Mixx Stuff

Village in Afghanistan . Can you believe it? Very interesting.

2010-05-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Judge Rules Microsoft Word Can No Longer Be Sold

2009-08-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Judge Leonard Davis, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ruled Tuesday that Microsoft can no longer sell Microsoft Word in the United States due to patent infringement.

One can imagine Bill Gates having to pick himself off the floor after reading that ruling. Indeed, the ubiquitous software that you probably use every day infringes a patent, according to Davis.

To be perfectly honest, Davis' ruling simply upheld a $200M verdict issued in May of this year, when jurors found that Microsoft willfully infringed an i4i patent, (No. 5,787,449) on a method for reading XML.

According to the press release announcing the judgment, the injunction prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United States any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML. Microsoft has 60 days to comply.

The injunction reads:

Microsoft Corporation is hereby permanently enjoined from performing the following actions with Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Word 2007, and Microsoft Word products not more than colorably different from Microsoft Word 2003 or Microsoft Word 2007 (collectively “Infringing and Future Word Products”) during the term of U.S. Patent No. 5,787,449:

1. selling, offering to sell, and/or importing in or into the United States any Infringing and Future Word Products that have the capability of opening a .XML, .DOCX, or .DOCM file (“an XML file”) containing custom XML;

2. using any Infringing and Future Word Products to open an XML file containing custom XML;

3. instructing or encouraging anyone to use any Infringing and Future Word Products to open an XML file containing custom XML;

4. providing support or assistance to anyone that describes how to use any infringing and Future Word Products to open an XML file containing custom XML;

and

5. testing, demonstrating, or marketing the ability of the Infringing and Future Word Products to open an XML file containing custom XML.

This injunction does not apply to any of the above actions wherein the Infringing and Future Word Products open an XML file as plain text.

This injunction also does not apply to any of the above actions wherein any of the Infringing and Future Word Products, upon opening an XML file, applies a custom tranform that removes all custom XML elements.

This injunction further does not apply to Microsoft providing support or assistance to anyone that describes how to use any of the infringing products to open an XML file containing custom XML if that product was licensed or sold before the date this injunction takes effect.

Naturally, since Microsoft has 60 days to comply, you can expect that during those 60 days, some sort of appeal will be filed to allow Microsoft to continue selling the product. Either that, or Microsoft and i4i will come to some sort of an agreement (or will in the future).
Via Microsoft Blog

THE SHACK Takes Over RadioShack's Aged Brand

2009-08-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

Given that "radios" lost their glitz decades ago, we'd say a RadioShack re-branding is long overdue. Announced today after a flurry of rumors, RadioShack Corporation has decided to completely overhaul its brand, its mission and in some ways, its purpose. Moving forward, you'll see less of the aged RadioShack branding and more of "THE SHACK," a hip new label that will hopefully encourage more consumer electronics shoppers to stop by and check out items that fit their lifestyle. Previously, RadioShack was best known for odd-and-end adapters and batteries; now, THE SHACK is looking to be your go-to store when it comes to electronics accessories.

It's a tough battle, for sure. The accessory market is as crowded as ever, with nearly every store from Best Buy to even Apple Stores offering shelves upon shelves of high-margin add-on devices. Starting officially on August 6th, the company will begin re-branding itself via an integrated television, print and digital media schedule, as well as a high-profile, three-day launch event taking place in New York City and San Francisco. Lee Applbaum, RadioShack's Chief Marketing Officer, clarified the intentions a bit with this quote:

"This creative is not about changing our name. Rather, we're contemporizing the way we want people to think about our brand. THE SHACK speaks to consumers in a fresh, new voice and distinctive creative look that reinforces RadioShack's authority in innovative products, leading brands and knowledgeable, helpful associates. We have tremendous equity in consumers' minds around cables, parts and batteries, but it's critically important that we help them to understand the role that we play in keeping people connected in this highly mobile world. You will see a real focus on mobility and wireless products from leading brands in our new advertising."

If you'll recall, hints of this started when the company suddenly signed T-Mobile USA on to its list of wireless carriers as part of its strategy to increase its authority and share in mobility and connectivity. So, do you see yourself venturing into the "new" RadioShack? Does the re-focusing pique your interest?

Via PR Wirenews

Firefox: 1 billion downloads only part of the story

2009-08-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

At about 8 a.m. PDT Friday, Firefox crossed the billion-download threshold--a notably large number for Mozilla's open-source Web browser but one that doesn't tell the whole story.

Firefox fans love their statistical milestones, and Mozilla enjoys fanning the flames by providing plenty of opportunities for self-congratulation. In 2008 was the Firefox Download Day, with more than 8 million downloads in 24 hours. Next came the Firefox 3.5 debut and its download tracker.
Mozilla boasted that Firefox downloads surpassed 1 billion on Friday.

And now we have the billion-download figure on the Spread Firefox site. That includes updates people have fetched deliberately, not automatic updates, Mozilla said. To maximize the marketing potential, Mozilla also is touting the 1,000,000,000 + you site.

That site probably could be named better. Firefox director Mike Belztner said in June that Mozilla estimates there are 300 million Firefox users, up from 175 million a year earlier, so don't go thinking there are a billion people using it. Indeed, I find the total user population a much more interesting statistic than downloads.

Firefox has truly achieved real success, eating steadily into Microsoft Internet Explorer's dominant market share to become the second-most used browser. The newest version is downloaded between 40 and 60 times a second worldwide at present.

IE 8 downloads surpass 200 million
But lest Firefox fans get too carried away with their success, there's another number that shows what Mozilla is up against. According to a source familiar with Microsoft's statistics, IE 8 has been downloaded more than 200 million times in the last four months since its release.

That's a fifth of the way to what Firefox achieved since Firefox 1.0 was released nearly five years ago. And Microsoft hasn't even begun pushing IE 8 through update in earnest yet. Microsoft's 200 million statistic doesn't include updates such as bug patches and security fixes.

So let's face it: being installed along with the world's most widely used operating system remains a huge advantage for IE's use, antitrust concerns notwithstanding. Microsoft declined to comment on its download statistics.

So what do all these numbers really show besides browser makers' urges to thump their chests about their popularity? This: the world of browsers is in serious flux.

Next-gen Web en route
That's because after years of near-dormancy after IE crushed Netscape in the 1990s, the browser wars are back in full swing. The growing migration of personal and professional activity to Web applications, the growing adoption of broadband Internet connections, and the growing adoption of truly Web-capable mobile phones are combining to make Web browsers a strategic asset in the computing industry. Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla, Google, Opera Software, and others all want to be the gateway to the world's most vibrant medium, the Internet.

Even the fifth-ranked browser can claim notable success. Opera's desktop browser has been downloaded more than 270 million times from the company's own servers since 2003, and the daily download rate has jumped from 30,000 to 40,000 back then to about 200,000 today, the company said. Throwing Opera Mini for mobile phones into the mix increases the total to about 500 million.

The download rates show that there's a powerful movement afoot to "upgrade the Web," as Mozilla's marketing catchphrase would have it.

It's a gradual change, with plenty of laggards such as corporate users who can't upgrade from IE 6 or cybercafes with locked-down PCs. And there's plenty of turmoil about next-generation Web standards. But the herd is gradually moving to more sophisticated browsers that collectively enable a more sophisticated Web.

Via CNET

Apple Quietly Intros 2TB Time Capsule For $499

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

It's hard to believe that Apple last updated its Time Capsule NAS + WLAN router in March, but already the Cupertino, California-based company is giving customers a reason to upgrade. In typical Apple fashion, the company quietly updated its Time Capsule with a 2TB model, up from the previous high of 1TB.

For those unaware, Time Capsule is a high-end NAS drive that also acts as a full-fledged, dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11n wireless router. Apple shoves an enterprise-grade hard drive within and also adds three Ethernet ports in the back alongside a USB socket which can be used for connecting a wireless printer or hooking up external storage solution (HDD). Naturally, these provide added capabilities when used with a Mac, as OS X-based machines can take advantage of automatic Time Machine backups.

The new 2TB Time Capsule is available for order right now at $499, while the 1TB model now sits at $299--a $200 price drop from earlier this week. The older 500GB model has left production, but those looking for a smaller solution can find remaining refurbished inventory in Apple's online store for $199.

Via Apple

iPhone SMS Flaw Patched by Apple, Out-of-Band

2009-08-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

One day after security experts announced their iPhone SMS hack research at the Black Hat Security Conference, Apple released a patch to address the flaw. Experts revealed on Thursday that malformed SMS messages could be used to hijack an iPhone.

Originally, an O2 spokesperson was the first to reveal the upcoming fix, noting that the patch would be available Saturday through iTunes.

"We will be communicating to customers both through the website and proactively.

"We always recommend our customers update their iPhone with the latest software and this is no different."

Apple delivered the fix sooner than expected, however, with the new OS version, 3.0.1 becoming available by mid-day in the U.S.
Security researchers Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner released their findings the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas on Thursday. Further reports indicate that the flaw exists in most, if not all, GSM devices based on the way they handle SMS messages. Miller and Mulliner also found a hole in the iPhone's Safari browser way back in 2007 when it was first launched.

Via Apple

Nikon Serves Two Markets With D300s And D3000 DSLRs

2009-07-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Confirming rumors that we'd heard over the past few weeks, Nikon has today introduced two new Digital SLR cameras in its expanding Dxxx lineup. The two cameras couldn't possibly be more different, with one of these aimed at amateur/professionals and the other aimed at those looking to finally make the leap to the DSLR world.

Starting with the former (the D300s), we've got a new higher-end model that seems like a souped-up D90 in most respects. Basic specs include a 12.3MP CMOS sensor, a 51-point autofocus system, SD and CompactFlash memory card slots, one-button LiveView, a new Quiet Shutter Release mode, Active D-Lighting bracketing, faster 7 frame-per-second (fps) continuous shooting and a new HD movie mode that provides what everyone has been asking for: autofocus. Yep, the HD video capture mode on the D300s logs material in 720p and can actually keep the image in focus, something that the D90 cannot do.

The video mode records 720p clips with a 24fps rate, and it can also record hi-fi audio via the built-in microphone or by using the external stereo microphone input. Photographers can trim video length on the fly and apply Picture Controls to video, modifying the tone and color. Additionally, users can autofocus while recording video, using contrast detect AF, and do so while composing on the D300s’ bright three-inch 920,000-dot LCD screen. The Nikon D300s camera body will be available at Nikon dealers beginning in late August 2009 at an estimated selling price of $1799.95 (for the body alone; no lenses).

The lower-end device (D3000) comes just months after Nikon's D5000 made a splash with its articulating display. Nikon calls this camera an "easy path to fantastic photos," positioning it as a DSLR that won't overwhelm those used to point-and-shoot models. Of course, the specs are actually pretty respectable for a so-called "entry-level" model. It boasts a 10.2MP sensor, a new 'Guide Mode', an extensive Retouch Menu, an 11-point autofocus system and the company's EXPEED image processing system. There's also an Active D-Lighting system and 3D Color Matrix Metering II, not to mention 3D Subject Tracking and support for RAW images. The D3000 outfit, including the AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR image stabilization lens, is scheduled to be available at Nikon dealers beginning in late August 2009 for $599.95.

Jailbreaking Will End Life As We Know It: Apple

2009-07-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Apple continues to give end users reasons to jailbreak their iPhones, by rejecting applications that are pretty darn useful, for various reasons (in this case, because it might affect AT&T revenue). Of course, jailbroken iPhones might destroy the world as we know it, if Apple is to be believed.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is using the Copyright Office's triennial exemption process to try to get an exemption for iPhone jailbreaking. The process is moving along, and with the Copyright Office asking for clarification and both the EFF (.PDF) and Apple (.PDF) responding.

Apple has, in the past, held that jailbreaking is illegal. But Apple goes further, using scare tactics as well as legal arguments to try to persuade the copyright office.

Did you know that jailbroken iPhones can bring down cell towers? Here's what Apple said (emphasis mine):

For example, each iPhone contains a unique Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID) number that identifies the phone to the cell tower. With access to the BBP via jailbreaking, hackers may be able to change the ECID, which in turn can enable phone calls to be made anonymously (this would be desirable to drug dealers, for example) or charges for the calls to be avoided. If changing the ECID results in multiple phones having the same ECID being connected to a given tower simultaneously, the tower software might react in an unknown manner, including possibly kicking those phones off the network, making their users unable to make phone calls or send/receive data. By hacking the BBP software through a jailbroken phone and taking control of the BBP software, a hacker can initiate commands to the cell tower software that may skirt the carrier’s rules limiting the packet size or the amount of data that can be transmitted, or avoid charges for sending data. More pernicious forms of activity may also be enabled. For example, a local or international hacker could potentially initiate commands (such as a denial of service attack) that could crash the tower software, rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data. In short, taking control of the BBP software would be much the equivalent of getting inside the firewall of a corporate computer – to potentially catastrophic result. The technological protection measures were designed into the iPhone precisely to prevent these kinds of pernicious activities, and if granted, the jailbreaking exemption would open the door to them.

Finally, like Apple, AT&T’s support organization is burdened by users of jailbroken phones who encounter functional problems with the phone that result from jailbreaking. Such users often call AT&T to report such problems, believing that they may be the result of problems on AT&T’s network. AT&T is then forced to spend significant resources investigating and diagnosing the problems to determine whether, in fact, there is a problem with AT&T’s network or service.

In short, all those dropped calls and poor service that occurred last year when the iPhone 3G was introduced were because of jailbroken iPhones. Shame, shame.

As far as the claims about the BBP, that would only occur if someone wanted to unlock an iPhone. Jailbreaking is a requirement in order to unlock the iPhone, but jailbreaking itself does not "equal" unlocking.

Wanting to make sure it added more fuel (fright?) to the fire, Apple on Thursday added a support article to its site warning about jailbreaking. The article is titled "Unauthorized modification of iPhone OS has been a major source of instability, disruption of services, and other issues."

Ouch, watch out.

What the article goes on to state is a number of instability issues:

Device and application instability: Frequent and unexpected crashes of the device, crashes and freezes of built-in apps and third-party apps, and loss of data.

Unreliable voice and data: Dropped calls, slow or unreliable data connections, and delayed or inaccurate location data.

Disruption of services: Services such as Visual Voicemail, YouTube, Weather, and Stocks have been disrupted or no longer work on the device. Additionally, third-party apps that use the Apple Push Notification Service have had difficulty receiving notifications or received notifications that were intended for a different hacked device. Other push-based services such as MobileMe and Exchange have experienced problems synchronizing data with their respective servers.

Compromised security: Security compromises have been introduced by these modifications that could allow hackers to steal personal information, damage the device, attack the wireless network, or introduce malware or viruses.

Shortened battery life: The hacked software has caused an accelerated battery drain that shortens the operation of an iPhone or iPod touch on a single battery charge.

Inability to apply future software updates: Some unauthorized modifications have caused damage to the iPhone OS that is not repairable. This can result in the hacked iPhone or iPod touch becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone OS update is installed.

Jailbreaking is just a software modification that can be undone by restoring the iPhone. Similarly, a ROM update will "jail" the iPhone again. While most users don't see a performance hit when running a jailbroken iPhone, they do see an whole new universe of applications they can install on the iPhone.

These are all generalities, of course. It is possible that badly coded application could indeed cause an issue on your iPhone. In general, however, these are all scare tactics by Apple.

Are you scared yet?

ViaWired

Facebook Relents; Username Change Now Possible

2009-07-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

When Facebook allowed users to choose their own usernames, which could be then used to produce URLs for your profile and pages associated with it that made sense (the so-called Facebook Vanity URL Landrush), they warned users to "choose carefully," as it was a one-time choice. They now appear to have backtracked slightly on that issue.

Slightly is the correct term, we think, because while you can now go into your settings and change your username, you can only do it one time. While this allows people who chose goofy names to change their username, it also (and 23 think this is the real reason behind the change) allows those who marry or otherwise change their names to make a one-time modification.

There's been no official announcement from Facebook on the matter, however. And realistically, since the land rush is long over, the number of usernames you can choose from is significantly less. Still, here's how to do it:

* Click on "Settings" at the top-right corner of your Facebook home page.
* In the drop-down menu, click "Account Settings."
* Next to "Username," click on "Change" to type in a new username
* Confirm

Apple Nabs 91% Of Premium PC Market Apple Nabs 91% Of Premium PC Market

2009-07-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

Look, 91% of anything is worthy of praise, but the figure in question here really shouldn't be all that surprising. According to new research from NPD, nine out of every ten personal computers sold with a price tag of $1000 or more were Apple machines. We know, that sounds crazy, but we'll explain in a bit why it's really not terribly shocking. The exact figure is 91%; 91% of the PC market in the $1000+ sector belongs to Apple, leaving just 9% to split between Windows, Linux and...um, Solaris or something.

Back in May, the figure sat at 88%, so it's not like this is some new phenomenon. Of course, it's not completely old either; in Q1 2008, Apple's share of this so-called "premium" market sat at 66%, but Apple has definitely become a mainstay and a fixture in the computer and consumer electronics industry over the past 18 months. We mean, just look at Apple's recent numbers--it just had its best non-holiday quarter in company history, and that was right smack dab in the middle of a terrible recession. Meanwhile, Microsoft saw its first full-year decline in revenue since 1986, but with Windows 7 just around the bend, we definitely see Wintel sales surging this winter.

