Software Update Disables Hacked IPhones

Apple Inc. has issued a software update that creates problems for iPhones modified to work with a cellular carrier other than AT&T Inc. and disables at least some unofficial programs installed on other iPhone handsets.

Apple warned earlier this week that the iPhone update _ which adds access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and fixes some security flaws _ could permanently disable phones running programs that untether phones from its exclusive partner's network.

Several gadget enthusiast Web sites, including Gizmodo and Engadget, as well as online postings from hacker communities reported that, depending on which unlocking program was used, certain modified phones no longer worked after they installed Thursday's software update. In some cases, the phones worked, but only with the original SIM card that ties the phone to AT&T.

Source: washingtonpost.com

The update -- iPhone V1.1.1 -- patches one bug in Bluetooth, two in the device's mail service, and seven in its Safari browser. U.S.-CERT is "strongly encouraging" users to review the advisory and follow best practices in determining what updates should be applied.

The fixes come out amid a lot of brouhaha in the research and hacker communities about software for sale that would enable the smartphone to work on any service provider with a standard GSM SIM card. Just this past Monday, though, Apple warned users that unlocking the programs used to connect the device to cellular networks other than AT&T (NYSE: T)'s causes "irreparable damage." The company also warned that the modifications would probably cause the iPhone to be inoperable when the updates were released.

It's not yet clear what the total effect will be from the fixes on unlocked devices, though reports are surfacing online that the update has disabled at least some unlocked iPhones. It's being reported on Gizmodo that the software update may make unlocked iPhones unusable.

Source: informationweek.com

Tags: bluetooth | California | disable | HACKED | iBricks | iPhone | itunes | mail service | New York | Patch | Phone | safari | San Jose | security fixes | software | Software Update | Wi-Fi

XP Reprieve: Microsoft Gives OEMs Five More Months

Microsoft is extending the time it will allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and retail outlets to sell PCs with Windows XP as customers continue to balk on upgrading to Windows Vista.

Microsoft had planned to stop selling XP through OEMs and retailers on Jan. 31, 2008, while custom system builders have until Jan. 31, 2009, to pre-install XP on machines. But because sales of Vista PCs have not been as strong as expected, OEMs and retailers have asked Microsoft to extend XP's availability. OEMs and retailers will now have until June 30, 2008, to sell PCs with Vista preinstalled on machines, Microsoft said. Retailers also can sell XP out of the box until that time if they choose, the company said.

In fact, some PC makers are selling Vista-equipped systems with an XP Pro recovery disc to those who request one so that it can be used in case the purchaser isn't happy with the new Microsoft OS.

Source: pcworld.com

Microsoft's official explanation for the move is that too many customers have yet to complete the transition from Windows XP to Windows Vista. "There are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch," said Mike Nash, Microsoft's Windows product manager, in a statement posted on the company's Web site.

While that may be, a number of signs have emerged in recent months that Windows Vista's problems go beyond timing. A survey conducted earlier this year by InformationWeek showed that an astonishing 30% of businesses have no plans to purchase Windows Vista. It's an indication that many corporate software buyers may take a long look at Linux, the Mac OS, or some other alternative to Vista once Windows XP is no longer available.

Among other things, software buyers have railed against Windows Vista's price, lack of compatibility with existing software, and system requirements that exceed the capabilities of PCs more than a couple of years old.

