch and PlayStation Portables. The new software also adds the ability for the servers to convert videos (including unprotected DVD’s) into two separate formats: one high-resolution for playing on home devices, and a lower resolution for portable media players.Users of the iPod Touch and iPhone can download HP MediaSmart Server iStream application directly from the iTunes App Store for free so they can stream the video to their devices. This will enable users to watch video, look at pictures, and listen to their music streaming directly from the HP MediaSmart Server.
The HP Media Servers work with both Windows and OS X machines, and provide for consolidated storage and access of a user’s media files. The update also adds some improvements for Mac user’s Time Machine backups. The software update is free for the servers. HP MediaSmart servers start at 750GB for $599, and offer 1.5TB at $799.

FOX Fast Forward: A First Look at Palm's New Pre Smartphone

2009-04-13T03:38:00.001-07:00

Earlier this month, I finally got a chance to check out the most buzzed-about gadget of the year — the upcoming Palm Pre smartphone.I'm happy to report that all the hype from the gadget shows is true. Palm's got a winner on its hands and Apple's got a challenger for first place among smartphones.I'll have a full review once Palm lets me borrow one for longer than 10 minutes. But based on what I saw, I may have found my next smartphone.

TechRepublic: Cracking open the Dell Adamo

2009-04-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

Dell hopes to take a little air out of Apple’s sails with the Adamo. This upscale laptop packs a lot of tech into a stylish, ultrathin package. But, it’s going to cost you. Our $1,999 model includes a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2GB 800MHz DDR3 dual-channel memory, 128GB solid state drive, and 13.4-inch 16:9 WLED display.
In partnership with iFixit, TechRepublic brings you a full photo gallery of the Adamo cracking open, with 78 images of the entire process. iFixit is a one-stop-shop for the parts, tools, and step-by-step guides needed to repair iPods, iPhones, Macs, and almost any Apple product. Follow along as iFixit engineers disassemble the Dell Adamo and expose the tech inside.