According to NDP, the average selling price for all PCs in the US sat at $701 ($690 for desktops; $703 for notebooks). However, the average selling price for Windows PCs was $515, while Macs had an ASP of $1400. That's nearly three times as much! So, onto that "no surprise part." Currently, Apple only has a single laptop under a grand, the $999 white MacBook. Of course, you can get a Mac mini for under $1000, but that machine is hardly a high volume seller for Apple. The reality is that there are literally dozens of Windows-based machines under $1000 out there, but it's tough to get a Mac for under that. In other words, it takes a really special need to justify a Windows PC purchase over $1000. Gamers, AV editors and multimedia mavens may feel the need to splurge on quad-core CPUs and SLI'd GPUs, but most folks are quite content with $500 15" notebooks and $300 netbooks. Also, we think the $1000 mark is really important; can you imagine how different this would be if the dividing line sat at $999? We've seen loads of Windows PCs hit the $999 mark, and if you include those in the premium market, we bet Apple loses a few percentage points at least.
Still, major kudos to Apple for dominating the only market it competes in. The company's executives have made clear that it doesn't plan on competing at the low-end, so it obviously hopes to do well at the high-end. If these results--not to mention its own records with the SEC--are any indication, the company is succeeding in fine fashion.

Developer Says iPhone 3GS Encryption Useless

2009-07-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

One of the iPhone 3GS's new features is hardware encryption. This should make it more suitable for business, but as its purportedly in hardware, it's unavailable to other iPhone models. It can also be cracked in two minutes, using nothing more than freeware, according to Jonathan Zdziarski, an iPhone developer and hacker.

Zdziarski said:

"It is kind of like storing all your secret messages right next to the secret decoder ring. I don’t think any of us [developers] have ever seen encryption implemented so poorly before, which is why it’s hard to describe why it’s such a big threat to security.”

To grab data, one simply has to jailbreak the iPhone 3GS, then install an SSH client to port the iPhone 3GS's disk image across to a computer. As the data begins transferring, according to Zdziarski, the 3GS decrypts it automatically.

Of course, perhaps its just that corporations don't care as much as we might think.

During the fiscal Q3 earnings call, COO Tim Cook said, when asked about enterprise adoption of the iPhone:

[...] we are seeing growing interest with the release of the 3GS and iPhone OS 3.0, due in part to the new hardware encryption and the improved security policies.

The phone is particularly doing well with small business and with large organizations that allow people to purchase the phones for individual use, and this is both in corporate and government settings.

Specifically, to give you some numbers, almost 20% of the Fortune 100 have purchased at least 10,000 units or more and there’s now multiple corporations and government agencies who have purchased in excess of 25,000 each.

It should be clear by now, though, that the iPhone is such an attractive device to users, that even without encryption of any type until the 3GS model, it's still made serious inroads into the Enterprise.

Via Wired

Google fixes flaws in Chrome

2009-07-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

New versions of Google Chrome are out, fixing bugs and patching security holes in both the stable build and the beta build.

Two serious security flaws have been plugged. One had allowed for malicious code exploitation within the Chrome tab sandbox. Found by the Google security team, the threat was serious enough that Google has declined to be more specific until "a majority of users are up to date with the fix," the company said in a blog post on Thursday.

A second security risk caused by memory corruption was found in the browser tab processes. It could have been used to run arbitrary code that would crash all of the browser tabs, creating a second security hole through which an attacker might be able to run code with the privileges of the logged-on user.

Other bug fixes include updates to the V8 JavaScript engine, updates to Google Gears, and getting forward and backward navigation to work even when site redirection is involved.

The full list of changes can be read here.

Sony considers adding phone to PSP

2009-06-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

The newest version of Sony's PlayStation Portable isn't even on sale yet, but the company is already looking ahead to what's next, according to Reuters.

The electronics giant is looking into making a combination gadget that would meld its PSP gaming system with the cell phones made by Sony Ericsson, its joint venture Swedish electronics maker Ericsson, according to Reuters, which cited the Nikkei business daily.

Sony reportedly plans to put together a team as early as July to begin development of the new gadget. Sony no doubt has its eye on Apple's iPhone, which is already popular with consumers and is now getting more serious attention from game developers as a platform for their games.

This isn't the first time rumors of this nature have circulated. In 2007, Sony raised eyebrows with a patent filing that appeared to show a PSP-like device with phone capabilities, and British Telecom said it was working with the company to bring voice and video chat to the PSP.

In the meantime, Sony continues to work on its portable gaming device. The PSP Go, which was unveiled at the E3 gaming conference, is smaller than its predecessors and has a slide-up screen. It will go on sale in North America on October 1 for $249.

Google: We've made a breakthrough in image search

2009-06-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

ViaToday@PC World blog
Humans may excel at pattern recognition, but computers aren’t very smart at identifying images. Our brains can immediately identify photos of famous landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty or Great Wall of China, but computers are typically clueless without text tags as a cheat sheet.

This may be change, however, if a Google research project in “computer vision” pans out. The search giant Monday presented a paper on landmark recognition at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) conference in Miami. The new technology allows computers to quickly I.D. images of more than 50,000 world landmarks with 80-percent accuracy, Google says.

Google is quick to point out its pattern-recognition technology is still a research project and not a new service. That makes sense, as a search tool that’s right just 8 out of 10 tries isn’t ready for prime time. Still, the concept is pretty cool and could prove a boon to travelers if Google can someday boost the accuracy rate. The ability to snap a photo of an unidentified landmark and have your smartphone or Net-enabled camera identify it immediately would be popular, I think. Of course, there’s also the potential for scientific and consumer applications that no one’s thought of yet.

So how does it work? Jay Yagnik, Google’s head of computer vision research, explains in a blog post. The first step is to use 40 million GPS-tagged photos from two Google services, Picasa and Panoramio, and online tour guide webpages to compile a list of landmarks. “Next, we found candidate images for each landmark using these sources and Google Image Search, which we then “pruned” using efficient image matching and unsupervised clustering techniques,” he writes.

The final step was to develop an indexing system for fast image recognition. But despite the cleverness of the project, accurate image search remains tricky. As the photo to the right indicates, unrelated landmarks may share similar architectural features; also, the inclusion of an enormous banner or flag can lead to a false match.

Hopefully Google’s research project will improve image search, which today is too reliant on tagging. The next step would be to find a way to identify the countless number of non-landmark images, but that task seems infinitely more challenging.

Mozilla testing near-final Firefox 3.5

2009-05-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

Mozilla is close to releasing of its near-final version of Firefox 3.5, but the updated browser wasn't quite ready in time for a planned day of widespread testing.

Earlier this month, Mozilla set Friday to be Firefox 3.5 RC1 Test Day. But RC1, the first release candidate designed to be more stable than the earlier Firefox beta versions, wasn't finished for the occasion.

"Even though RC1 hasn't been released yet, the test day will still go on with the latest nightlies (nightly builds of Firefox based on the latest source code) which are practically RC1 minus some minor uplifts," said Aakash Desai of Mozilla's quality assurance team on Thursday. Mozilla has set up the Litmus program to encourage broad testing of its software.

RC1 is expected in a few weeks, spokeswoman Melissa Shapiro said Friday, though one developer told CNET News he hoped it would arrive in less than two.

The new version of Firefox began as version 3.1, a modest update. But a gradually expanding feature list led Mozilla to rename it 3.5 and release it months later than had been planned initially. In the meantime, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8, Apple released a beta of Safari 4, and Google has released a rolling series of upgrades to its new Chrome browser.

Among the changes compared with the current Firefox 3.0.x versions are the faster TraceMonkey engine for running Web sites' JavaScript programs; support for tags to describe audio and video content the way images have been available for years; the private browsing mode for leaving no traces on your computer while surfing; support for geolocation technology to let permitted applications know the user's location; built-in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) technology for exchanging data between servers and browsers; and support for the Web Workers standard for letting a browser perform processing in the background without holding back a Web application's user interface.

Netbook Sales To Drive Mobile Data Adoption?

2009-05-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Via PRNewsWire

Here's an interesting one. While the public at large may be curbing their purchasing of WWAN cards, the demand for mobile broadband is still forecast to shoot up in the coming years. How so, you ask? Simple: netbooks. With Verizon Wireless and AT&T already selling 3G-enabled netbooks for dirt cheap on contract, you can understand the sentiment here. More and more, consumers will walk into a carrier's store and walk out with a new, low-cost computer. And that computer will be tethered to a mobile data plan for two solid years. Needless to say, it won't take many of those sales to see usage creep up.

Netbook bundles are undoubtedly the next big push in mobile data. By and large, WWAN sales have peaked, at least at their current price (which is rather high, just so you know). But the allure of getting a cheap notebook is apt to be too irresitable for many, and analysts are even expecting these bundles to spark mobile data demand in foreign countries. Netbooks are still on the rise, and it's reasonable to expect future buyers to only buy units that are subsidized.

Cristiano Laux, Manager of Consulting at Pyramid Research, makes an interesting point about the whole scenario: "While many operators are already supporting the business case for netbook bundles, OEMs are not happy about the downward pressure on laptop prices and the cannibalization that netbooks may have on the sales of high-end notebooks. For now, they have agreed to live with the threat, fearing that without netbooks, the recession would hit computer sales even more than it has done already."

So, is mobile broadband growth tied directly to netbook sales? If all of the major US carriers jump on the netbook bandwagon, we would definitely see the answer to that being "yes." And with operators looking for good reason to invest in LTE and WiMAX, we couldn't be happier to see it come together.

A color Kindle? Not yet, anyway

2009-05-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Via New Scientist

Remember back in ancient computer times, say the late '80s and early '90s, when your only choice for a computer screen was black, with white, orange or green typeface?

That model has long since been discarded in favor of full-color screens, which are much easier on the eye and, frankly, more attractive. But then the Kindle e-book reader came along, along with a few other similar devices (such as the Sony Reader), and everyone just accepted that they were monochrome. Even the magazine-sized Kindle released earlier this month was a monochrome reader.

Later this month, at the Society for Information Display conference, E Ink Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., claims it will demonstrate a color "e-paper," as it's called. E Ink produces the monochrome e-paper used in the Kindle and other readers.

New Scientist magazine explained the technology:

In black-and-white e-paper, each pixel is made up of around 60 plastic microcapsules that contain a negatively charged black powder and a positively charged white powder. To make a pixel black, electrodes underneath the display apply a negative charge to push the black powder to the top. To reproduce shades of grey, some electrodes are positive and others negative, so some microcapsules are white while others in the same pixel are black. Once a page is set, this arrangement uses no power - critical for reading book-length content.
In the new colour display, each pixel will be split into four subpixels showing red, green, blue and white in their "on" states. That means squeezing four times as many transistors beneath each pixel to control the electrodes, which has been a challenge too far - until now.

It's not just as simple as E Ink finalizing its color e-paper technology, however, so don't expect to see new releases of the Kindle or Sony Reader in full color next month. The company that makes the displays for the two readers, PVI, pushed back its expected release of color displays until 2010 because of problems it was having with the technology.

Fujitsu in Japan released its LCD-based Flepia color e-reader in March, so E Ink isn't the first to do this, but they are different technologies, and, right now, the Kindle is the BMOC when it comes to e-readers.

Antitrust fine doesn't change Intel-AMD balance

2009-05-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

Via CNET
There's no question that the European Commission's $1.45 billion antitrust fine against Intel is a lot of money. But don't expect Wednesday's antitrust enforcement move to radically change what you see when it's time to buy your next PC.

Antitrust actions can have a dramatic effect when a decision breaks a company into pieces, but the biggest factors in the rivalry between Intel and AMD--and increasingly Nvidia, too--is technology. So while AMD can be pleased with the European Commission's conclusion, it's got bigger worries.
AMD investors cheered the European Commission's antitrust fine against Intel on Wednesday."They have a marketing problem. They need to increase size of their voice," said Technology Business Research analyst John Spooner. "And they've got to run faster than Intel. They've got to have products that really are better and provide more value."AMD has been tirelessly agitating for antitrust actions against its larger rival, and it's made some headway. Japan and South Korea have come down against Intel, and the Federal Trade Commission in the United States is involved in its own Intel investigation--not its first. AMD also has its own private antitrust suit under way in Delaware.

But when it comes to taking on Intel, a far bigger factor has been technology--not just processor designs, but also manufacturing skill and capacity that means chips can be priced competitively while still being profitable.

Market share changes
Indeed, AMD made its biggest recent inroads against Intel when AMD's Opteron and Athlon processors could outgun Intel's Xeon and Pentium models, which used an outdated architecture. But Intel reclaimed that share once it modernized its designs at the same time AMD stumbled with its own manufacturing problems. AMD's troubles continued into 2008, when it installed Dirk Meyer as the new CEO and undertook a plan to spin off its manufacturing business.
But Wednesday's decision gave AMD a new cause for optimism, including the hope it will materially improve sales."We are hopeful that it will. When we have products people want to buy we won't be in position that's artificially constrained by payments competitors are making to exclude us," said Harry Wolin, AMD's senior vice president of legal affairs. He did add, though, that technology and business practices remain important: "We still have to deliver fine products to our customers and treat our customers and partners well. We have to manufacture products with our partners."Antitrust actions can change behavior, to be sure. Microsoft was largely unscathed by the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust suit that began in the 1990s. But its legacy arguably lives on: the company is exercising some self-restraint when it comes to how strongly it promotes its online services through dominant widely used products such as Windows and Internet Explorer, and it's not because Microsoft doesn't fiercely want a stronger online presence.

But in a conference call with reporters, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini argued that the overall market dynamic isn't changing: technology still is king when computer makers decide whether to buy AMD or Intel chips.

"Most customers buy from both suppliers today. Most customers buy more or less from each supplier depending on the quality of the product, the competitiveness of the product, and the pricing...that dynamic hasn't changed in my career at Intel, which is 35 years. I don't expect it to change," Otellini said. "I don't think a customer is going to put him or herself at a disadvantage by buying an inferior or more costly products, just to try to walk a line that may be artificial."Antitrust headaches
The European Commission's Wednesday conclusions and fine certainly didn't make life any easier for Intel's sales force, though. It concluded that Intel used partially or completely hidden rebates to ensure computer makers would use Intel chips exclusively or nearly so. It also concluded Intel paid computer makers to cancel or delay the introduction of products using rival chips.

"My experience with salespeople is they'll say anything to get a sale. Intel now has to put some constraints on sales reps that would not be there if they had less than 70 percent market share in the European Union," said Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds. But that won't be enough to hobble Intel. "Intel's biggest challenge is not getting rid of competition, it's making sure of market growth."

The European Commission's move could further other actions against Intel, too, Reynolds said.

AMD's private antitrust case also alleges Intel rebates conditioned on exclusivity or near exclusivity and Intel payments conditioned on delaying AMD-based products, Wolin said--and any settlement awards or damages that Intel might end up paying in that case would go to AMD, not wronged taxpayers. That case is scheduled to go to trial in March 2010.

Though AMD's Wolin wouldn't comment on it, the Justice Department's new antitrust leader, Christine Varney, promised tougher enforcement of antitrust regulations, too.

Intel strongly denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the European Commission ruling. Otellini said the EU wouldn't accept some contrary evidence and suggested that its lack of written proof was lack of evidence, not of Intel operating in secret.

Overall, though, just as Intel's successes won't be erased by the fine and ruling, AMD's problems won't be fixed by it. The lawyers may be paid well, but engineers still are at the heart of the microprocessor market.

Google change could stir more advertiser angst

2009-05-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

Google's love-hate relationship with the advertisers that pay its bills could hit another rocky patch following its latest AdWords policy change.

Google announced Thursday night that starting next month it would begin allowing certain companies to purchase advertisements that use trademarks--even ones they don't own--in the text of their ads on Google search results. Previously, Google hadn't allowed anyone but the trademark owner to use a trademark in the text of an ad, but the search giant reversed course, saying "we believe that this change will help both our users and advertisers by reducing the number of overly generic ads that appear across our networks in the U.S."

But the move could anger companies who are already sensitive about the use of their trademarks as keyword triggers in searches, the subject of two lawsuits pending against Google. According to an industry group called the Alliance Against Bait and Click, which includes companies such as 1-800 Contacts and Starwood Hotels, "this (policy change) further exposes the self-interest guiding Google's advertising policies, which permits dishonest marketers to mislead consumers," it said in a statement.

In some ways, the decision makes an awful lot of sense. Some third-party resellers, for example, were not allowed to use the trademark for goods they were authorized to sell in their Google ads if the trademark holder objected.

Google compared the policy shift to turning its ads into the online equivalent of a grocery store ad circular in a Sunday newspaper, where no one raises a trademark eyebrow if Safeway advertises a sale on 12-packs of Coca-Cola. Google said it would limit the use of trademarks in text ads to three types of companies: resellers, component sellers (buy memory for Hewlett-Packard laptops here!), and information providers.

That brings Google's policies in line with those of Yahoo, which allows trademarks to be used in text ads with similar restrictions. In the past, advertisers have been more willing to sue Google over trademark disputes because the search giant said it wouldn't allow trademarks in the text of ads, but such trademarks would appear anyway from time to time on certain ads, said Dave Kelly, a trademark lawyer with Finnegan.

"This policy is better than what they were doing before," Kelly said. "This means there is an editorial policy and the number of misleading ads should be smaller than under their policy before."

Still some groups, such as the Alliance Against Bait and Click, believe it's possible that the move could grant deceptive advertisers looking to trick searchers onto click farms or e-mail harvesting sites an additional weapon to deploy.

For example, a company could theoretically sell just a single iPhone case on its Web site, advertise under searches for "iPhone cases," and redirect ad clicks to sites that mostly sell competitive smartphones or consumer electronics gadgets. Or, it could force a visitor to provide his or her e-mail for more information before revealing that flashy iPhone case.

More money
What's more likely, however, is that companies interested in preserving their brands could be forced to pay more in Google's ad auction process to make sure their legitimate ads appear on those searches.

Winning Google's keyword auction process involves a combination of the maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay per click as well as an ad quality score. Without the ability to use a trademark in the text of their ads, third-party retailers were forced to write generic ads that likely didn't see as high a click-through rate as ads with the trademark, hurting their quality score.

But if the playing field is leveled on the quality score side of the equation, then the maximum bid has to go up. AdAge reported that branded advertisers now feel they'll have to increase the maximum amount they are willing to pay per click in order to ensure ads with their trademark appear above ads from companies that don't own that trademark.