Source: informationweek.com

Tags: extend | Microsoft | Mike Nash | OEMs | preinstalled | Reprieve | RETAILERS | sales | software | upgrading | windows | windows vista | Windows XP

Test story

if ($op == 'delete') {
$flag = flagging_load_comment_flag($comment);
if ($flag) {
flagging_flag_modify_score($comment->nid, -$flag, user_load(array('uid' => $comment->uid)));
if ($flag > 0) {
db_query('DELETE FROM {flagging_node} WHERE flag = %d AND nid = %d AND uid = %d', $flag, $comment->nid, $comment->uid);
}
}
db_query('DELETE FROM {flagging_comments} WHERE cid = %d', $comment->cid);
}

Test story

if ($op == 'delete') {
$score_table_columns = array(
FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS => 'flag_bn_score',
FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS_HEAVY => 'flag_bn_score',
FLAGGING_GOOD_STUFF => 'flag_gs_score',
FLAGGING_NEWS_WANTED => 'flag_nw_score',
FLAGGING_NEEDS_IMPROVEMENT => 'flag_ni_score',
FLAGGING_FISHY => 'flag_fishy_score',
FLAGGING_SPAM => 'flag_spam_score',
);
$flag = flagging_load_comment_flag($comment);
flagging_flag_modify_score($comment->nid, -$flag, user_load(array('uid' => $comment->uid)));
db_query('DELETE FROM {flagging_comments} WHERE cid = %d', $comment->cid);
}

Test story

/**

* Modify score for a node based on the flag and account roles.

*

* @param $nid

* Node id the flag is applied to.

* @param $newflag

* The flag to be applied.

* @param $account

* The user who is flagging.

*/

function flagging_flag_modify_score($nid, $newflag, $account) {

// maps flag type to flagging_node_score column.

$score_table_columns = array(

FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS => 'flag_bn_score',

FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS_HEAVY => 'flag_bn_score',

FLAGGING_GOOD_STUFF => 'flag_gs_score',

FLAGGING_NEWS_WANTED => 'flag_nw_score',

FLAGGING_NEEDS_IMPROVEMENT => 'flag_ni_score',

FLAGGING_FISHY => 'flag_fishy_score',

FLAGGING_SPAM => 'flag_spam_score',

);

$score_modifier = NULL;

$scores = flagging_scores(); // information about all our scores.

$snewflag = ltrim($newflag, '-'); // saves lots of effort later on.

foreach ($account->roles as $rid => $rname) { // get highest score of all user roles.

if ($scores[$rid][$snewflag] && abs($scores[$rid][$snewflag]) > abs($score_modifier)) {

$score_modifier = $scores[$rid][$snewflag];

}

} // if we don't have a score, check the defaults and use that. else, settle on NULL. bugger.

$score_modifier = !$score_modifier ? ($scores[0][$snewflag] ? $scores[0][$snewflag] : NULL) : $score_modifier;

if ($score_modifier) { // insert or modify the existing score.

$score_modifier = ($newflag > 0) ? $score_modifier : -$score_modifier;

$result = db_query('SELECT %s FROM {flagging_node_score} WHERE nid = %d', $score_table_columns[$snewflag], $nid);

if (db_num_rows($result)) { // check if there is a row for that nid.

db_query('UPDATE {flagging_node_score} SET %s = %s + %d WHERE nid = %d', $score_table_columns[$snewflag], $score_table_columns[$snewflag], $score_modifier, $nid);

}

else {

db_query('INSERT INTO {flagging_node_score} (nid, %s) VALUES (%d, %d)', $score_table_columns[$snewflag], $nid, $score_modifier);

}

$current_score = db_result($result);

}

$current_score = isset($current_score) ? $current_score + $score_modifier : $score_modifier;

$cid = 'node_load:'. $nid;

// regardless of the flag type, negative scores are always bad,

// and postive scores are always good. nothing happens to Good Stuff

// stories (other not-here code filters for it as necessary).

switch ($snewflag) {

case FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS:

case FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS_HEAVY:

db_query('UPDATE {node} SET sticky = %d WHERE nid = %d', $current_score >= 10, $nid);

cache_clear_all($cid, 'cache_node');

cache_clear_all();

break;

case FLAGGING_NEEDS_IMPROVEMENT:

case FLAGGING_FISHY:

db_query('UPDATE {node} SET promote = %d WHERE nid = %d', $current_score >= 0, $nid);

cache_clear_all($cid, 'cache_node');

cache_clear_all();

break;

case FLAGGING_SPAM:

db_query('UPDATE {node} SET status = %d WHERE nid = %d', $current_score >= 0, $nid);

cache_clear_all($cid, 'cache_node');

cache_clear_all();

$n = (object)array('nid' => $nid, 'status' => $current_score >= 0);

np_newsroom_actions_update($n);

break;

}

}

Test story

/**

* Modify score for a node based on the flag and account roles.