Financial analysts who follow Google agree. "Advertisers will likely bid more if the ad can have product names and brands that will help drive CTR (click-through rate) conversions," said Ben Schachter of Broadpoint AmTech in a research note Friday. Combined with Google's announcement last week that advertisers in many parts of the world can now bid on keywords that involve trademarks, Schachter said "these two changes will be positive revenue drivers when allowed and into 3Q and beyond, however, we believe trademark holders will undoubtedly, and loudly, raise legal challenges."

Kelly, who has followed issues with Google and trademarks very closely for years, isn't so sure.

"Although the updated policy may not affect those trademark owners who want to sue Google simply because they object to the act of Google selling their trademarks as keywords, it should reduce the amount of litigation over the appearance of Google's keyword-triggered sponsored ads," he said. That's because Google is now responsible for reviewing the content of the ads to make sure trademarks are being used properly.

In what is likely not a coincidence, the decision comes following a quarter in which Google's cost-per-click numbers (the average cost that advertisers are willing to pay for a click) fell for the second-straight quarter while overall click-through rates remained flat. Issues around Google's trademark policies on search keywords have also heated up in recent weeks, with an appeals court's decision to reinstate the Rescuecom case and a new lawsuit filed this week over Google's practice of allowing anyone to bid on search keywords containing trademarks.

Some of Google's partners will hate this decision, and some, such as retailers, will like it. Either way, Google should benefit from the sale of more relevant--and more expensive--advertising.

Intel CEO Voices Positivity About Future Sales

2009-05-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

Via YahooTechAP

Good news for Intel, chip makers, PC manufacturers and the economy at large: Intel's CEO is seemingly upbeat about the industry, and recently stated that things were "so far, so good" in Q2. The comment came from the top man Paul Otellini, where we was addressing analysts during a conference call this week. Specifically, he noted that chip orders have been "a little better than expected," and compared to how rough Q1 was, this news is even more wonderful to hear.

Mr. Otellini also proclaimed that he stood by his previous remarks that PC sales have "bottomed out," noting that things seem to be on the rebound and should only get better from here. Better still, Q3 and Q4 are typically very strong for chip makers and PC vendors, as back-to-school and holiday demand typically drives higher than usual demand. Needless to say, Wall Street reacted quite positively to all the positivity, sending Intel's stock up by around 3% in after-hours trading after he made the comments.

Of course, it remains to be seen what'll happen to Intel regarding the whole European Union ruling that claims the company engaged in anti-competitive practices that swayed partners from buying from AMD. That said, it's still great to hear Intel voicing this kind of hope with investors watching -- we seriously doubt Paul would be so forthright if he really had reservations about future orders.

Google's Service Outage IPv6 Related

2009-05-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Via Google

Google's services outage today was apparently Google mucking with something on the backend, in a sort of "don't touch if it ain't broke" mistake. Admittedly, we're being snarky, as Google was working on something that definitely needs addressing, but it still made a major impact on systems around the world.

It's the old "we are running out of IP addresses problem." IP addresses identify clients on the Internet, and IPv4, the current version has a limit of 4,294,967,296 possible unique addresses. The solution to the problem is IPv6, which has a limit of about about 3.4×1038 possible unique addresses.

It's a move that has to be made eventually, but until now the necessity has been ameliorated by the use of network address translation (NAT) via routers along with internal IP addresses. For example, if you have a cable modem and home and use a router to network other PCs and share broadband, only the cable modem will have a public IP address while the router and PCs will have those dedicated to LANs.

Now, Google itself didn't go into great detail, but said:

An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our web traffic through Asia, which created a traffic jam. As a result, about 14% of our users experienced slow services or even interruptions.

That's the short version. The long version, according to C|Net, is the following:

Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research for McAfee, said that Google this morning attempted to make changes to key Internet routing numbers--known as autonomous system numbers--as part of its ongoing transition from an older networking standard to a newer one called IPv6. An unknown "bug" inside Google's network involving some sort of hardware failure or glitch prevented Internet service providers from finding Google's new ASNs on the Internet--effectively sealing it off from many customers, he said.

Not all Internet users were affected, but some that use larger providers--such as AT&T or Verizon--appeared to be disproportionately hurt because large ISPs "peer" with Google, or interconnect their networks with Google's networks in order to improve speed and reduce bandwith costs, Alperovitch said.

That explains why AT&T was hit, as indicated earlier this morning. Of course, Google is a major promoter of IPv6, but IPv6 has not reached "critical mass."

Google's claims that only 14% of users were affected means, based on all the Twitter traffic around it, that it was a very vocal 14%.

Your wife's rating to your Actions

2009-05-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

How to take care of your wife:

In the world, one single rule applies to the men: Make the Woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.

Here is a guide to the point system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
-- You make the bed (+1)
-- You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
-- You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
-- You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
-- In the rain (+8)
-- But return with Beer (-5)
-- You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
-- You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
-- You pummel it with iron rod (+10)
-- It's her pet (-10)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
-- You stay by her side the entire party (0)
-- You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college buddy (-2)
-- Named Tina (-4)
-- Tina is a dancer (-10)

HER BIRTHDAY
-- You take her out to dinner (0)
-- You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
-- Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
-- And it's all-you-can-eat night (-3)
-- It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colours of your favourite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
-- You take her to a movie (+2)
-- You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
-- You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
-- You take her to a movie you like (-2)
-- It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
-- You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

YOUR PHYSIQUE
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
-- You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts (-30)
-- You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-8000)

ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
-- She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
-- You hesitate in responding (-10)
-- You reply, "Where?" (-35)
-- Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
-- When she wants to talk about a problem , you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned _____expression (0)
-- You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
-- You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
-- She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)

Google Chrome ads coming to TV

2009-05-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

Via CNET
Google plans to make its first foray into the old-fashioned world of television advertising with spots promoting its Chrome browser this weekend.

Google Japan had already released a 30-second video promoting Chrome on YouTube, but the company will distribute that video through the Google TV Ads network this weekend as an experiment to see if it can drum up interest in Chrome, its new browser. Google said it's using the research it has done on measuring the relevance of television ads in order to place the Chrome ad appropriately.

Chrome was also featured as part of a huge ad on the front page of The New York Times' Web site Friday, with several different videos promoting the browser. Those are also available, of course, on YouTube.

For a consumer brand of its size, Google does relatively little advertising. It put Chrome ads on YouTube in January, but "house ads" are a little different than network television exposure. Likewise, T-Mobile advertises the "G1 with Google" in hyping up the Android-powered G1, but that's not exactly the same as making Google the focus of the ad.

Samsung Debuts SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 Camcorders

2009-05-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

Via BusinessWire

Obviously Samsung has a thing for unique looking camcorders, and that's absolutely on display with the company's latest two devices. The SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 were both ergonomically designed and shoved inside of rather small enclosures in order to make 'em perfect for family getaways and the occasional backyard barbecue.

The new SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 also feature Samsung's Touch of Color (ToC) finish, which was originally introduced with its HDTV family. With ToC design, a hint of color is "naturally blended into the deep black body for an attractive crystalline appearance," or in other words, it looks a lot better than your average camcorder. Both devices include a 10x optical zoom and Hyper Image Stabilization to help reduce blurry footage. Also, each is equipped with a 230,000-dot, swiveling 2.7-inch wide LCD screen and an Active Angle Lens, the latter of which helps reduce fatigue by allowing consumers to grip the camcorder in a more relaxed manner, easing the overall stress on their wrist and elbow.

The new SMX-C14 features 16GB of internal Samsung flash memory and is expandable via an SD/SDHC memory card slot, while the SMX-C10 does not feature internal memory and requires the use of SD/SDHC media. The pair can last around two hours each on a full charge, and they capture clips at 720 x 480/60i. Finally, they incorporate Samsung’s play-edit-sharing program called intelli-studio, which allows consumers to connect the camcorder to any computer via USB and edit and play their video without having to install supporting software. Needless to say, Samsung's hoping to tempt even the novice with these two. Both will ship in July, though prices are currently unknown.

Apple rolls out another clever banner ad

2009-05-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

Apple is keeping the pressure on Microsoft with its latest "Get a Mac" Web ad, which is being displayed on websites like Wired.com.

In the ad, PC explains to Mac that PCs are also easy to use. In fact, they're as easy as 1-23. Get it? Not 1-2-3, but one-through-twenty-three! Okay, so it's not going to have you doubled over with laughter, but it's clever nonetheless, especially when you read the 23 steps:

1. Remove unneeded bloatware
2. Configure security settings
3. Download and install OS security patches
4. Restart
5. Download / install extra security programs
6. Restart
7. Download / install drivers for peripherals
8. Restart
9. Remove optional Windows components
10. Update new virus list
11. Run full system virus scan
12. Update new malware list
13. Run full system malware scan
14. Download / install application updates
15. Restart
16. Clean out system registry
17. Repair corupt system registry
18. Defragment hard drive
19. Free up disk space
20. Scan disk for errors
21. Run system file checker
22. Read online instruction manual
23. Cross fingers

Ouch! Apple was going for the jugular on that one, especially number 23. Nevertheless, reading through this list almost brought back horrific flashbacks of my days as a PC user. The endless restarting, the driver issues, the malware—I break into a cold sweat just thinking about those dark times. Hopefully this new ad will help guide other poor lost souls to the light. Check out the full video below.

Via Macdailynews

Twitter follower emails, now in HTML!

2009-05-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Via CNET
Twitter's notification emails when you get a new follower have been in plain text since the site started. Today, Twitter finally rolled out a richer, HTML version of their follower notification emails. These emails include the number of people that this user is following and how many are following them back, along with their total number of updates tweeted.

This is a big step up from Twitter's old follower notification system. With the old system, you were just blindly clicking into their account with no knowledge of the user. While it's still not perfect, at least getting a look at the follower/following numbers can help to weed out the spammers. Ideally, Twitter should include the user's bio, along with their last few tweets so that users can really make an educated decision as to whether or not it's worth checking out the profile.

At this time, it doesn't appear that users can choose between plain text and HTML emails. Twitter seems to moved completely to HTML-based emails. While this may have been a concern in the past, realistically any modern email client or service can handle emails in HTML.

App Turns Bluetooth Phones Into Proximity Locks

2009-05-07T02:54:00.000-07:00

Via Hothardware

Phoenix Technologies has just released a free application for Windows XP and Vista systems that uses the proximity of your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to tell your computer when you are away from it and therefore when to lock access to your system. This new app is called Phoenix Freeze, and Phoenix is billing it as security, power-saving, and productivity tool, all rolled into one.

When you install Phoenix Freeze onto your system, the installation wizard automatically looks for Bluetooth mobile phones to pair with, using the app-provided PIN number. You can also pair phones to the app at a later time, after installation. There is nothing to install on the phone itself, other than allowing it to pair via Bluetooth to your PC. Also, if you have multiple systems, you can use the same phone with all of them.

Once Phoenix Freeze is installed and paired with your phone, you adjust the "Distance Threshold" and "Switch Time" for the "Proximity Settings Lock." These settings control how far the phone needs to be from your PC in order for your PC to turn the password lock on, and how soon after this threshold is reached that it will engage. The Switch Time is set in seconds; however the Distance Threshold is not an absolute measurement; you will need to experiment with different Distance Threshold settings in order to find one that matches the desired distance settings for your particular system-and-phone combination. The software is not actually measuring the distance between the system and the phone, but is instead monitoring the diminishing signal strength as the phone moves farther away from the system. The "Proximity Settings Unlock" settings work similarly for determining under what conditions the proximity of your mobile phone will automatically unlock your system.

As to the security angle of Phoenix Freeze, Phoenix sees the application as a seamless means of password-protecting a system. When you step away from your system, it automatically locks the system from prying eyes (unless the owner of those eyes happens to know your password). Bluetooth is still an uncommon accessory for most desktops, however; but it is practically ubiquitous on modern laptops. This means that Phoenix Freeze is much more likely to be used on systems that are portable enough to also be easily stolen--so, while access to the OS might be locked while you are away from your laptop, there is nothing to prevent someone from physically taking your laptop unless you also use some sort of physical anti-theft device, such as a Kensington lock.

As to the application's power-savings potential, you can set Phoenix Freeze to also put your system's display to sleep whenever it locks the system. When you return to your system (with your paired Bluetooth phone), it will automatically unlock and wake up the display. Another option Phoenix Freeze offers is to force the system into sleep mode whenever it locks the system--waking a system from sleep mode, however, requires manually engaging the system's resume button--once the system is asleep it can no longer monitor the Bluetooth connection to automatically detect when the phone is in proximity again.

While this can help reduce overall power consumption of a system, there are a few other variables that might somewhat mitigate the power-savings potential. First of all, not everyone uses Bluetooth peripherals, and therefore many leave Bluetooth turned off on their systems by default. Leaving the Bluetooth antenna always powered on will force those systems to consume more power than they otherwise would--the power consumption from a system's Bluetooth antenna are likely to be minimal, but it can add up over time, and can impact how long a laptop can run on battery before it runs out of juice. The same goes for mobile phones. In order to conserve battery life, many users leave their phone's Bluetooth antenna powered off, unless they use a Bluetooth headset. Leaving Bluetooth on all the time will shorten the amount of time between charges and ultimately means that your phone will need to be charged more frequently.

As to the productivity enhancing capabilities of Phoenix Freeze, the seconds saved from having to manually lock and unlock a system can add up, especially if you are the type who frequently leaves your desk.

Phoenix Freeze is available as a free download from Phoenix,here.

Nokia E52 Unveiled to the World Offers 8 hours of talk time

2009-05-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Via Softpedia

It seems that today Polish mobile phone users in Warsaw could have a look at yet another nice mobile phone the Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia unveiled in the country, the Nokia E52, which is reported to boast impressive talk time, namely eight full hours on a single charge. The new handset comes to the market both as an upgrade to the popular E51 as well as a traditional candybar version of the E75.

Our own Cosmin Vasile was at the event, which celebrates 1 million Eseries handsets sold in Poland since 2007, and he says that, among the specifications that the new Nokia E52 comes with, we can count the 2.4-inch display that can provide a 320 x 240 pixel QVGA resolution as well as support for 16 million colors, and a 3.2-megapixel photo snapper, which also sports flash, noise cancellation technology and 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, WLAN and EGPRS connectivity.

And since we're at connectivity options, we should also mention that the slimmest Eseries handset comes with Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio and a high-speed MicroUSB connector. More capabilities of the handset include Assisted GPS (A-GPS) and support for Nokia Maps, as well as a wide range of messaging functionality, including Mail for Exchange, IBM Lotus Notes Traveler, Nokia Messaging and POP/IMAP, along with selected 3rd party solutions, not to mention support for social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

The Nokia E52 measures 116 x 49 x 9.9 mm and weighs 98g, sports a metal case, while its battery is capable of keeping it in standby for up to 29 days, in addition to the 8 hours of talk time we already mentioned. The internal memory of the device rises up to 60Mb, yet there is also a microSD memory card slot that allows for up to 16GB of additional storage space to be used.

Here's what Nokia has to say about the device: “The Nokia E52 will ship with a 1GB microSD card and a free 60 day trial for Files on Ovi. It’ll be available in two colours, metal grey and golden aluminium which will help show off the 2.4-inch display (which also has automatic landscape support). The device also sports a compass alongside Nokia Maps and A-GPS. Plus, with speedy HSDPA (10.2Mb per second) and newer HSUPA upload access at up to 2Mb per second, the E52 is equipped for effortless content sharing on the move.”

At the same time, the phone maker mentions built-in mobile VPN, which is meant to facilitate access to company intranets. The phone also includes Call Connect support, offering businesses the possibility to integrate it with corporate phone systems, so that users would be contactable via a single phone number and have a single voicemail box, while being provided with least-cost call routing.

According to Nokia, the new device will go on sale in the second half of the ongoing year, most probably in the third quarter, and the estimated retail price it will sport, before taxes or subsidies, is expected to be of €245. In the meantime, you can check out the hands-on video that is available with the Nokia E52.

Dueling Firefox Extensions Make Peace

2009-05-06T01:53:00.001-07:00

Via Hothardware

Many consider the Firefox extensions Adblock Plus and NoScript in positive ways. We've also indicated that the extension system on Firefox is one reason we're not looking to change to Chrome; we have too many extensions to do so. But one problem is that there's no current way, except for ads or donations, for developers to monetize their creations. And here we are.

Adblock Plus does just what it sounds like it does: blocks ads. NoScript relies is designed to block browser scripting and plugins, adding security to the browser, and relies on ads and donations.

You can probably see where this is going.

In a (prior to this) unprecedented move, after some back-and-forth where the NoScript dev, Giorgio Maone, kept changing the structure of his site to work around Adblock Plus, he finally decided to modify NoScript so that it disabled Adblock Plus when it installed.

This caused what should be expected: a huge uproar.

It also grabbed the attention of the Mozilla Foundation, which I'm sure didn't really want to be mediating between two of its highest profile extensions. Their response: a proposal for a new extensions policy that would require the following:

Changes to default home page and search preferences, as well as settings of other installed add-ons, must be related to the core functionality of the add-on. If this relation can be established, you must adhere to the following requirements when making changes to these settings:

* The add-on description must clearly state what changes the add-on makes.
* All changes must be ‘opt-in’, meaning the user must take non-default action to enact the change.
* Uninstalling the add-on restores the user’s original settings if they were changed.

These are minimum requirements and not a guarantee that your add-on will be approved.

It seemed that people came to their (common) senses after that. Maone basically apologized to the Mozilla community, removed the changes that blocked Adblock Plus, and said:

So I had this crazy idea of retaliating against EasyList “from the inside”, and in my blindness I did not grasp that I was really retaliating against my own users and the Mozilla community at large. Even worse, my hacker attitude led me to dig directly in the low level Adblock Plus internals where filters are enforced.