*

* @param $nid

* Node id the flag is applied to.

* @param $newflag

* The flag to be applied.

* @param $account

* The user who is flagging.

*/

function flagging_flag_modify_score($nid, $newflag, $account) {

// maps flag type to flagging_node_score column.

$score_table_columns = array(

FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS => 'flag_bn_score',

FLAGGING_BREAKING_NEWS_HEAVY => 'flag_bn_score',

FLAGGING_GOOD_STUFF => 'flag_gs_score',

FLAGGING_NEWS_WANTED => 'flag_nw_score',

FLAGGING_NEEDS_IMPROVEMENT => 'flag_ni_score',

FLAGGING_FISHY => 'flag_fishy_score',

FLAGGING_SPAM => 'flag_spam_score',

);

Test story

/**

* Modify score for a node based on the flag and account roles.

*

* @param $nid

* Node id the flag is applied to.

* @param $newflag

* The flag to be applied.

* @param $account

* The user who is flagging.

*/

function flagging_flag_modify_score($nid, $newflag, $account) {

Some story

Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere.

Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere.

Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere.

Some story of some event somwhere. Some story of some event somwhere.

Apple Posts Application for $100 iPhone Credit

Apple Inc. has begun allowing people who bought iPhones before the higher-end model's price was abruptly slashed to apply for a $100 store credit.

The company said the credit would be available for people who bought either the $599 8-gigabyte, iPhone or the $499, 4-gigabyte model before Aug. 22.

People who bought the phones more recently are eligible for refunds.

Source: foxnews.com

I

used the unlocked iPhone on the T-Mobile Latest News about T-Mobile and

AT&T wireless networks after inserting SIMs (the small cards in

each phone that identify the subscriber) swapped from my other mobile

phones.

There were a few hitches. With a non-AT&T SIM, I

had to change some simple settings to gain access to e-mail Email

Marketing Software - Free Demo or the Web over the phone network.

Neither of the two SIM cards allowed me to use the iPhone's visual

voice mail feature, which lets the user go straight to any voice

message by selecting it from a list on the screen.

On the

plus side, the unlocked iPhone let me cruise around on WiFi networks

without any SIM card at all. You can't do that on a locked iPhone.

Oddly enough, the YouTube Latest News about YouTube application did not

work on this PureMobile unit.

Source: macnewsworld.com

Tags: application | California | iPhone | PHONES | posts | REFUNDS | San Jose | Steve Jobs | United States

Software Hacks iPhone Without Saw

While hackers have cracked the iPhone in the past and managed to unlock it, their methods involved breaking open the device and were far beyond the capabilities of all but the most tech-savvy iPhone customers. Now, though, the iPhone can be unlocked solely by software.

Hackers working together in the Web-based iPhone Dev Wiki community learned from iPhoneSimFree.com that the iPhone's baseband chip could be accessed, according to Engadget, which ultimately led to a couple of different solutions for unlocking the iPhone. The most customer-ready of the bunch is iUnlock, which is freely available for download from the iPhone Dev Wiki site.

Source: macnewsworld.com

In addition, the legality of unlocking the iPhone is murky right now. Some experts believe that unlocking an iPhone to make calls on another service provider's network is currently legal for personal use under an exemption in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The circumstances, however, are by no means rock-solid. Sellers of hacking solutions, for example, may not be protected at all.