Let's be honest, all was "well" until for whatever reason Adblock Plus started to make changes to its filters that "fixed" the hole that NoScript was using to get around Adblock Plus, which started the back-and-forth that eventually led to Adblock Plus changes its filters to the point that users couldn't even download NoScript or FlashGot (another Maone extension). Of course, that in and of itself was already egregious.

But this last step eventually led to a final round of p****-waving, and here we are. It seems that if Mozilla implements its new policy, we'll be safe from such feuding again, but who knows?

Wi-Fi Taking To The Skies More Each Day

2009-05-05T07:53:00.001-07:00

Via CNN
Maybe the new slogan for the ailing airline industry should be, "Fly the wi-fi skies."

Perfect for the folks who start getting the shakes when they get on an airplane and are cut off from Internet access for the duration of their flight, more and more airlines are offering wi-fi Internet access, reports CNN. And those that don't are working on it. Right now it's just within North America, but it'd be hard to imagine it remaining that limited for long.

Gogo Inflight Internet provides the access on Delta, American and Virgin America and will join United later this year, Aircell President/CEO Jack Blumenstein told the news channel. Aircell provides Gogo, which is installed on more than 190 commercial planes and is expected to be on 1,200 by year's end. Gogo has cell towers across the U.S. that provide service up to 300 miles offshore. Those towers will extend their reach to all of North America within the next couple of years, Blumenstein told CNN.

It's not free - Gogo charges $9.95 for flights shorter than 3 hours and $12.95 for longer flights. Delays don't figure into the flight length for the pricing option.

Another service, Row 44, provides Internet access on Southwest and Alaska airlines. CEO John Guidon said North America's already pretty much connected; service over the Atlantic and Europe should be in place by year's end.

JetBlue uses LiveTV, a subsidiary, for limited, free wi-fi on certain aircraft. Basically e-mail and some IM access, BlackBerry users can link up to their accounts and you can shop on Amazon.com. If everything works out, service for a fee might be offered at some point. Frontier Airlines is working with LiveTV to determine if it should offer free wi-fi.

AirTran, Continental and US Airways have no plans in the works, but haven't ruled it out. One would imagine they don't want to get left behind and will have something to offer soon.

Xbox Exec Leaves Microsoft...For Apple

2009-05-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Contrary to the beliefs of many, job hopping isn't all that atypical for those who get placards and corner offices. Strangely enough, though, it feels as if every bigwig that leaves these days in the consumer electronics realm ends up with a Cupertino, California address. Maybe it's just because Apple's atop the world right now, but either way, a key Xbox executive has decided to pack his things at Microsoft and head south. Figuratively speaking, anyway.

Richard Teversham put in 15 solid years at Microsoft, and he most recently led the company's Xbox business unit in Europe. This week, it was announced that he'll be departing in order to take a job at Apple's European offices, enabling him to finally own an iMac and iPhone without fear of backlash. It's still a bit unclear what he'll be doing at Apple, but early reports suggest that it will be some sort of educational role. Microsoft has already started looking for a replacement, but there's been no public announcement made about the details of that process.

One thing's for sure -- he better hope this Apple gig pans out. Going from Microsoft to Apple is about as traitor-esque as you can get in the employment world. Good luck over there, Mr. Teversham...better stock up on black collarneck shirts and blue jeans!

Apple: The low-price leader?

2009-05-03T03:49:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

This morning all the ads on my radio were about sales, deals, and other ways to save money (by spending it). That’s what I always notice during an economic downturn: the advertising. It’s no longer so much about the products as about their low price tags or the efficiency that you’ll gain if you buy them. Buy this magazine for $6.99 and you’ll save a hundred bucks in added productivity!

But in a time of thinning wallets, rising unemployment, and plunging home prices, what happens to a company that refuses to compromise on features in order to slash prices? What happens to a company that emphasizes profitability over expanding market share? What does the terrible economy mean for Apple?

If reports on the rumor blogs are to be believed, it means price cuts are imminent. Specifically, the rumors seem to focus on price cuts for the iMac and MacBook to make those consumer-friendly models more attractive to shoppers who might otherwise be swayed by Microsoft’s stepped-up advertising efforts.
The knives are out

In late March, Microsoft unveiled one of its most aggressive—and if I’m being honest, most effective—ad campaigns in recent memory. The first two spots in the campaign featured a gal named Lauren and a guy named Giampolo trying to buy the most feature-filled laptop they could for a given amount of money—$2,000 for Giampolo, $1,000 for Lauren. Spoiler warning: neither Microsoft ad ended with the people buying Macs.

This is Microsoft hitting at one of Apple’s greatest weak spots: the perception that its computers are overpriced. Those of us who have looked at the matter closely can argue till we’re blue in the face that Apple’s products aren’t overpriced, but rather refuse to omit features that PC makers have no qualms about compromising. But perception isn’t about the facts. And in a time when people are scared about their jobs, their money, and the economy, playing to people’s fears is not necessarily a bad sales tactic. (I’ll leave any deeper analysis of Microsoft’s ads or its drum-beating about an “Apple tax” to my colleagues.)

Or take the endless rumors of an Apple netbook. Many voices out there—just not Apple’s—insist that Apple needs to build a low-cost laptop, especially given the rising tide of sales of low-cost PC laptops. (And yes, I wrote a complete diary of my own time spent with a netbook.) The undercurrent of that message is the same as the one Microsoft exploits—namely that Apple’s computers just aren’t cheap enough.
A free pony

Who doesn’t want something for nothing, or as close to it as you can get? I don’t think there’s a single person out there who would buy a MacBook for $999 if they could buy the exact same MacBook for $899. Or $699. Or if they found one on their doorstep, attached to a post-it note reading “Free To a Good Home.”

But that’s not reality. Apple is a business, and it makes a whole lot of money selling the laptops it’s got. Apple has never been the kind of company to produce cut-rate, cut-feature products. I’ve yet to see an Apple ad that uses the phrase “our prices are insane!” That’s not the kind of product and attitude that Apple’s brand has come to represent.

But in tough financial times, there’s definitely a pressure for companies like the ones on my radio this morning to cut prices in order to drive sales. So what does that mean for Apple? Does Apple alter course and product a low-price, low-featured product in order to stay relevant in the midst of a recession?

This isn’t a rhetorical question. I don’t know the answer. Apple has never tried to reach people who look at a product’s price tag as that product’s most important trait. It has always cultivated an audience of users who are willing to pay more for quality, who opt for Apple’s products because they’re good, not because they’re cheap. Steve Jobs said as much during a rare appearance in quarterly conference call with financial analysts last October: Apple believes its customers are more likely to delay purchases in tough economic times, as opposed to abandon the Mac for another type of computer.

So perhaps the question is, does Apple want the Mac to reach a broader audience? If it does, it may have to compromise on some of its values in order to create products that are cheaper. I honestly can’t see it happening. If Apple ever decided to invade the world of $350 netbooks, I’m pretty sure it would do so with a $500 or $600 version—cheap for Apple, but not the cheapest out there.

I just can’t see Apple ever being the low-price leader. It’s just not who the company is. But you never know. We live in strange, befuddling times.

Hulu-Disney deal hurts YouTube, helps cable

2009-05-01T01:09:00.001-07:00

Via CNET

Sure, for a year now, YouTube has trailed Hulu in the number of TV shows and films it offers, but in recent months all the momentum appeared to be with Google's video site.

That was until Thursday, when Hulu announced a partnership with Disney that at least one industry analyst believes has smashed YouTube's chances of becoming an online hub for top TV shows and feature films.

Disney will provide Hulu with full-length ad-supported episodes from ABC, SoapNet, and ABC Family. Some of the shows include "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty," and "Scrubs." Some Disney films will also appear on Hulu, the ad-supported streaming video site formed by News Corp. and NBC Universal. Hulu has now locked up content from three of the largest six film studios.

As for the other three, Sony Pictures has deals to provide a small amount of long-form, ad-supported content with both Hulu and YouTube. Warner Bros. has largely kept long-form content off the Web, and Paramount, which provides Hulu with some TV shows and a smattering of films, is unlikely to join Google-owned YouTube anytime soon. Paramount's parent company, Viacom, has a $1 billion copyright suit pending against YouTube.

What this all means is there just aren't that many other places for YouTube to acquire high-end content.

"(The Disney-Hulu deal) is not good news for YouTube," said James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Any hope of creating a professional-content business has probably disappeared."

A YouTube spokesman issued this positive-spin statement: "More content coming online in more places is a win for consumers and provides further validation of the growth of the online video market."

Cable sector should jump on Hulu
Besides Hulu, the big winners in the Disney partnership--which also involves Disney taking an unspecified equity stake in the video site--could be Comcast, Time Warner, and the cable industry.

Some of the major cable operators have griped in recent months that some of their subscribers are dropping cable in favor of watching TV shows and films online. Now, according to reports, the cable guys are seeking ways to compete on the Web.

Up until now the cable companies have had to negotiate with individual studios. Hulu potentially provides a way, according to McQuivey, to obtain a wide swath of TV shows and films with a single handshake. He also sees the opportunity for offering premium Hulu services, which might make sense at a time when Hulu continues to offer fewer and fewer episodes from popular shows.

"Comcast can tell NBC and News Corp., 'We want to put your Hulu system in front of our subscribers'," McQuivey said. "'But we want to give our customers more. If Hulu is posting four episodes of a show online we want our subscribers to have 12 episodes.' I'm 90 percent certain sure these conversations are already happening."

"In order to get Hulu," McQuivey continued, "you have to be high-speed broadband customer and maybe also spending top dollar on TV services."

What would Hulu receive in return? McQuivey said maybe the cable companies would share subscriber revenue with the site. He added that Hulu is probably making decent revenue on ads, but advertising is tougher online. Hulu, he said, "might look at cable to help accelerate some of their revenue potential."

Tougher to sell ads online? McQuivey might be guilty of a gross understatement. Anybody who spends any time on Hulu has noticed the growing number of paid service announcements. Last year at this time, site managers trumpeted that they had sold out of ad inventory. Hulu hasn't made any such announcements lately.

While advertising is down for nearly everyone in media, there is a growing skepticism in Hollywood that the ad-supported online model can generate the kind of revenue the studios see from broadcast, cable or DVD sales. One industry source told me that "to generate a worthwhile profit from an online broadcast, you have to throw in lots of ads, and that will only prompt viewers to log off."

As for McQuivey's idea that Comcast could negotiate to obtain more shows, the studio source said that there's a reason why Hulu is carrying fewer episodes from shows than it once did. There's concern in Hollywood that offering too many episodes may cut into DVD sales. The source said the studios see big revenue from the sale of DVD versions of TV shows. Asked whether the studios have seen a sales drop-off yet, the executive said, "No."

Of all the major studios, only Sony Pictures appears willing to offer consumers access to a wide variety of full-length feature films on an ad-supported basis. This week, the studio announced that more than 100 movies, including "Spiderman 2," "La Femme Nikita," and "Candyman," were available at Crackle.com, the studio's online video site.

McQuivey said that after doing an analysis on the problem, he's also doubtful ad sales can generate meaningful profits. Ads alone won't make the Internet a "replacement model," he said. "You're going to have to look at some kind of subscription model."

Maybe he's on to something. "With respect to how (YouTube) will get monetized, our first priority is on the advertising side," Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, said after Google reported first-quarter profits earlier this month. "We do expect over time to see micropayments and other forms of subscription models."

What the PSP Go! needs to whack the DSi

2009-04-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

A report from 1Up.com says the new version of the PSP will be hitting store shelves later this year. It will be announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

1Up.com also says the new PSP will be called the PSP Go! It's slated for a September release in Japan, followed by a U.S. launch in October or November. The publication said that the Go! will sport slide-out controls. Those who were hoping for dual analog sticks will be upset to hear that the new PSP will presumably still feature a single analog nub. 1Up believes that the Go! will come in two versions: one with 8GB of internal memory and another with 16GB of memory.

Shockingly, 1Up sources told the publication that Sony will be dumping the UMD drive for digital downloads. Players looking to add titles to their handheld will be able to do so by buying games from an online store.

Sony has not confirmed 1Up's report. And it's likely that the company won't be saying much as we get closer to E3. But if the 1Up report is true, is it enough to force Nintendo from its top spot in the hand-held gaming space?

It's a tough call. While some in the industry believe that game downloads might be the future, it's still in its infancy. And there's a chance that current PSP owners will be turned off by the PSP Go! if Sony doesn't find a way to make UMD games work with its new hand-held.

We also shouldn't forget that there are many questions that have yet to be answered about the Go! What will it cost? How much of an improvement is it over the original PSP? Most importantly, why should we buy it?

Assuming 1Up's predictions are true, Pro Duo requirements are (finally!) gone, UMD is finished, and the Go! will have a slide-out control mechanism. On paper, that's not enough to make me want to buy one.

But if the PSP Go!'s graphical capabilities are superior to its predecessor, it's a good start. And if Sony reassures us that UMDs can be played on the handheld with a cheap accessory, it's made available for a reasonable price, and hundreds of games are offered at launch with titles dating back to the original PlayStation, I'll be intrigued. And I doubt I'm alone.

At this point, though, we just don't know what Sony is planning. But after using both the DS and the DSi, I can say that if the PSP Go! sports most (if not all) of the features 1Up and I have come up with, I don't see any reason why it can't hold its own in the space. It might not have dual screens, but superior graphics, a better display, and a store that makes finding and playing games much simpler than traveling to Gamestop, certainly counts for something. And a huge library of classic games won't hurt either.

New robot replaces remote control

2009-04-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Salma Hayek's MobileMe account hacked

2009-04-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

Via Macworld

So if you're a celebrity (or, well, anyone, really) and you want to make extra sure that people aren't able to easily access your personal data, it's a good idea to make your password and your password reset hint something that's really obscure. Ideally, it should be something that only you would know.

This is the important lesson drummed home by actress Salma Hayek's recently hacked MobileMe account.

It seems a few ne'er-do-wells from the popular site 4chan were able to get into Hayek's MobileMe account simply by looking up her birthday from her entry in Wikipedia and guessing that her favorite character (the password hint) was "frida," as in Frida Kahlo, one of Hayek's most famous roles. From there, it was a simple matter to change the password to something new and then access the actress's personal information, including her e-mail, calendar, and even data about what software she'd downloaded to her iPhone.

What do we take away from this? Well, it would be nice if Apple made its password reset process a little more robust. But the company is hardly alone in this department. In this kind of scenario, it's always going to come down to the individual user to make sure that their information is protected.

In a related story, 4chan was also able to game Time's online list of the most influential people on the planet. Anyway, you're not alone, Salma—cold comfort though it may be.

So please, people: pick strong passwords. You wouldn't want your personal information plastered all over the Internet, would ya?

The latest from Facebook: 'Open Stream API'

2009-04-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

A post on the Facebook developer blog announces the big application program interface (API) update from the social network that was first reported on Sunday night, which it's calling the Open Stream API.

It's the first major implementation of an emerging (read: brand new) open standard called Activity Streams, on which Facebook has been collaborating with developers for the past few months. Basically, what it means is that third-party developers will have access to a feed of all content posted to news feeds--notes, photos, videos, links, "likes" and comments, and activity from other applications built on the social network's platform.

"We've officially moved away from the Web of just blog posts, which a lot of these formats were originally designed for," said open-source developer and advocate Chris Messina, who has been spearheading the development of Activity Streams for about a year now.

"Over time, what I think will happen is (that) you'll see something toward the type of cleverness and ingenuity that has surfaced around the Twitter community, but in a way that is even more expressive and rich," Messina said. "In the case of Twitter, you're just talking about status updates; in the case of Facebook you're talking about a lot of different activities."

Previously, only status updates--the most Twitter-like part of Facebook--were accessible to developers. That's why this announcement likely makes the biggest difference to the creators of social feed aggregation applications like TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop.

But because Activity Streams is an open standard, other social-networking and media-sharing applications will be able to use it too. This means that there could be, say, an Adobe Air-based desktop application that brings in updates across photo-sharing applications like Facebook, Flickr, and Photobucket.

Facebook is also targeting different types of developers--specifically mobile and desktop--rather than strictly the Web app developers whose creations made Facebook's platform such a wild success when it debuted two years ago.

"One of the most important stories to tell here is this is the first time that we've ever opened the core Facebook product experience, which was previously called the 'feed' and which we're now calling the 'stream,'" Facebook senior platform manager Dave Morin explained to CNET News. "We're especially excited to see the types of desktop applications and the types of mobile applications which developer are going to build for the stream. We've sort of never really allowed this before, so we're pretty excited to see what developers come up with."

Facebook will be holding an event on Monday afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif., to introduce developers to the new API. Presenting at the event will be representatives from Adobe, which is building a Facebook application in its Air runtime environment, and Microsoft, which is doing the same in Silverlight; contact management system Plaxo and third-party app Seesmic Desktop (which already has unveiled its support for the Open Stream) are also presenting.

The "stream" took front-and-center with Facebook's controversial redesign earlier this year. Inspired by the likes of Twitter, the revamped design marked a shift in strategy for Facebook from static profiles to a real-time flow of information. At the same time, it proved unpopular among some users.

But Facebook isn't the only big social-networking player to be implementing Activity Streams. The emerging standard was behind the upgrades to MySpace's MySpaceID product that the News Corp.-owned service launched in March at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.

"It was sort of one of the earlier opportunities we had to take a nascent spec and see it all the way through to launch," MySpaceID product lead Max Engel told CNET News, adding that his team first started working on Activity Streams last September. It's what powers a new MySpace "gadget" for Google as well as its feeds' presence on the upcoming Yahoo homepage redesign.

"It's getting where we need it to be, which is like e-mail: where you can write a POP client and know (that) it works," Engel said. "It's not even a full standard yet, so it's sort of exciting to see so many people get behind something so quickly, and it's definitely indicative of the general momentum of people who are saying we'd rather work open than work closed."