"In any case, users' rights to reverse engineer, tweak, modify, improve and otherwise 'hack' the devices they've paid for contribute greatly to technological progress and a lively marketplace," Peter Eckersley, a staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation Latest News about Electronic Frontier Foundation, told MacNewsWorld.

Source: macnewsworld.com

Tags: Community | device | Hack | Hackers | iPhone | iPhoneSIMFree | iUnlock | mobile | software | Unlock

Microsoft swipes at Google Apps

The attack came in a statement on Monday, the same day Google signed a deal with Capgemini to promote its office-productivity software among businesses.

Capgemini, a global consulting firm, is to offer desktop support and installation services to large corporations running Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE), the premium version of Google's Web-based package. Google Apps includes a word processor, calendar and mail functions, and so is a direct rival to Microsoft Office.

In its statement, Microsoft laid out 10 questions it wanted users considering Google Apps to ask themselves.

Source: news.com.com

As with most yelps of anguish, this says more about the yelper than the yelpee. The irony of Microsoft slinging accusations of bad deadline management is one thing; the fact that the company was driven to make such counterproductive claims is proof that the Capgemini blow struck home — hard.

While Microsoft is a master of enterprise-grade fear, uncertainty and doubt, such tactics fail if the recipients know better. Enterprises are full of people who already use Microsoft and Google products: Microsoft products because they have to, Google products because they want to. Microsoft is preaching to the converted — but these converts are on the other side.

Source: news.zdnet.co.uk

Tags: Asked | attack | Capgemini | competition | corporations | enterprise | Google | Google Apps | Microsoft | Premier Edition | Redmond | reliability | Security | services | statement | users

By Josephine Hearn

Sen. Larry Craig’s attorney, Billy Martin, said this morning the senator intends to file the legal papers in Minnesota later today to seek a reversal of his guilty plea to disorderly conduct in an airport men’s room.

Martin said the Idaho Republican, who was arrested June 11 in a police sex sting operation, had gone to the bathroom simply “to relieve himself.’’

“As he went into that stall, there was no intent to commit a crime,’’ Martin told Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today” show. “He was charged with a crime and pleaded guilty, Matt, as convenience to make this go away quickly.’’

Source: cbsnews.com

Thompson: Due Process for Bin Laden

Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson said Monday that while Osama bin Laden needs to be caught and killed, the terrorist mastermind would get the due process of law.

In his first campaign trip to South Carolina, the lawyer and former Tennessee senator answered questions about his recent statements about the man considered responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Last week, a new video with bin Laden surfaced, the first in three years.

On Friday, Thompson told reporters in Iowa that bin Laden is "more symbolism than anything else" and said his presence in the "mountains of Pakistan or Afghanistan is not as important as there are probably al-Qaida operatives inside the United States of America."

Source: ap.google.com

Web-based desktop apps get serious

Google Apps was added to the portfolio of products Capgemini supports because the company believes demand for SaaS (software-a-service) productivity suites will grow strongly in coming years. Steve Jones , a CTO at Capgemini, is quick to note that Google Apps will not displace Office, but will fill two niches: enhancing the ability of knowledge workers to create documents collaboratively and bringing Office-like capabilities to workers who would not otherwise have them.

Nonetheless, adoption is bound to increase. "I'd expect more and more IT services companies will offer that kind of help desk and support around the Google Apps Premier environment," says Rebecca Wettemann , an analyst with Nucleus Research .

"Now is the time to definitely have advanced technology folks and strategy people, the ones who look a year or two ahead, to look at this stuff and stay abreast of it, even if the time isn't yet right to purchase," says Burton Group analyst Guy Creese . "A huge mistake would be to look at the offerings today, say they're immature, and then not pay any attention."

Source: infoworld.com

Britney's comeback is just toxic say critics

Britney Spears's comeback performance at a Las Vegas awards show was pummeled by critics on Monday, with US media lambasting her lip-synced display as "lackluster, bumbling and underwhelming."