Funny full forms of Big Companies

2009-04-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

1. NIIT : Not Interested in IT

2. WIPRO : Weak Input, Poor & Rubbish Output

3. HCL : Hidden Costs & Losses

4. TCS : Totally Confusing Solutions

5. INFOSYS :Inferior Offline Systems

6. HUGHES : Highly Useless Graduates Hired for Eating and Sleeping

7. BAAN : Beggars Association and Nerds

8. IBM : Implicitly Boring Machines

9. SATYAM : Sad And Tired Yelling Away Madly

10. PARAM : Puzzled And Ridiculous Array of Microprocessors

11. C-DOT : Coffee During Office Timings

12. AT&T : All Troubles & Terrible

13. CMC : Coffee, Meals and Comfort

14. DEC : Drifting & Exhausted Computers

15. BFL : Brainwash First and Let them go

17. TISL : Totally Inconsistent Systems Ltd.

18. PSI : Peculiar Symptoms of India

19. ORACLE : On-line Romance And Chatting with Lady Employees.

20. MASTEK: Mad And Stupid Technitians Enroute to Kabaarkhana

21.PATNI : Pathetic Appraisal Techniques, No Increments

via - email

Turn Your iPhone Into a Remote Mouse and Keyboard

2009-04-26T01:22:00.000-07:00

Via PCworld

When I give presentations, watch movies from the sofa in my office, or need to start a task away from my desk, I don't want to be within arm's length of my mouse. So I appreciate the freedom offered by Air Mouse Pro ($6, buy-only), a full-featured remote control from R.P.A. Tech. The top half of the Air Mouse Pro Screen features a two-button trackpad, while the bottom half gives you a keyboard, along with controls for browsing the Web and playing movies and music.
Using the accelerometer and touchscreen of either an iPhone or iPod touch, Air Mouse works over a local Wi-Fi network to control you computer's mouse and keyboard. Before using the app, you do need to install a small application on your computer-there's a version for both Mac OS X and Windows users-which manages the connection and controls many of the mouse and keyboard settings.

The Air Mouse Pro screen features a two-button trackpad on the top half of the screen, while the bottom half switches between media control buttons and a keyboard. I found Air Mouse Pro to be as responsive and stable as my current wireless mouse, with touchscreen mousing no different using a computer trackpad.

Using the accelerometer to control mouse gestures is comparable to using a the controls for a Nintendo Wii-fun, though not always practical. You won't write novels with the app's keyboard, for example. But when combined with customizable keyboard shortcuts, Air Mouse Pro can be handy for conducting fast searches, launching applications, or, as Macworld editors have noted elsewhere, running a Mac-based media center. That said, the set of buttons for controlling iTunes and Web browsing, while useful, make the omission of presentation controls all the more glaring.

Still, Mobile Air Mouse is a genuinely fun and practical application for anyone who needs to break free of the desk.

Windows 7 RC Adds Virtual Windows XP Mode

2009-04-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

Via SupersiteBlog

A recent announcement from Microsoft should make it easier to convince Windows XP users to upgrade to the latest version of its operating system. For a while now, the company has been working on a Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 that will enable Windows 7 to run applications that were designed for Windows XP using virtualization. Sources familiar with the product recently revealed this application compatibility mode is built upon the Virtual PC technology Microsoft acquired in 2003 from the assets of Connectix.

Windows XP Mode has also been known as XPM, Virtual Windows XP, Virtual XP, and VXP. Windows XP Mode is built on the next generation of Microsoft Virtual PC 7 product line which requires Intel or AMD processor-based virtualization support to be present and enabled on the PC. Windows XP Mode is a host-based virtualization solution like Virtual PC.

By adding a compatibility mode into Windows 7, Microsoft is addressing one of the key shortcomings of Vista—compatibility issues with older software. The new feature has not been included in the beta version of Windows 7 but is expected to be available with the upcoming release candidate version. On Friday, Microsoft said it will provide the release candidate to developers next week and publicly on May 5.

As of right now, it appears the XP compatibility mode won’t come in the box with Windows 7. Instead, it will be made available as a free download for users with the professional, enterprise, or ultimate versions of Windows 7. Windows XP Mode will not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop. As a result, users will be able to run Windows XP-based applications alongside Windows 7 applications under a single desktop.

Windows XP Mode will make a big difference for Windows moving forward. By removing the burden of legacy application compatibility from the OS, Microsoft will be able to strip away dead technology from future versions of Windows at a faster rate because customers will be able to run older applications in Windows XP Mode.

Prior to the Windows XP Mode announcement, Microsoft could only claim that Windows 7 would be at least as compatible as Windows Vista was. Now, Microsoft can claim almost complete compatibility with Windows XP.

Apple cuts more than 10 percent of full-time retail workforce

2009-04-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

Apple’s financial results for its second-quarter of 2009 were very favorable despite a few dark spots. But though the company may have posted its most successful non-holiday quarter ever, there are still some signs that Apple is scaling back on costs in order to combat the effects of the current economic situation.

Apple’s 10-Q form filed with the SEC noted that the company had 14,000 full-time retail employees as of the end of the past quarter. That number stands in sharp contrast to the 15,600 employees the company reported in the same document filed at the end of the December 2008 quarter.
Did Apple lay off 1,600 retail workers? There are other possible explanations, including shifting workers to part-time status or cutting excess personnel employed during the busier holiday quarter, but given that the figure represents more than 10 percent of Apple’s retail workforce, it seems likely that a number of those employees were let go.

That gibes with other figures that Apple's disclosed about its retail segment, too. For example, the company said that it opened only one store in the second-quarter of 2009, compared with four in the year-ago quarter. In looking forward to the rest of the year, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple planned to open a total of 25 stores in fiscal 2009, half of which would be outside of the country. That's just half of the 50 stores Apple opened in 2008. Retail revenue was down year-over-year as well, going from an average of $8.5 million per store in the second quarter of 2008 to an average of $7 million per store in this past quarter.

Retail is an expensive segment for Apple, as it requires not just hiring more workers than the company would otherwise employ, but also necessitates long-term investments like property leases and expenses like store construction and maintenance. In an environment where consumer spending has dropped off, that could make the retail segment particularly vulnerable.

Despite that, Apple has yet to close a single one of its retail outlets in the almost eight years that they’ve been operating. By all accounts its retail stores have been an incredible success in that time, attracting millions of customers and generating substantial revenues for Apple. However, the company’s investments there are not without their risks, as Apple notes in the same 10-Q document, saying “The Company would incur substantial costs if it were to close multiple retail stores and such costs could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and operating results.”

It seems that Apple has instead focused its cost-cutting measures on personnel to help avoid closing stores, but it’s not inconceivable that we could see our first Apple Store shutter if the economy continues in the direction that it’s been going.

Airswitch Light - Controlled by Moving Your Hand Through the Air

2009-04-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Via Softpedia

Mathmos is a British firm that sells lighting products. It is most famous for its Lava-lamp" invented back around 1963 by Edward Craven Walker, the company's founder. This became an icon of its decade, being featured in many films and broadcasts of the time, including the cult TV series The Prisoner. Since then, it has evolved a lot, always concentrating on product innovation in the world of home lighting.

Lately, the inventors at Mathmos have come up with completely new light technologies, such as the Airswitch models. If touch or clap light fixtures seemed the coolest thing to have in your house, they have become obsolete since Airswitch's launch.

These lights use Mathmos Airswitch technology (still patented pending) to enable you to turn on or off and brighten or dim the light without the need to fumble around for a switch. This works using a special sensor embedded in the device that determines your hand position in relation to the light and then adjusts the light accordingly.

The moves are quite easy to remember. You turn it on by slowly passing your hand horizontally through the air above, dim or brighten the light by moving your hand vertically towards and away from the lamp, or just turn it off by the same way you turned it on.

At the moment, the Airswitch lights collection includes five different models. Airswitch 0 is the only wall-mounted lamp, Airswitch Az is a bigger floor light, while the 1, tc and Az Baby models are bright enough to make for unique bedside or desk lamps. The prices range between £49 and £175 (that is between 72 and 258 US dollars). Mathmos also offers more home lights, from LED lights, lamp shades or candle lights, so if you’re interested in more details, visit its site here.

Ballmer, IBM reportedly surprised by Oracle-Sun deal

2009-04-24T03:04:00.000-07:00

Via CNET

Reporters caught up with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in Moscow to get his take on Oracle's deal to buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion.

But apparently Ballmer, who is rarely at a loss for words, didn't exactly have a sound byte at the ready.

"I need to think about it," Ballmer told reporters in Moscow, according to Reuters. "I am very surprised."

I'm hearing that Ballmer wasn't the only one surprised by Monday's deal. According to a source of mine, IBM hadn't given up on purchasing Sun and was blindsided by Oracle's move.

Oracle is, of course, one of Microsoft's chief rivals in the database and business applications space--a fact that Ballmer highlighted in an interview in February. Sun is also a longtime rival, although the two companies have had a technology partnership in recent years stemming from their settlement of legal hostilities back in 2004.

I imagine we'll hear far more from Ballmer and Microsoft in the coming days and weeks.

The dinner is Served

2009-04-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Pulls the Plug on GeoCities

2009-04-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Via Hothardware

A few days after Yahoo announced it would lay off nearly 700 workers, Yahoo is shutting down GeoCities, which it acquired in 1999 for $4 billion. GeoCities is the latest casualty in Chief Executive Carol Bartz's campaign to close duplicative and underperforming products. Last week, Yahoo announced the closing of Jumpcut, an online video-editing service, and FareChase, a travel Web site. During Yahoo’s earnings call on Tuesday, Bartz also mentioned the discontinuation of Yahoo Briefcase, My Web, Yahoo Audio Search, RSS ads, Yahoo Pets, Yahoo Live, Kickstart, and Yahoo For Teachers.

The company posted a notice on the GeoCities site indicating it is no longer giving out new accounts. Yahoo has said it will close the site later this year and will notify customers about how to save data sometime this summer. This means it is still possible Yahoo could give users the ability to transfer a site to another service, similar to what Yahoo did when it shut down Yahoo Photos. Given recent events at Yahoo and the current economic climate, however, we aren’t expecting this graceful transition to be an option.

For now, GeoCities users can enjoy their sites until later this year. For continued service, Yahoo is encouraging users to upgrade to Yahoo’s Web Hosting service. Considering many GeoCities users weren't technical experts, it is likely a lot of amateur Web sites soon will vanish as a casualty of Yahoo’s business priorities and the rapid changes we see every day with the Internet.

GeoCities gained widespread recognition as a free service that let users create personal home pages with photos and other information with relative ease. It was one of the first companies to build online communities by allowing users to associate their pages with particular communities or neighborhoods. In the late 1990s, GeoCities hosted more than 3.5 million websites.

In recent years, however, GeoCities has fallen out of favor as a new generation of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have taken over. These services as well as others such as Twitter, YouTube, and Blogger, provide easy ways to notify interested parties of new activity. These notifications help your network stay up to date with new information in a simple and easy way that personal websites can’t replicate or compete with.

Apple needs open source in the enterprise

2009-04-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Via CNET
Given how rich Apple's recent earnings were--buoyant in the face of the recession--it's perhaps an inopportune time to suggest that Apple needs to figure out its enterprise application strategy.

And given how dependent Apple's earnings are on a tightly integrated mass of proprietary hardware and software, it's perhaps cheeky in the extreme to suggest that open-source software can help, though perhaps not entirely unexpected considering the Mac's popularity with open-source advocates.

Yet this is precisely what Ned Lilly suggests in MacNewsWorld, and I agree. The deeper Apple gets pulled into the enterprise by people eager to use their home-based technology at work, the more it is going to need to figure out an application compatibility story for the enterprise.

Open-source software applications have tended to be multi-platform, for a variety of reasons, which makes open source a potentially useful tool for Apple, as Lilly points out:

One consequence of the intersection of open source and Mac worlds...has been that newer open source offerings are not just Mac-friendly but are equally PC-friendly. They expect to live in a world where multiple platforms and systems interact and interconnect seamlessly. This result of the community approach is yet another advantage of open source, as proprietary offerings often favor either Macs or PCs.

What's exciting is the potential of this approach to drill down into even more specialized demands of businesses. Currently, the "missing piece" of many Mac-friendly enterprise applications is vertical-specific functionalities; the open source community approach is equipped to fill this gap.

Lilly is right, but he's speaking of potential, not actual software being delivered today. To make it happen, Apple needs to help foster a rich ecosystem of open-source applications, but not by writing the vertical applications itself.

Rather, Apple simply needs to exert some leadership with a hint of missionary zeal.

This wouldn't require a big investment of Apple resources, but it could go a long way toward making the Apple easier for CIOs to swallow. Open-source applications are on a tear, as recent Forrester data shows. Apple should be tapping into this trend.

Banned From Facebook? It's All in the Fine Print

2009-04-22T23:49:00.001-07:00

Via PCWorld

Facebook's taken plenty of flak over its policies lately. The company's shift in licensing terms this February led to a user backlash, a nearly filed federal complaint, and ultimately, a decision to let the community help.

Buried in the mix, though, one group of users fears another change in Facebook's terms could prove to be even more troublesome -- a change that, by a casual interpretation, appears to ban large subsets of people from using the service.

The Unseen Struggle

Suzie McCarthy introduces herself as a nerd. An NYU grad student studying comparative politics, McCarthy is passionate about international relations. That's why, when she looked carefully through Facebook's proposed new policies, McCarthy found herself doing a double-take.

"The new Facebook governance policy is not simply about privacy," she says. "Facebook has dramatically increased the amount of restrictions as to who can use the site."

The restrictions to which McCarthy refers come in clause 4.3 of Facebook's new "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" document, one of two revised files being voted on by Facebook users this week. The section, not present in the previous "Terms of Use" agreement, states:

"You will not use Facebook if you are located in a country embargoed by the U.S., or are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals."

Given Facebook's "One World" principle -- "The Facebook service should transcend geographic and national boundaries and be available to everyone in the world" -- McCarthy was moved to take action. With so many users in nations such as Cuba, Sudan, and Iran relying on Facebook for communication, she saw the need to stand up and address what seemed to be a dangerous disconnect.

"Internet global networking allows for the possibility of reaching past the agendas of our various home states to connect with each other. It provides a picture of Iranians within Iran other than Ahmadinejad," she says.

"Facebook must remain a networking tool allowing for the free exchange of ideas across national boundaries without linkage to a particular government or cause.

A Global Connection

McCarthy's desire to keep networking open connected her with people like Mehdi Rifai. A journalist based in Syria, Rifai found McCarthy through her Facebook group about the embargo. Rifai considers himself a Syrian Canadian, and for him, the cause immediately hit home.

"The only place that I have remained myself has been the Internet," Rifai says, noting that he's felt like a "second-class citizen" in the offline world for years now.

"The emergence and popularization of blogs allowed my opinions to be shared, and the further development of the social web ... took that freedom further," he says. "That I am now being told that, since a portion of my identity is objectionable to the U.S., my freedom is to be taken away from me -- [that] is very hard to hear."

Rifai is far from alone in his concern. Dozens of other Facebook users from around the globe have joined McCarthy's fight. There's Anwar Dafa-Alla, a computer engineer working toward his Ph.D. in Sudan; Sahar Tag, an architect in an embargoed country; and Hatim Al Nouwery, who relies on Facebook to keep in touch with family throughout embargoed nations. And that's just the start.
Clarifying the Clause

I contacted Facebook to gain a better understanding of the clause and its addition into the service's terms. At this point, you may be expecting a drawn-out battle between two opposing sides. That expectation is about to be squashed.

The addition of the "embargo" clause was a matter of legal protection, a Facebook representative tells me. The network's intent, he assures, was never to prevent users like Mehdi Rifai and Anwar Dafa-Alla from keeping in touch with their family and friends. As such, the company is clarifying its position.

"To be in compliance with U.S. law, we need to prohibit commercial activities from embargoed countries," explains Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt. "We have allowed, and plan to continue to allow, users to set up accounts from those countries and communicate, as long as they are not engaging in commercial activities on the site."

It's worth noting that other online services with social components -- MySpace, Yahoo, and Google, for example -- also have qualifications in their terms to address international laws surrounding imports and exports. The language used, however, is often in legalese and may consequently go unnoticed to the untrained eye.
Connection Maintained

In the end, the linguistical analysis is neither here nor there for the users fearful they'd be banned from Facebook. The lines of communication will essentially remain open, it seems, and the "One World" principle will remain intact. And, suffice it to say, the impact of that decision stretches far beyond people like Suzie McCarthy, the self-proclaimed "nerd" who organized the efforts against closing the virtual borders.

Just look to Qasem Exirifard, an Iranian man who says his attitude toward America has changed as a result of his social network interactions. In his childhood, he recalls joining peers to shout chants of "down with America." Not anymore. He credits open Web-wide networks with broadening his perspective and altering his views -- and he's confident they could have the same effect on others all over the world.

"I've had a chance to see and interact with many people of various nationalities. I have found it that we are really the same: We all like the blue sky, we all admire the fresh scents of flowers, an amiable smile of a girl makes us all happy," he says.

"Give the citizens of the globe a chance to freely communicate with each other, learn that they are indeed the same -- and then, peace will come."

IPhone Calls in Strong Quarter for Apple

2009-04-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

Via IDG

Despite a decline in Mac sales, Apple on Wednesday reported a strong second quarter, driven by iPhone sales.

Apple posted revenue of US$8.16 billion for the second quarter of 2009, up from $7.51 billion in the second quarter of 2008. Revenue exceeded expectations of $7.96 billion from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The company also recorded net profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per share, for the quarter that ended March 28, improving from the $1.05 billion in profits, or $1.16 per share, that Apple reported last year. Apple also beat analyst expectations of $1.06 earnings per share during the quarter.

Apple sold 3.79 million iPhones in the second quarter of this year for 123 percent growth compared to the same period last year. Apple sold 2.22 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a 3 percent decline. iPod unit shipments were 11.01 million during the quarter, growing 3 percent.