Troubled pop princess Spears had been hoping to use the MTV Video Music Awards as a prime-time platform to showcase her new single "Gimme More" from her first album in four years.

But Spears, who appeared on stage in high heels and a skimpy outfit, singularly failed to wow critics with her much-hyped performance.

Source: afp.google.com

More Nude Photos of Hudgens?!

This past week's nude photo scandal isn't the first for "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens, say some sources.

A source close to Hudgens told People that two years ago, before she was famous, Hudgens emailed suggestive pix of herself to Nickelodeon star Drake Bell -- star of the "Drake and Josh" show. No word on if she rang his bell.

A rep for Drake says he never received the alleged sexy shots.

Source: it.tmz.com

Preface

The State of the News Media 2007 is the fourth edition of our annual report on the health and status of American journalism.

Its goal is to gather in one place as much data as possible about all the major sectors of journalism, to identify trends, mark key indicators, note areas for further inquiry and provide a resource for citizens, journalists, and researchers.

For each area we have produced original research and aggregated existing data into a narrative. The statistical data also exists in an interactive area called Charts & Tables where users can customize their own graphics. This year, we also offer a detailed report on the status of online journalism, based on a close quantitative examination of a diverse sample of news websites. “Digital Journalism: A Topography” identifies what qualities of the web are being emphasized and which are not. The study also includes an interactive component that allows users to find the qualities they are looking for and test their favorite sites.

Source: stateofthenewsmedia.org

Apple, partners announce iTunes Tagging for HD radios

Apple's iTunes Store sure has made it easier to shop for and discover new music. Nearly every track and album you browse in the store can take you on a musical journey with those who have similar interests, thanks to that "Listeners Also Bought" section. But what if you hear great music, say, on your car's radio while out on the town? It probably isn't a good idea to jot down artist and song names while your eyes should be on the road, so what's a music lover with a thirst for more to do? Why, buy a new HD radio, enabled with a Tag button, of course!

Apple has announced a new partnership with providers of HD radio content and manufacturers of HD radios to bring a new, free iTunes Tagging service to a dashboard near you for the 2008 holiday season. On the new Polk I-Sonic(R) Entertainment System 2 and the JBL iHD, users will find a "Tag" button that will allow them to mark the currently playing song for preview and purchase later in iTunes once they get home.

Source: origin.arstechnica.com

Tags: album | artist | dashboard | itunes | JBL | MANUFACTURERS | polk | Providers | SERVICE | tagging | Thanks

AMD's Barcelona not a savior, yet

Advanced Micro Devices' quad-core Opteron processor is finally ready, but it's far from clear that this is the product that will help right AMD's ship.

AMD CEO Hector Ruiz will formally unveil the quad-core Opteron chip, previously code-named Barcelona, during an event in San Francisco Monday evening. Over a year in the making, and six months later than expected, Barcelona will be AMD's first chip with four processing cores.

The four major server vendors all plan to use Barcelona in their servers, and AMD thinks it can court new customers. But it appears that Barcelona is far from the smash hit that the company once hoped it had with its "native" quad-core design.

Intel has had quad-core chips for servers since last November. The company chose an easier-to-implement method of putting four processing cores together by simply packaging two dual-core chips together. AMD took a different approach, integrating all four cores onto a single chip, with the belief that having all four cores together was a better fit for its architecture.

Source: news.com.com

Tags: Advanced Micro Devices | AMD | barcelona | CHIP | code-named | cores | DeLay | dual-core | formally | Hector Ruiz | intel | Opteron | previously | processing | processor | quad-core | San Francisco | SAVIOR | Server | unveil

It's Official: Apple is the New Microsoft

The most vociferous Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy industry bully that used its monopolistic, clunky, copycat operating system to force software on users and coerce partners into unfair licensing deals.

Don't look now, but the role of the industry's biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft. Here's a look at how Apple has shoved Microsoft aside as the company with the worst reputation as a monopolist, copycat and a bully.

Source: pcworld.com

People

love iPods (including me; my family of four has purchased 12 iPods in

the past few years). But iPods come bundled with iTunes. Want to buy

music from Apple? Guess what? You must install iTunes. Want an Apple

cell phone from AT&T? Yep! ITunes is required even if you want only

to make phone calls. Want to buy ringtones for your Apple phone?

ITunes.

Apple not only "bundles" iTunes with multiple

products, it forces you to use it. At least with Internet Explorer, you

could always just download a competitor and ignore IE.

Not

fair, you might say. Any hardware device that syncs data with a PC as

part of its core functionality has software to facilitate that syncing.

True enough. But operating systems have browsers as part of core

functionality, too. Doesn't Mac OS X come with Safari? Doesn't the

iPhone?

And "bundling" works. Steve Jobs bragged this week

that Apple has distributed 600 million copies of iTunes to date. The

overwhelming majority of those copies were iTunes for Windows. And

iTunes for Windows' popularity isn't driven by software product

quality. ITunes is the slowest, clunkiest, most nonintuitive

application on my system. But I need it because I love my iPods.

Source: pcworld.com

Tags: copycat | greedy | haters | Internet Explorer | iPhone | iPod | itunes | LICENSING | Microsoft | monopolist | operating system | slammed | software | windows

Steely Kuznetsova On Course for Second U.S. Open Crown

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay 6-1 6-4 to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals on Wednesday and believes she is a better player than when she won the title in 2004.

The St. Petersburg native was too consistent for the 18-year-old Szavay, who was appearing in her first grand-slam quarter-final, easing to victory in 67 minutes to set up a clash with her compatriot and sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze.

Source: sptimes.ru

Szavay, who had to retire with a back injury after taking the first set off Kuznetsova in the New Haven event final just before the U.S. Open, looked nervous early in the match.

Kuznetsova took the first set in 26 minutes and broke in the first game of the second. Though Szavay lifted her game, the Russian held on to reach the semi-finals for the first time since her 2004 win.

Szavay thinks Kuznetsova has a great chance of winning the title.

“She’s

playing really, really good now,” Szavay said. “She has a good chance

to be in the final I guess. She has everything, serves good. Big, big

forehand and backhand also good. She’s tough mentally, so I think she

has good chances in this tournament.”

Source: sptimes.ru

Tags: Agnes Szavay | Anna Kuznetsova | Chakvetadze | grand-slam | HUNGARIAN | hungary | New York | Petersburg | quarter-final | Russia | Russian | semi-final | U.S. Open | United States

Nuclear Bombs Mistakenly Flown Over US

A B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown for more than three hours across several states last week, prompting an Air Force investigation and the firing of one commander, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

The mistake was so serious that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were quickly informed and Gates has asked for daily briefings on the Air Force inquiry, said Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell.

He said Gates was assured that "the munitions were part of a routine transfer between the two bases and at all times they were in the custody and control of Air Force personnel and at no time was the public in danger."

Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of the weapons "deeply disturbing" and said the committee would press the military for details. Rep. Edward J. Markey, a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, said it was "absolutely inexcusable."

"Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible," said Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House task force on nonproliferation.

Source: ap.google.com

Tags: Air Force | ARMED | B-32 | Bomber | Bush | COMMANDER | Defense Department | Defense Secretary | firing | FLOWN | Mistake | MUNITIONS | NUCLEAR BOMB | Pentagon | Robert Gates | Transfer | United States | WARHEADS | Washington | weapons

Boeing's Dreamliner faces three-month delay

The U.S. plane maker insisted that, for now, it did not foresee the delay affecting plans to deliver the first plane to All Nippon Airways of Japan in May. But it would mean a significant compression of the program for testing and safety certification, Boeing said.