Apple announced the iPhone 3G in June last year and started shipping it in July. After the launch, Apple partnered with wireless carriers worldwide to sell the phone, and it is now available in 81 countries, according to Apple.

"We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, in a statement. Apple's financial condition remains robust and it has close to $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on the balance sheet, he said.

New BlackBerry OS 5.0 Features Reported

2009-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Via Softpedia

Firmware version 5.0.0.90 for BlackBerry Bold leaked into the wild about two weeks ago, and Research in Motion is expected to soon make the update official, given the fact that WES 2009 is set to open its gates in a short while. Until that happens, we should take a look at some of the goodies that the firmware version will offer to all BlackBerry users out there.

Stationary date header in Messages is the first new thing that has been included in the update, providing users with the capability to track down the days in which emails they are looking at have been received. One thing that should be mentioned here is that users on BES 5.0 will receive some more features, including the options to flag emails and define them by request, color, status and due date as well as create, edit and delete folders from the device itself.

Another feature that will become available with the release allows users to forward calendar items and view calendar attachments, which would also need BES 5.0 (BlackBerry Enterprise Server), and there will be significantly improved speeds using BlackBerry Maps, thanks to pre-loading in part, as well as open message origin in Maps, if available, and the option to view geotagged photos in Maps (users can also geotagg photos they have taken).

Other improvements will come to BlackBerry users as well, including the capability to set the default download folder, wallpaper, theme or to reset the icon layout of a certain theme, the Application Switcher will launch when holding down menu key, individually encryption for email PIN messages, the capability to turn off or on sounds for when the device turns off or on, plugged in to charge, unplugged from charging, etc.

And there is good news for BlackBerry Storm users too, since the OS is reported to also include the full-QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode that has been expected to surface for so long. Some other leaked OSes for the device have been spotted as well, and some official ones too, yet it seems that the OS 5.0 will actually be the one that will really count.

Those willing to upgrade their handsets should hold on a little longer, until WES 2009 kicks off that is, as RIM should make the new OS available on the market at that time, so it will be worth waiting for it. At the same time, we should also mention that the leaked OS 5.0.0.90 is not as stable as one might expect, and that some applications are reported to not work on it, so it might be a waist of time to download and install it.

The Terrorist

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Google profile users get a say in people search results

2009-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Google now can show special results when you search for people.
(Credit: Google)
Via Cnet

Typing your name into a search engine is a great way to find out what the Internet thinks of you--at least until the first page of results shines a spotlight on that embarrassing episode from your misspent youth. Now Google, though, is offering people who share their profile information with the search giant more control over how they appear in its results.

Google has a complicated algorithm for determining which Web sites show at the top of its search results, presenting the top 10 picks on its results page. But in what amounts to an admission that this doesn't fully satisfy all the needs of people searching for a specific name, Google now will show a separate 11th result--a special "onebox" that presents links to people with a particular name and links to their Google profiles.

Google "is giving people more of an opportunity to have greater presence and to surface the most relevant content about themselves in a way they have some say about," said Joe Kraus, director of product management in Google's apps group.

To illustrate the utility of the feature, Kraus brings up the example of Brian Jones. If you happen to share the name of the Rolling Stone's deceased founding guitarist, you don't have much opportunity to show up high on Google's search results for that name. That changes with the new people-search feature, he said, though it doesn't affect the regular search results above.

There's a quid pro quo, though. To appear in Google's special people-search results you must set up a Google profile. The more information you include on your profile, the better your odds that your profile will appear among the four names that can appear in the special result, Kraus said.

At least for now, Google profiles are a collection of information you are willing to share publicly--photos, interests, Web sites about yourself. Through integration with your Gmail contacts, which lets you identify people you trust and share contact information with them, Google's profiles are gradually becoming a deeper reflection of ties called the social graph.

Kraus wouldn't comment on how the profile page fits into Google's social strategy, though he did say in general that Google's strategy in general focuses "not on how you make any one site more social, but how you make the entire Web more social."

One thing is sure, though: spotlighting profiles this directly in search results, given Google's immense search clout and people's concern about their self-image, extends much greater power to the profiles site.

To lend even more prominence, Google is beginning a "Google Me" promotion in which people who search for "me" will get an opportunity to see their profile or sign up for one.

Google CEO Says 2009 A Good Year For Android

2009-04-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Via Computerworld

While Google still has a long way to go before it seriously begins to chip away at market share owned by Windows Mobile, Symbian S60 and OS X, there's no denying that Android has already made an unmistakable mark on the mobile industry. The newfangled mobile operating system was largely praised with the HTC-built G1 launched last year on T-Mobile, and if the company's CEO has anything to do with it, 2009 will be an even better year for the burgeoning software.

CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted as saying that "overall, it looks like Android is going to have a very strong year." Said statement was proudly made during Google's first-quarter investors' conference, and he also teased listeners by admitting that "new announcements of Android-related products and partnerships with mobile phone service providers and device makers will be 'quite significant' this year."

Unlike Apple's mobile OS X, which isn't likely to spread from the iPhone in the near future, Android is actually aiming at devices other than the cellphone. We've already heard that it could soon be seen on UMPCs, MIDs, and all manners of other handheld devices. Heck, an Android-based netbook isn't even beyond the realm of feasibility. Google would do itself a huge favor by enabling any system maker out there to use Android, and given its history, we figure it'll do just that. Windows XP nabbed a vast majority of the netbook OS market share in 2008 -- surely Google figures it can steal away a few percent in 2009-2010.

FlipBook for iPhone

2009-04-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

Anyone with even a slightly creative bent or a shred of drawing skill will appreciate FlipBook. The app enables you to make short animations from still drawings. Providing powerful tools and layer-based drawing system, FlipBook gives users a canvas for creating something special.

Josh Anon, the developer of FlipBook, is a renowned photographer and photography teacher. He has worked on many projects at Pixar including Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, so he clearly knows a thing or two about animation. This becomes readily apparent as you use FlipBook.

The basics of making a movie haven’t changed much since the very first silent films of the late 1800s: put a group of pictures in order and show them to someone in rapid succession. This concept remains the same in FlipBook—draw a series of images and FlipBook can replay them back as a movie.

Basic drawing and editing tools make up a seamless user interface that stays out of the way unless you need it. A feature called “onion skinning” allows you to see the previous (and optionally next) frame as a point of reference while drawing. Simple animations can be made with ease by duplicating a picture or part of a drawing and then moving that image slightly for each subsequent frame.

The controls quickly become second nature because FlipBook takes full advantage of the multi-touch capabilities of the iPhone. Touch and hold anywhere on the screen to bring up a quick shortcut menu that allows you to switch between the drawing, erasing, and panning tools. Use two fingers in a pinching motion to zoom in or out for more detailed editing and drawing. Swipe with two fingers left or right to go to the next or previous frame. Swipe up and down with three fingers to change brush and eraser sizes.

FlipBook also allows easy creation of stop-motion videos by simply importing still images. For people like me who have very limited drawing skills (read: none at all) this is a much more satisfying way to use the program than actually trying to draw something interesting. You can also combine the two approaches, drawing or doodling on top of a picture.

FlipBook’s main appeal for many people won’t just be the drawing and animation that’s created, but also the ability to easily share creations with others online. Your $10 purchase doesn’t just buy the app; it gives you access to flipbook.tv, the online repository where you can share up to 10 of your finished projects at a time as movies. The Web site is very well designed and provides excellent resources for learning how to create and share movies. There are even video tutorials to get you up and running very quickly. The support side of this site is the best I have ever seen for an iPhone app.

FlipBook does one job and does it well. There is, however, room for improvement. I would like to see shape drawing tools (as in circles, squares, rectangles), shading and gradients, and basic text entry. If the developer’s professional writing and photography career can serve as any indication, FlipBook will almost certainly develop, grow, and mature into something truly amazing.

Josh Anon also offers a free lite version of FlipBook that includes all of the same tools as the paid version. FlipBook Lite lets you create two movies with up to 10 frames and host one of them online. The full version lets you create an unlimited number of movies with up to 999 frames and four layers.

Using this app, I can’t help but think we are just scratching the surface of the iPhone/iPod touch platform’s capabilities. FlipBook serves as an excellent example of creative minds creating wonderful things.

FlipBook is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.x software update.

[Chester Baker is a technology and radio control car enthusiast from central Oklahoma.]

One glass is enough for me

2009-04-21T02:11:00.001-07:00

First Ever Mac OS X Botnet Confirmed

2009-04-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

Via Softpedia
The world's first Mac OS X botnet has reportedly been discovered. Symantec researchers Mario Ballano Barcena and Alfredo Pesoli said the malware was actually discovered back in January, and came courtesy of two trojans, previously reported of here on Softpedia.

According to Symantec's researchers, a Mac OS X botnet causes infected machines to mount denial of service attacks. The botnet employs a peer-to-peer engine, encryption and a structure that allows it to dynamically adapt, according to DailyMail.co.uk. The researchers described the malware as follows, according to ZDNet's Zero Day blog.

"The code indicates that, wherever possible, the author tried to use the most flexible and extendible approach when creating it – and therefore we would not be surprised to see a new, modified variant in the near future," the duo declared.

The Symantec researchers added (according to the CBC) that, "With malware authors showing an increasing interest in the Mac platform, we believe that more advanced [user interface] spoofing tricks may be seen in the future."

As noted above, the botnet comes thanks to two trojans confirmed by security firm Intego. OSX.Trojan.iServices.A and OSX.Trojan.iServices.B were found and documented in January, with Intego reporting that tens of thousands of users might have already become infected.

"Intego has discovered a new Trojan horse, OSX.Trojan.iServices.A, which is currently circulating in copies of Apple’s iWork 09 found on BitTorrent trackers and other sites containing links to pirated software," the security firm stated in a bulletin. "The version of iWork 09, Apple’s productivity suite, [is] complete and functional, but the installer contains an additional package called iWorkServices.pkg," Intego explained in January.

Next3D 3D movie player coming to Mac, PS3

2009-04-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

Next3D announced Monday that its 3D Movie player technology will be released for Macs and for Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console. The software will be free and will work in conjunction with Next3D’s content delivery service.

Next3D movies are encoded using technology that provides 1080P-resolution high-definition stereoscopic imagery, along with digital rights management, distribution and auditing mechanisms for content providers. The software made a splash at last month’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco; a public beta is expected to be made available soon for the Xbox 360 version.

Next3D’s technology is based around a proposed specification for the H.264 video standard already in use; the proposed spec adds support for compression of multi-view-based content. When paired with a 3D-capable television (several models are already available from Mitsubishi and Samsung) along with LCD “shutter glasses” and an emitter that synchronizes the glasses to the television, it makes it possible to view content in 3D without any color shifting, as is common with old-fashioned red/blue anaglyph glasses.

Doctor Says---Smoke Once in a Day

2009-04-19T23:47:00.003-07:00

Forget your password? Use your phone

2009-04-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

Via CNET
FireID was set to announce at RSA 2009 on Monday technology that allows people to access multiple Web sites on their mobile phone without having to remember all the passwords.

The FireID universal personal authenticator app turns any phone that runs Java into a one-time password generator and generates the password directly on the phone instantly so there is no risk of it being intercepted and no waiting for an SMS like with other password-generator systems, said Jenny Dugmore, chief executive of FireID.

The system also works with multiple applications and creates a unique encrypted password for each session. It identifies the app and the make and model of the phone and downloads a version of FireID that is specific for that phone rather than a generic version.

The only password the user needs to remember is the one to access the FireID app.

FireID runs on any phone that can run a Java app, and the technology is compliant with the open authentication standard so organizations using key fobs can use it too, Dugmore said.

There is a Blackberry version of the FireID app. Apple is testing it on its iPhone and FireID is in talks with Google, said Dugmore.

Lian Li Launches NC-09 Notebook Cooler

2009-04-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

Via Liain-Li
Lian Li launches latest NC-09 Notebook Cooler

Stylish and Effective Aluminum Design Cooling for Notebooks

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the NC-09 Notebook cooler pad. The brushed all aluminum black anodized structure has a huge 220mm 5V silent DC Fan with a blue LED and a large steel mesh which allows extra air-flow under the notebook. The Notebook Cooler has dual USB connectors with one mini USB power connector which can accept either a notebook power source, or a Universal 5V USB cell phone charger. In addition there is an on/off switch to facilitate ease of use. The mini USB provides power to the fan and other USB connectors (Fan uses 300MA only).

The NC-09 cooler has a three level height adjustment, or alternatively the smooth base panel can conveniently be placed on a flat surface or on one’s lap. The NC-09 is perfect for high end notebooks, since aluminum is four times more effective than steel to transfer and dissipate heat. The NC-09 has been designed for 12.1-, 14-, 15-, and 17-inch notebooks.

For more details on features for the NC-09 please go to the Lian-Li website: Lian Li NC-09 notebook cooler.

Panasonic Expands Lumix FS Line

2009-04-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

Via Panasonic

Just three months after announcing two new Panasonic FS-Series cameras, the company is at it again, this time with three new additions to the point-and-shoot Lumix family. Unfortunately, the DMC-FS12, DMC-FS42, and DMC-FS62 won’t be released in the U.S., but they will be available in Europe and Japan.

DMC-FS12

Panasonic’s DMC-FS12 is a 12.1 megapixel camera that boasts of a long battery life of 330 pictures. This camera has a 4x optical zoom lens that can open up to F2.8. The camera’s iA (Intelligent Auto) mode includes Mega O.I.S. image stabilization, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector, and Face Detection with digital red-eye correction. For viewing and framing pictures, this camera has a 2.7-inch 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD. You can record movies using WVGA (848x480), VGA (640x480), or QVGA (320x240) resolution at 30 fps. The DMC-FS12 comes with PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 photo editing and organizing software. The DMC-FS12 weighs approximately 0.258 pounds and will be available in silver, black, blue, pink, and green.

DMC-FS62

A 10.1 megapixel shooter, the DMC-FS62 boasts of its ability to take 370 pictures on a single charge. Like the DMC-FS12, this camera has a 4x optical zoom and a F2.8 LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens. Standard features include iA (Intelligent Auto) mode with MEGA O.I.S., Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector, and Face Detection with digital red-eye correction and the ability to recognize up to 15 faces in a scene. This camera has a slightly smaller viewing screen than the DMC-FS12 at 2.5 inches. The DMC-FS62 can record WVGA (848x480), VGA (640x480), and QVGA (320x240) movies at 30 fps. PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 accompanies the DMC-FS62. The DMC-FS62 weighs approximately 0.25 pounds and will be available in silver, black, red, blue, and pink.

DMC-FS42

The DMC-FS42 is very similar to the DMC-FS62, incorporating the same F2.8 LUMIX DC VARIO Lens with 4x Optical Zoom capabilities as well as the same 2.5-inch 230,000-dot clear LCD. What sets the DMC-FS42 apart is its ability to capture 390 pictures on a single charge. In addition, while the DMC-FS42’s automatic scene mode includes Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector, and Face Detection it does not offer MEGA O.I.S. This 10.1-megapixel camera can record videos using WVGA (848x480), VGA (640x480), and QVGA (320x240) resolution at 30 fps. To help you organize and edit your photos, PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 with Face Recognition is bundled with the camera. The DMC-FS42 weighs approximately 0.25 and will be available in silver, black, and pink.

Google offers top tip to help beat bots

2009-04-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Via IDG

Google has put a new spin on the CAPTCHA, a way of helping Web sites distinguish between human visitors and bots: It wants people to tell it which way is up in a series of randomly rotated images, a task that humans find easy and computers difficult.

When spammers started using software to automatically create thousands of Web-mail accounts on services such as Hotmail and Gmail from which to send their spam, the Web-mail operators turned to the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) to weed out automated applicants.

A typical CAPTCHA asks the visitor to look at an image containing a series of distorted letters and numbers set against a busy background, and to type in the sequence of characters they see. The idea is that a human can easily recognize the shapes of the letters, while a computer program will find it difficult to do so.

However, OCR (optical character recognition) software has become more sophisticated, forcing CAPTCHA developers to make their challenges so unreadable that many humans have trouble too.

Google’s answer is to show visitors randomly rotated images and ask them which way is up.

However, while the images will be randomly rotated, they will be carefully selected. First, Google will exclude images for which its own computers can readily identify the top, such as photographs showing landscapes with blue sky (easily detected), text (easily recognized) or portraits of people (there are many facial recognition applications on the market). Then, it will screen out images that humans find too difficult to orient (for example, abstract art, or overhead views, that don’t have a readily identifiable top) by conducting a sort of opinion poll.

That poll is the key to the process, as it allows Google to create a pool of appropriate images for which people agree on the correct orientation.

By challenging visitors with a series of images for which it knows the orientation, and one for which it doesn’t, Google can screen out the bots and steadily accumulate statistics about the unknown image: If visitors tend to agree which way is up, it’s appropriate for inclusion, and if they disagree, the image may be too difficult.

Google employees Rich Gossweiler, Maryam Kamvar and Shumeet Baluja describe the image selection process in a paper, “What’s Up CAPTCHA?” that they will present next Thursday at the WWW 2009 conference in Madrid.

They are not the first to consider using photographs in CAPTCHAs. For instance, in August 2007, Microsoft asked visitors to distinguish between cats and dogs in an attempt to stop the spam bots.

Recent advances in face recognition software, though, may have rendered that approach obsolete: Apple’s iPhoto application can already identify cats’ faces, but has trouble with dogs, suggesting that software capable of deliberately distinguishing between the two may not be far off.

However clever Google gets, though, the spammers may be cleverer. There is evidence that they are employing humans to crack the current crop of CAPTCHAs, presenting the challenges as a game, paying people in low-income countries to solve them—or reframing the CAPTCHAs as a way to gain access to porn sites. Against that kind of attack, there is little that Google can do.