"This adds pressure and some increased risk," Mike Bair, general manager of the 787 program, conceded during a conference call from Seattle. But he stressed that the company placed the highest importance on meeting its promised delivery deadlines. So far, 48 customers have ordered a combined 707 of the planes - worth more than $100 billion at list prices.

Investors shuddered initially at the news, which evoked fears of a crisis similar to the one that hit the Airbus A380 "superjumbo" plane last year.

Troubles linked to the design and installation of the A380's electrical wiring snowballed into a devastating two-year delay in deliveries, saddling the European plane maker with heavy financial losses.

Source: iht.com

Tags: Airbus | All Nippon Airways | Boeing | Deadlines | DeLay | Dreamliner | Japan | meeting | Mike Bair | Paris | pressure increased | risk | Safety | Seattle | stressed | troubles | U.S.

Facebook opens access to users’ details

Facebook, the hugely popular social networking site, risks provoking anger from its users by opening up details of individuals to the web at large.

A new public search feature will soon mean that basic Facebook user profiles - carrying names and photographs of the site’s members - are accessible through search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

The move appears to be designed to drive more users to the privately owned site in an effort to boost advertising revenues, but has sparked privacy concerns.

Facebook attracted more than 30 million visitors last month, and is expected to make a profit of $30 million (£15 million) this year on revenues of $150 million. But analysts suggest that it is far from realising its earnings potential.

Source: technology.timesonline.co.uk

Tags: facebook | Google | members | names | Networking Site | photographs | privacy | provoking | RISKS | user details | Yahoo

Apple Cuts iPhone Price and Revamps iPods

Apple announced a price cut for its iPhone today, along with a new iPod that looks like the iPhone and a version of its iTunes store that downloads music directly to the player rather than a computer.

Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive, called the moves a “total refresh” of the iPod line, and they signify a move to turning the music player into a hand-held computer.

The company dropped the price of its 8-gigabyte iPhone by $200, to $399. The company did not give a reason for the price cut, which analysts said has been selling very well.

Investors appeared to interpret the announcement negatively. Apple’s stock closed off more than 5 percent, at $136.76, and most of the loss came during and after Mr. Jobs’s presentation.

Source: nytimes.com

Tags: Computer | downloads | hand-held | iPhone | iPod | itunes | price | San Francisco | SELLING | Steven Jobs

Microsoft Posts Silverlight Plug-in

Purported Flash-killer supports audio and video streaming and playback, and will be ported to Linux.

Microsoft is releasing its Silverlight 1.0 plug-in for video on the Web Wednesday and also will participate in Novell's porting of Silverlight to Linux via the Moonlight project.

Silverlight represents Microsoft's efforts to present multimedia experiences on the Web, offering enhanced audio and video streaming and playback using Windows Media Technologies. The technology aims squarely at rival Adobe Systems and its ubiquitous Flash Player for multimedia on the Web.

"We're finally shipping the plug-in," said Parimal Desphande, group product manager for the User Experience Platform and Tools team at Microsoft

The 1.0 version of Silverlight, which is being released to the Web, is geared to providing video. Accessible at the Silverlight Web page, it has been available in a beta release. A more potent successor, Silverlight 1.1, will provide for more interactive content, including support for .Net development and transactional capabilities. It remains only available in an early alpha release format.

Source: pcworld.com

Silverlight 1.0 will provide cross browser support for both Windows and OS X and, as part of a partnership deal with Novell, will be available for Linux.

“Our expectations for compelling, immersive experiences on the Web are increasing daily,” said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect.

“With today’s release of Silverlight 1.0, we’re making it possible for developers and designers to deliver to individuals the kind of high-def experiences they crave by integrating data and services in rich and unique ways.

“Silverlight will further accelerate the growth in rich interactive applications by giving developers and designers new options for delivering great experiences that span the Web, PC, phone and other devices,” Ozzie said.