Hulu planning iPhone app

2009-04-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

We’re big fans of video-streaming service Hulu, as evidenced by the fact that the site made it through the tough vetting process to win an Eddy Award. So, as you might expect, even the rumor that the service may be planning on building an iPhone application is enough to bring squeals of glee to the Macworld offices. Respectable, professional squeals of glee, naturally.

According to Silicon Alley Insider, Hulu, which is jointly owned by NBC and Fox, is in the process of bringing its streaming television catalog to iPhone. And, according to an industry executive that spoke with SAI, it’s going to be—and, no, we didn’t make this up—“badass.”

As the Insider points out, there are other video-streaming apps for the iPhone, including one for CBS’s TV.com and, of course, the default YouTube application included on every device for all your skateboarding dog and rickrolling needs. But if Hulu’s application can mimic the simplicity and effectiveness of its Web site (not to mention leveraging its brand recognition), it does have a shot at becoming the preeminent source for streaming video on the iPhone.

Would the app work over both Wi-Fi and the 3G cell connection? Silicon Alley Insider says yes, though that seems iffy: AT&T hasn’t always been thrilled with applications that might chew up a lot of bandwidth (or potentially compete with its own revenue streams).

Watching television on cell phones is already popular in other countries, such as Japan, and wireless providers have been trying to push it in the U.S, though it has yet to catch on, largely due to the added expense and limited content. A good Hulu app could go a long way towards changing that, especially if the company can manage to expand its content catalog. We'll tamp down on our excitement for now, but just imagine: the ability to watch Mark Wahlberg talk to animals no matter where we are? We have seen the future and it is glorious.

iPhone Game Roundup: Red Bull Air Race, Cosmic Nitro

2009-04-18T02:17:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld

We’re clearing out our mailbox of some recent stuff that’s come our way, such as an aerobatic racing game, a new title from the maker of Galcon, football/soccer management game and an imaginative game involving flatulence.
Red Bull Air Race Lite Version

Unlike most “Lite” versions, Red Bull Air Race still costs $1. But or that, yu get to customize a 3D aerobatic airplane and put it through its paces in sky race tracks modeled after the official Abu Dhabi and San Diego events.

Cosmic Nitro

The end of the world is nigh! You must defend the world through nine different invasions. Cosmic Nitro sports five enemies, 9 invasions, “Apocalypse Mode,” a secret level and more. This $1 game is from the maker of the hugely addictive iPhone title Galcon.

Soccer Manager

In Soccer Manager, you can manage a top European soccer/football team and guide them to league and cup success using your managerial skills. You negotiate player contracts, buy and sell players, manage finances and do everything else a soccer team manager does. It’s priced at $5.

Gravity Well

Described by its developer as a mix of pinball and mini golf, Gravity Well forces you to use the gravity pulls of your orb around 36 environments that include deadly threats like lasers, zappers, crushers and spikes. It’s $4.

SkyFart

Will you fart enough to get to the top? SkyFart is a $2 game that’s zany and irreverent. You play as Bill, who has some flatulence issues that allow him to fly. Press on Bill to make him fart and fly as high as you can.

iKitty

iKitty is a $1 virtual pet for your iPhone, an adorable cat you can play with as long as you take care of it — it’ll run away if it’s not happy, and the app will quit for one half hour before the iKitty will accept you again.

Iso

A $1 falling blocks game, Iso has you matching three or more colored blocks for points. Iso becomes more difficult over times, sports auto save, lets you listen to your own music, and features natural gesture control.

PuzzleQuiz

Priced at $2, PuzzleQuiz lets you create customizable puzzles using personal images and photos; it also has a full-on puzzle quiz game with three difficulty levels and 15 puzzles depicting famous places in the world.

Marble Tactics

In Marble Tactics, you tap on a marble to select it then drop it into an empty space. Arrange the marbles in lines of five or more of the same kind to remove them from the board; every move that doesn’t make a match results in three new marbles being added. Special pieces will grant you specific bonuses. It costs $2.

AlphaBlox

AlphaBox is a puzzle game in which you must slide falling letters into place to form English words. You can swipe left or right on the screen to guide the letters, watching out for bombs and rubber tiles. It costs $2.

Flower Garden

Plant seeds, water them and watch them bloom — it’s not so much a game as a simulation of what it’s like to grow flowers from seeds. Flower Garden costs $3. It features more than 20 different seeds to unlock, the ability to mix bouquets you can send to others with personalized cards and custom backgrounds, and more.

Sky Burger

Sky Burger, on sale for a buck, is from the creator of Scoops. Similar gameplay: Stack the contents of a deluxe burger to the sky, and don’t forget the top bun when you’re done. Build over 50 unique burger orders that grow taller and taller.

Tangled

In Tangled is a puzzle game that lets you “untangle” lines and make sure they don’t overlap. You touch the dots and drag the lines to untangle them. The game includes 20 pre-made puzzles and also includes randomly generated ones. It costs $1.

Gmail Now Tells You Who You Should Email

2009-04-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

Via GmailBlog
Gmail continues to get better and better. Within the last month, we’ve seen additions such as an Undo Send feature and YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, Yelp Preview capabilities as well as many other previous additions. Today, Gmail added a “suggest more recipients” feature which is useful but also a tad creepy. You see, the suggest more recipients feature can suggest people you should email based on previous conversations.

In other words, if you’ve had threads going with a group of people, the next time you add a couple of those recipients to the address field, Gmail can recommend other people you might want to include as well. For example, if you often send family photos to your mom, dad, husband, sister, brother, and grandma, Gmail can now suggest adding your sister, brother, grandma, and husband after you add your mom and dad’s email addresses to the letter. The feature is triggered after you’ve added at least two recipients to the email. To add any of the suggested addresses, all you have to do is click on the suggestion links.

The best part of this feature is that you don’t have to have all of the contacts in your Gmail contact manager. Instead of creating and managing groups or finding an old message and hitting reply-all, this feature will be a quick way to start a new thread with the same group of people you’ve previously emailed.

Enabling the new suggest more recipients feature is the same as with other Gmail Labs options – just head to the Labs tab under Settings and turn on the option.

Facebook's Terms of Service Vote Begins

2009-04-17T23:58:00.001-07:00

Via Facebook
We wrote earlier that Facebook was going to allow site users to vote on its new Terms of Service. Well, the polls are now open, and users can start voiting.

You probably remember the massive explosion that happened when Facebook modified its Terms of Service (ToS) such that it implied Facebook owned all your content, forever. They eventually backed down, reverting to the prior ToS, but the damage was done.

As Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said when they first announced the vote:

"Companies like ours need to develop new models of governance. Rather than simply reissue a new Terms of Use, the changes we’re announcing today are designed to open up Facebook so that users can participate meaningfully in our policies and our future."

At any rate, voting has begun and you can vote here. Voting will remain open until next Thursday, April 23, at 11:59 AM PDT. Facebook says:

You will have two options on the ballot, as shown below: 1) the new Facebook Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR), which incorporate feedback from users and experts received during the 30-day comment period, or 2) the current Terms of Use, which were developed by Facebook and did not go through an outside comment period.

One thing to remember, though: the results are not binding unless 30% of "active" users vote. An "active user" is defined as "those who have logged into the site within the past 30 days." That's a concern for Julius Harper Jr., the man who formed the "People Against the New Terms of Service" group. He told PC World:

"My concern is, how realistic it is to expect 30 percent of people who have logged into Facebook at least once in the previous 30 days to participate? That's easily tens of millions of people."

Yes, since Facebook just passed 200 million users (not all of which, admittedly, may qualify as "active") that would be quite a number of votes required. Still, all we can do is wait and see.

Microsoft Software - 1 Billion Users per Day, 500 Million Pirates

2009-04-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Via Softpedia

Out of 1 million people who use Microsoft software on a daily basis only half have paid for the licenses and the associated rights to do so, according to the Redmond company. In his keynote at the Public Safety Symposium in Redmond, Washington on April 15, 2009, Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer, indicated that no less than 500 million of the users running Microsoft software products out of the 1 billion per day were not paying a single cent to the company. The Redmond giant has so far been unable to do anything else but curb the piracy phenomenon working with governments from
markets around the world.

“Now, Microsoft is a company that sells products in 191 different countries around the world. We have a billion people every single day use our products. Only 500 million of them pay us for it so that's sort of an interesting business model, but it works somehow,” Turner revealed.

Microsoft is of course fighting software piracy worldwide, but at the same time it regards pirates as victims first of all, and is emphasizing the need for them to buy legitimate software. However, the Redmond company did in the past take measures to make it easier for its software to be pirated.

An illustrative example in this context is cutting out the Reduced Functionality Mode in Windows Vista with the availability of Service Pack 1. Microsoft removed the kill switch that rendered non-genuine copies of the operating system useless. Moving onward, the Redmond company will not allow RFM to make a comeback in Windows 7, and will make sure that pirated copies of the next iteration of the Windows client behave in the same manner as Windows Vista SP1.

“But clearly the amount of societal change, environmental change, political change is a very, very interesting time, and we've not ever seen or experienced certainly the global macroeconomic issues like this in our lifetime. So, this is a very big inflection point from a lot of different dimensions. I mean, you think about what's going on and the amount of unrest and the amount of uncertainty quite honestly that the global economy is experiencing right now, it's unprecedented,” Turner added.

YouTube vs. Hulu: Fight!

2009-04-17T07:13:00.001-07:00

Via Hothardware
YouTube on Thursday took aim at its biggest competitor, Hulu, announcing it would begin offering movies, TV shows and content from studios such as Crackle/Sony Pictures, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, the BBC, Anime Network, Cinetic Rights Management, Current TV, Discovery, Documentary Channel, First Look Studios, IndieFlix, National Geographic and more.

YouTube dominates online video viewing, but Hulu, while seeing far less visitors, is doing much better at monetizing its content (why not, it has the alien version of Alec Baldwin, after all?).

YouTube's masthead will include a Shows tab, to get to the premium content (above). If you're logged in it will also have a Subscriptions tab, for quicker access to your subscriptions.

Right now, while the site has already added a ton of content, it's mostly old TV shows, hardly a threat to Hulu. But unless studio negotiations grind to a complete halt, you'd expect that to change in the near future.YouTube's masthead will include a Shows tab, to get to the premium content (above). If you're logged in it will also have a Subscriptions tab, for quicker access to your subscriptions.

Right now, while the site has already added a ton of content, it's mostly old TV shows, hardly a threat to Hulu. But unless studio negotiations grind to a complete halt, you'd expect that to change in the near future.

They do have a nice array of older animation and anime, at least.

At the same time YouTube announced Google TV Ads Online. It's exactly what it sounds like: ads that can be inserted in the commercial breaks of TV shows, or pre- or post-roll.

We're excited to announce the beta launch of Google TV Ads Online. This is a new feature of Google TV Ads that lets advertisers place commercials into the ad breaks of TV programs watched online. It works in the same way as Google TV Ads: advertisers can target specific programs and select their cost-per-thousand (CPM) bid. Based on their targets, budget and bid, ads are inserted in the same program breaks that were designed for advertising when the programs first aired. (Ads may also be shown "pre-roll", before the program begins, or after the online presentation of the program "post-roll.")

You didn't expect an absence of ads, now did you?

But Hulu isn't standing still: according to the WSJ, Hulu is trying to seal a deal with ABC that will acquire rights to ABC's shows for a 10% to 30% stake in Hulu (launched last year, Hulu is jointly owned by NBC Universal and News Corp.).

Now that would be a big win for Hulu, as ABC has kept its online content on ABC.com right now. The WSJ reports that YouTube is apparently trying to squelch the deal, but that the odds are against that happening.

YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in 2006; Credit Suisse analyst Spence Wang said in a recent note to investors that he predicted that YouTube will lose $470 million in 2009.

Recession hits for real, but Google unfazed

2009-04-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Google's revenue growth rate has been slowing, but for the first time since it went public, the company's quarter-to-quarter revenue declined. (Click to enlarge.)
(Credit: Google)

Via CNET

It took awhile, but the recession has definitely sunk its teeth into Google's financial performance.

"No company is recession-proof. Google is absolutely feeling the impact," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call Thursday after reporting first-quarter financial results.

The company, as is customary, reported results that most business only dream of, recession or not. Its net income grew 8 percent to $1.42 billion and its revenue, excluding commissions paid to advertising partners, grew 10 percent to $4.07 billion. It generated free cash flow of $2 billion for the quarter, the vast majority of it derived from money advertisers pay Google when people click on ads next to search results.

But everything is most definitely not coming up roses. Google's revenue, after ascending steadily quarter after quarter, peaked in the fourth quarter and declined 3 percent in the first quarter. Google's business is still relatively strong, and it's been hit by the recession less than many in the tech world, but it's been hit nonetheless.

Curtailed clicks
Why? In short, because people are buying less and advertisers consequently are advertising less. As an Efficient Frontier study released earlier this week showed, advertisers are getting more conservative by bidding for search terms where there is a proven return on investment (ROI).

Here's Schmidt's explanation, including his assertion that the company's overall business of showing ads next to search results is still intact:

Users are still searching, but buying less. What that means is the ads are converting less. There's more window- and comparison-shopping, purchasing lower-priced goods. In other words, users are doing the right thing. They're doing what you'd expect them to do given the enormous economic changes around us.

Advertisers are still spending, but they're lowing their bids to manage their ROI. They're behaving correctly in our view. One way to say that is our advertising model is working. The user and advertising behavior we're seeing is entirely rational, and the auction model is working for both.

In short, the Google Chief Economist Hal Varian's "Wal-Mart effect", in which people under financial pressure would steer more of their purchasing behavior through search engines in an attempt to get the best deals, has its limits.

Creeping pessimism
To put this in context, let's retrace some history over the previous four earnings conference calls. The company's statements have grown gradually more pessimistic:

First quarter 2008: "We've looked at this really carefully, and we do not see an impact as of this time," Schmidt said. "We're well positioned should economics change. We continue to do well because our model is so targeted, and targeted (advertising) does well in most scenarios."

Second quarter 2008: "Despite the weakness in the economy, advertising revenue seems to be holding up remarkably well in most sectors. I think this illustrates the point that we have made several times: during periods of slow economic growth, the last thing an advertiser wants to cut is its spending on search-based advertising," said Google chief economist Hal Varian.

Third quarter 2008: " "It's clear the economic situation is so fluid that we're all in uncharted territory...It's clear the global economic situation is worse than predictions just a month ago," Schmidt said, and Varian added, "When there is a recessionary event, and people are counting pennies and researching purchases, this potentially has an upside for Google...We think this kind of effect could work to Google's benefit potentially."

Fourth quarter 2008: "In some ways, the fourth quarter was the easy part," Schmidt said, when the economy was in "uncharted territory. Now it's clear we're in recession. We don't know how long this period will last. We're certainly prepared to get through this (with) no problem."

So yes, Google has been getting more cautious about the economy and its effects, but Thursday's assessment was the most sober by far. In contrast, other companies including Yahoo saw these effects sooner and issued cautionary statements earlier.

Through a Google lens darkly
One curiosity about the timing disparity is that Google, through analysis of search activity through what the company calls the "Google lens," has a view on the economy most other companies lack. Where a business such as Proctor & Gamble has to look at sales data and surveys to project consumer sentiment, Google can look directly at what people are searching for.

Searches on "bankruptcy" increased 53 percent in the last year, and those for "unemployment" more than doubled, said Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management.

So what comes next? Google clearly isn't done with search advertising, and there are plenty of opportunities for more money: Google can improve search results overall, drawing ever more search traffic. It can show ads more often, as long as it maintains the quality standards to avoid showing irrelevant or inappropriate ads. It can draw more advertisers to search advertising, increasing the bidding for search terms.

And of course, the company is working on any number of other projects, from closely aligned ones such as ads on image search results, to more distant ones such as graphical "display" ads on YouTube that are targeted at users based on their Web-surfing behavior, to remote ones such as charging subscriptions for online office productivity tools. Such areas are subsidized by search results today, but there could come a day when they stand on their own.

Even though the recession's teeth took a bite out of Google's results, even though Google has trimmed a number of projects that didn't pass muster, and even though the company's employee count actually dropped for the first time, the company still has plenty of money to invest in its other areas.

"We think Google is now well placed for the recovery as it occurs It appears (advertisers') shift to online ROI...is outpacing, on a relative basis, any on loss of economic activity. We benefit from that," Schmidt said. "Our priorities remain unchanged. Basically, long-term growth."

Sony Shipping OLED Walkman In Japan

2009-04-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Via Hothardware

Somewhere, someday, we'll see OLEDs everywhere. You can pretty much bank on it. Unfortunately, you may be wearing inch-thick glasses and struggling to read your medicine labels before such a prophecy comes to fruition. That said, Sony's slowly but surely working towards that goal by first introducing a mega-expensive OLED TV, and now, by shipping its OLED-equipped Walkman.

The long awaited X Series device is gearing up to go on sale in Japan starting next week, and while the general design doesn't look at that extraordinary, it's the display technology that has everyone buzzing. The panel you see isn't a typical LCD; rather, it's a super bright, super crisp and super eco-friendly OLED. It's expected to start at around $400 for the 16GB model, while the 32GB version will obviously run you a bit more. Those in Japan will also get to choose from red or black colors and they'll get to enjoy the built-in wireless, web browser and FM tuner, too.

Now, if only we had a solid date for a US launch, we'd really be ready to let loose and get excited.

Digg to make the DiggBar an opt-in experience

2009-04-15T20:27:00.001-07:00

Via CNET News
In response to a wash of negative user and media feedback, Digg is making a few key changes to the DiggBar, the company's URL shortening and Web page-framing service.

Within the next week Digg is turning off the DiggBar for all of its unregistered users, who will be sent directly to each site's main page without the DiggBar or a shortened link--just like it was before the DiggBar even existed. Additionally, for those who are registered with Digg, there will be an option to turn it back on or off on a permanent basis.

Despite the backlash, Digg's vice president of engineering continues to push that the DiggBar's done good things for both Digg and the sites it's linking to. In a company blog post on the upcoming changes, he notes that "roughly 45 percent of all Digging activity is now happening on the DiggBar," which means users are placing their votes off Digg's main site. Quinn also notes that a quarter of the users are using the DiggBar's related stories feature (which also appears on Digg's main site) along with a 10 percent increase in the number of shared, shortened DiggURLs.

Quinn also said that some of the things Digg has learned from the DiggBar will be put to use in the company's browser extensions, which means we could see the random Digg story link, and the number of page views a story has received inside of Digg's Firefox Toolbar.

eBay to Spin Off Skype; IPO in 2010

2009-04-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

Via Hothardware
Recently, it was reported that the founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, were attempting to buy the company back from eBay. They can forget about that, however. eBay announced on Tuesday it will spin off Skype into its own company, beginning with an IPO in the first half of 2010.

They said, however, that:

Specific timing of the IPO will be based on market conditions.

Translation: still in a recession? No IPO.

This news comes a day after eBay sold StumbleUpon back to its founders.

In that case, since eBay seems ready to divest itself of subsidiaries that it feels have "limited synergies with eBay and PayPal," which is exactly what the company said about StumbleUpon, why "no sale?"

Well, eBay paid $3.1 billion for Skype in 2005, including bonus payments. Reports were that the offer coming from Zennstrom and Friis was going to be around $2 billion. eBay probably feels it can get more from an IPO, or at least stir the pot for more cash from Zennstrom and Friis.

Last year, Skype generated $551 million in revenues, up 44% from 2007, while registered user numbers increased to 405 million at the end 2008, up 47% from 2007.

eBay finished down $0.25 to $14.38, but was up nearly 3% to $14.81 in after-hours trading.

Nikon Announces D5000 DSLR with HD Video

2009-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Via Hothardware

Nikon introduced the D5000 DSLR today. This new camera targets photo enthusiasts and new DSLR users with its multitude of features including a new 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD monitor and HD video recording capabilities. The D5000 also incorporates many technologies found in Nikon’s pro-level DSLRs such as Nikon’s EXPEED image processing system and 3D Color Matrix Metering II.

This 12.3 megapixel camera can capture high definition video with ease. HD movie clips (1,280 x 720) can be recorded at 24 frames per second with sound. Nikon’s D-Movie Mode and expanded automatic Scene Modes are also available to assist users with video capture. D-Movie clips are saved as Motion JPEG AVI files.

The D5000’s 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD lets users swing out the LCD for easier viewing when the camera is not held at eye level. Of course, the LCD can also be stored in a normal position fitted securely within the camera back. For added protection when not in use, the D5000’s LCD can be stowed with the LCD tucked against the camera’s back. In combination with the D5000’s four Live View autofocus shooting modes, the rotating LCD gives users the ability to shoot from a number of creative angles.

One-button Live View activation on the D5000 now features Subject Tracking autofocus which can lock on a moving subject and maintain focus. With Subject Tracking autofocus, the camera will maintain focus even if the subject leaves the frame and returns. The D5000 also offers Face Priority AF which can detect up to five faces in the scene. Wide Area AF and Normal Area AF are also available.

The D5000 has an 11-point auto focus system that uses Nikon’s Scene Recognition System with Face Detection. Nikon claims the D5000 offers best-in-class focusing speed and accuracy. Single-point AF, Dynamic-area AF, and Auto-area AF are available.

The D5000 is compatible with Nikon’s assortment of AF-S NIKKOR interchangeable lenses. When using a NIKKOR VR lens, users will receive the benefits of Nikon VR image stabilization while recording videos as well as still images. The D5000 can also work in combination with the optional GP-1 GPS Unit for geotagging photos with latitude, longitude, altitude, and time information.

For users who are upgrading from a point-and-shoot digital camera, the D5000 includes 19 automatic Scene Modes for easy image capture. The D5000 also includes a set of in-camera editing features so you can edit a photo without a computer. Retouch features include a Soft Filter effect, Perspective Control, and Color Outline. When using one of the retouch features, the D5000 will save the edited image as a separate JPEG so you don’t have to worry about losing the original picture.

The D5000 supports a normal ISO range of ISO 200 to 3200 as well as a Lo 1 setting of ISO 100 or a Hi 1 setting of ISO 6400 for added versatility. The camera’s burst speed is four frames per second.

The D5000 with an AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens will be available later this month for an estimated selling price of $849.95. The D5000 will also be available in a body-only configuration for an estimated price of $729.95.

Cameras that double as HD camcorders

2009-04-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld
If you’re serious about video, an HD camcorder is the only way to go. But if you take a lot more pictures than video and are in the market for a digital SLR camera, you might be able to pull double duty out of your next purchase.

The $1,000 Nikon D90 not only is a very good camera, but also lets you record 1,280-by-720 video at 24p. Canon’s $2,700 Eos 5D Mark II steps you up to full 1,080p resolution, and the company also recently released the $799 EOS Rebel T1i, the first digital SLR in its lower-cost Rebel line to include full HD video capture (720p HD video at 30 frames per second or 1080p HD video at 20 frames per second).

Sanyo also offers several options in its Dual Cameras series. The $500 Xacti VPC-FH1BK, for example, is both a 1080p AVCHD camcorder and an 8-megapixel digital camera (with the form factor of a camcorder). And the $200 VPC-CG10BK shoots 720p video and 10-megapixel stills, and includes a 5x optical zoom.

As the convergence of digital cameras and high-definition camcorders contiunes, you can expect to see more of these hybrid devices on the market.

Google opens update software to scrutiny

2009-04-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Via Cnet News
In an attempt to better show what its software is up to, Google has released the source code of its Google Update software, a project code-named Omaha that can automatically install new versions of programs, including the Chrome browser and Google Earth.

"Some users can be surprised to find this program running, and at Google, we don't like disappointing our users. We've been working hard to address these concerns, and releasing the source code for Omaha is our attempt to make the purpose of Google Update totally transparent," Myles Jordan of Google's software engineering team and Michael Smith of its product management team said in a blog post Friday.

Google believes in automatic updates of software so security vulnerabilities can be patched quickly, and Google Update is the tool that permits automatic downloading and installation of a new version in the background so it's ready to run the next time the program is launched.

Sharing source code can allay concerns about what exactly software is up to, but Google also hopes that others will be able to use Omaha.

"Keeping software up-to-date is hard. So if you're thinking of developing your own auto-updater, or have already started, we hope that the code we are releasing today will be helpful to you," the Google employees said.

The company also released an Omaha developer guide for those wishing to use the software. Omaha is governed by the Apache License 2.0, Google's preferred open-source software license.

Search Google Images By Color, Type and More

2009-04-12T22:40:00.001-07:00

Via Hothardware
Sometimes when searching for images on the web, you have a very specific look in mind. A color, a drawing vs. photograph, only extra-large images.

With that in mind, Google's rolled out several filters on its image searches that allow users to do just that.

Need photographs of purple orchids? Got it:

How about only photos of orchids that have been used in news reports?

Or line drawings of signs that are mostly red (Go Badgers!):

You can even get just small images - for thumbnails, avatars and the like - of, say, red doors.

Keep in mind that the search still isn't perfect, as you can see with the red door search above. If an image has been tagged with "door," it might show up in the results even if there's no door in it. And there's also the classic rock band, The Doors.

Near the top of the search page, there are three drop-downs: Image sizes, type of content and colors. You can filter the images using combination of the three.

From @Gmail to @Yahoo: What Your Personal E-Mail Provider Says About You

2009-04-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Via CIO
Almost everyone has a personal e-mail account today, and which provider you choose says a lot about who you are and what you stand for.

@mac.com
An Apple Fanboy to the extreme, you have either an elegantly-designed tattoo of Steve Jobs on your body or an iPod pocket sewn into all of your clothing.
TYPICAL USER: Usually found in the hippest non-chain coffee shop, typing on a $3,000-precision-aluminum-unibody-enclosed MacBook Pro, white earbuds in proper position and iPhone 3G at the ready. And if Apple invented a laptop with a cumbersome wheel instead of a keyboard, you'd buy it. Fact.

@gmail.com
When Gmail rolled out in 2004, you thought you were pretty darn special because someone had invited you use the free service and you could ditch your now-passé @yahoo.com account.
TYPICAL USER: Thirtysomethings who are trying to feel as cool as twentysomethings and who also hate Microsoft (mostly because they think it's cool to hate Microsoft) and have entrusted entirely too much of their personal information to those "Do No Evil" Google guys.

@yahoo.com
Yahoo! was such the place to be in the late '90s—with its personalized portal technology—and you loved having a non-work-e-mail account to do all kinds of secret e-mail-forwarding stuff.
TYPICAL USER: Non-IT-industry worker who has been too lazy to sign up for Gmail.

@aol.com
Having that handle was da bomb in the 1990s...and then AOL Mail bombed as dial-up service was left for dead by DSL and broadband ISPs. AOL has since shed millions of its former AOL Mail devotees who loved nothing more than to hear "You've Got Mail!"
TYPICAL USER: You fit one of these two categories: You qualify to have the AARP magazine delivered to you, and you'll be damned if you're going to give up your 'granny1934@aol.com' address. Or, there are those on the slightly younger side: Soccer moms who still run Windows 95 because their husband, who has an @comcast account linked to his Microsoft Outlook, is too cheap to buy a new computer, especially when "the kids will just ruin it with malware from Facebook."

@compuserve.com
A big blast from the long-distant past (think 1979, for its first e-mail service) that's owned by AOL....and is very much still in business. Who knew?
TYPICAL USER: Deceased.

@hotmail.com
Microsoft's hotmail is still going strong as "Windows Live Hotmail," claiming 270 million users worldwide in 2008.
TYPICAL USER: A buttoned-down guy or gal with a deep love of all-things-Microsoft and intense dislike of everybody else (especially those mac.com fanboys).

@operamail.com
Hey, um...it's free!
TYPICAL USER: Anti-establishment to the core, you LOVE your @operamail.com account simply because everyone constantly asks you "Dude, what is Operamail?"

No E-mail Account
"What is e-mail again?"
TYPICAL USER: You are in your late teens or early 20s and you equate sending e-mails with using a fax machine, watching broadcast TV or buying CDs—lame. You text and/or IM, and that's it. TTYL.

Obama's open data era 'coming soon'

2009-04-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

Via LinuxWorld
The U.S. may be close to making it easier for application developers to tear into government data as early as next month on its new Web site, data.gov.

Meanwhile, the Web 2.0 era of data openness will get a boost next week by the availability for download of campaign and lobbying data collected by a private group.

The Center for Responsive Politics, best known for its OpenSecrets.org Web site, has been standardizing, cleaning and organizing campaign and lobbying data on its Web site. It now intends to allow anyone to download compressed CSV text files of its data without charge beginning sometime next week.

It is the center's hope that application developers will take the data and merge, combine and otherwise mash it up with other data sets to reveal new associations and patterns in lobbying and campaign activities.

"We are hoping that putting this data in more hands has a greater impact," said Massie Ritsche, the center's spokesman. The group is calling the new approach an "open data" model.

The center's goal is similar to the approach President Obama's new federal CIO, Vivek Kundra, intends to take. Kundra plans to make federal data similarly available for the same purpose on data.gov.

As late as last Saturday, there was a message on the data.gov site announcing that it would launch in late May, but it has since been replaced with a less definitive message: Coming Soon.

One of Obama's first acts as president was to issue a memorandum to all federal department heads that he wanted a government that was transparent and participatory. There are questions about how willingly or quickly the government will be in converting data into open formats, but one area expected to get a lot of attention will be lobbying activities, (especially among IT vendors) around the massive stimulus plan.

U.S. agencies already make much of their data available online and have built their methods and approaches for searching through that data. The approach that the Obama administration intends to take is to make the underlying data available in standard formats, and in doing so, harness private sector creativity and technical acumen to make the data available in new ways.

Private groups are already acting in advance of the unveiling of data.gov to stimulate discussion about how the government should collect and organize its data. The Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that is pushing for transparency is, for instance, suggesting methods for achieving openness.

The foundation this week unveiled designs for forms and search templates as a means to more quickly disclose the activities of lobbyists.

John Wonderlich, the foundation's policy director, said the federal government will collect and organize the data in a way that will help developers. Wonderlich said the group has "pretty strong hopes" that the needs of developers will be well-served.

Nero 9 - Lite Edition

2009-04-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Nero 9 is the next generation of the world's most trusted integrated digital media and home entertainment software suite. It features new cutting-edge functionality that makes enjoying digital media content simple.

This easy-to-use yet powerful multimedia suite, gives you the freedom to create, rip, copy, burn, edit, share, and upload online. Whatever you want music, video, photo, and data enjoy and share with family and friends anytime, anywhere.

With easy-to-use Nero StartSmart command center, your digital life has never been more flexible, feasible, and fun.

Highlights:
- Fast and easy rip, burn, Autobackup, and copy functions
- Backup files to CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs
- Create professional-looking DVD movies with integrated 3D menus
- Copy, burn, share, upload, and create music mixes like a DJ
- Convert music, photos, and DVDs to play on your iPod and other mobile devices
- Quick photo and video upload to My Nero, YouTube and MySpace
- Watch, record, pause, and customize your live TV experience
- Play AVCHD and other HD formats

Included Features:
- Nero Burning ROM
- Nero Express
- Nero DiscSpeed
- Nero DriveSpeed
- Nero InfoTool
- Nero RescueAgent
- ControlCenter
Uninstall older Nero version before installing Nero 9 Lite.

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http://rapidshare.com/files/219450928/N3RO9_LITE_EDITION-www.rapidhackerz.com.rar

Microsoft airs second laptop ad, same as the first

2009-04-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Via Macworld
Microsoft’s new ad campaign continues with a second installment of an average Joe—or, I guess, an average Giampolo, in this case—looking for a laptop. Unlike previous candidate Lauren, Giampolo bills himself as “technically savvy,” so Microsoft offers to buy him whatever laptop he finds for $1,500 or less. Where does it end, Microsoft? Will you buy a laptop for everyone in the world?

As with Lauren’s adventure, Giampolo decides to check out a Mac during his shopping spree by manhandling a MacBook, which he calls “so sexy.” Ultimately, of course—surprise!—he decides Macs aren’t for him, because “Macs, to me, are about aesthetics more than they are the computing power.” He goes on to say “I don’t want to pay for the brand, I want to pay for the computer.” So for those keeping score at home, that's 1) Macs are more expensive and 2) Macs aren't very powerful. This is like a greatest hits compilation of Mac gibes. What's next, Microsoft: Macs can't run PC software? (Actually, I'd stay away from that one if I were you, guys.)

There’s not a lot here to say that we didn’t already say about Microsoft’s first ad—in fact, the “plot” of this second spot follows the first almost identically: Microsoft offers money for laptop, person looks for laptop, person considers a Mac but decides not to buy (in the process making a backhanded compliment), person buys an HP laptop. And the dreaded word “Windows” is never mentioned.

Nothing here is surprising, and frankly, nothing here even really needs responding to. These are advertisements: of course they’re skewed to present a certain reality. So are Apple's and every other company's. Still, it’s fascinating to see Microsoft continually acknowledge Apple as its major rival—five or ten years ago, MS wouldn’t have even bothered. It makes sense for Apple to present itself as the scrappy upstart—that works for them. I don't know that anyone buys Microsoft as the underdog.

If nothing else, I think these ads say to me that Microsoft is all too aware of just how prominent Apple’s mindshare is—even if its marketshare hasn’t reached threatening numbers. But no: Microsoft is worried enough that it's decided the potential danger of mentioning Macs in the ads is outweighed by the potential danger of not mentioning them.

Check the full spot after the jump.

Bluetooth 3.0 Coming April 21

2009-04-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

It’s official: Bluetooth 3.0 is coming. The Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) will officially launch Bluetooth 3.0 on April 21st. Previously called Bluetooth UWB, the new Bluetooth 3.0 standard is expected to deliver faster short-range wireless speeds that are at least 18 times faster than the current 2.0 + EDR version. More specifically, the standard is said to support up to 480 Mb/s. Even over distances between 6 feet and 30 feet, the Bluetooth 3.0 data rate is expected to be at least 53.3 Mb/s, and more likely in the range of about 100 Mb/s. Bluetooth 3.0 also includes improvements that will reduce the chances of disconnections when syncing.

With the addition of Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) technology, Bluetooth 3.0 will be able to transfer data at speeds that are comparable to Wi-Fi. The Bluetooth 3.0 standard enables the Bluetooth frequency to piggyback on the Wi-Fi 802.11 protocol, essentially allowing for Bluetooth over Wi-Fi. With this 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer (PAL), Bluetooth will be used to create the pairing between two devices but the data will actually transfer over Wi-Fi. In order to take advantage of the higher transfer speeds, both devices must have both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities. If Wi-Fi isn’t present on one of the devices, Bluetooth will be used for data transfer.

The Bluetooth SIG claims Bluetooth 3.0 can wirelessly transfer an entire music library, a complete DVD, or a vacation’s worth of photos in a matter of seconds. In addition to increased speed, Bluetooth 3.0 could also feature Enhanced Power Control which would reduce headset disconnections when you put the phone in a pocket or purse.

When it comes to wireless data transfer technology, Bluetooth has always remained in the shadow of Wi-Fi. For serious personal networking connections, many people thought Bluetooth would never offer fast enough speeds to get the job done. With the new Bluetooth 3.0 standard, this could change since Bluetooth 3.0 will rival the bandwidth of Wireless USB and will outpace Wi-Fi.

We don’t yet have any details about Bluetooth 3.0-ready devices, but many analysts expect the Bluetooth SIG to release a list of manufacturers that have products ready to go on April 21. Intel is one chip maker that is likely to be on board. We’re hoping consumer-ready Bluetooth 3.0 devices won’t be too far off from the launch, but it will take some time before our mobile phones and other gear fully take advantage of the technology.