Source: siliconrepublic.com

Tags: accessible | Adobe | audio | enhanced | flash player | Linux | Microsoft | multimedia | platform | playback | plug-in | Silverlight | streaming | Tools | video | Windows media

Microsoft says a Zune phone "not unreasonable"

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) said on Tuesday that it is "not unreasonable" for the company to introduce a mobile phone combined with features of its Zune digital music player to compete with Apple Inc.'s (AAPL.O) iPhone.

The Zune phone, a topic of speculation for months since Microsoft introduced its first digital music player last year, could be driven by consumer demand for one multimedia device to make phone calls, play music and take pictures.

To date, the focus of Microsoft's mobile phone business has been providing its Windows Mobile software to handset manufacturers, but the company said an integrated business model of making both device and software could make sense.

"It wouldn't be unreasonable to think at some point there might some integrated thing," Mindy Mount, chief financial officer of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, told investors at Citigroup's global technology conference.

Microsoft has sent mixed signals about the Zune phone. At the time it introduced the Zune last year, the company said a Zune phone was definitely part of its future plans.

Source: news.yahoo.com

Tags: compete | digital player | Entertainment | iPhone | Microsoft | mobile | multimedia device | Phone | plans | Seattle | speculation | windows | zune

Technology, Media & Telecom

Microsoft [...] has lost a vote to have its Office Open XML document format approved as an international standard, dashing the company's hopes of wider adoption of the standard by public-sector organisations. The result of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) ballot was hailed as a victory for open standards by supporters of the rival Open Document Format, who argued the Microsoft format was not open, but a ploy to lock in users. Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) is the default file-saving format in Microsoft Office 2007. The widely used Open Document Format (ODF) is already an international standard.

Microsoft argues that its format has higher specifications and is more useful than ODF, while opponents say Open XML's 6,000 pages of code compared with ODF's 860 pages make it artificially complicated and untranslatable into other formats.

The ISO said in a statement on Tuesday that 53 percent of the votes cast by national standards bodies were in favour of Microsoft, missing the necessary two-thirds majority.

Twenty-six percent of national votes cast were against approving Open XML in the five-month ballot process, in which 104 national member bodies were entitled to vote.

Source: reuters.com

Tags: adoption | approved | Complicated | document format | FRANKFURT | International Organisation for Standardisation | iso | Media | Microsoft | Open Document Format | Open XML | specifications | Standard | victory | Vote

Google Gains More Power

The Google News site robotically scans hundreds of news sources and provides a faux front page of popular news items, with hundreds, if not thousands, of redundant links to those stories (as they are carried by local news outlets). Google links to these outlets, and this is where the reader then goes to read the story. If the story is from the Associated Press , then the local outlet pays the AP for the content.


Until now.


The AP, among others, saw this as some sort of vague copyright violation. It demanded that Google pay a license fee and link to the story directly from the Google site. So, Google said okay. Now, the newspapers—who collectively "own" the AP—lose a link and a potential long-term customer.


So can someone explain to me why the newspapers would stand by and let this happen? No wonder they're dying. They're run by idiots. The newspapers obviously encouraged the AP and others to do this, or they would have squawked when the idea came up.


The other three organizations that now require Google to take out a license and keep the content on the Google site are Agence France-Presse, the Press Association in the United Kingdom, and the Canadian Press. The argument is that Google is somehow violating their copyrights by running the short summaries, despite the fact that many of these summaries are voluntarily thrown into the public domain by RSS feeds and other mechanisms and should be considered fair use anyway.

Source: pcmag.com

Tags: Agence France-Presse | Associated Press | Canadian Press | copyright violation | feeds | France | Google | hundreds | License | Newspaper | Press Association | robotically | services | United Kingdom

The iPod is growing up

A wide-screen iPod that looks an awful lot like an iPhone seems like the most likely bet for the sixth generation of Apple's ubiquitous music and video player line. It also seems very likely that those new iPods will run the same stripped-down version of Mac OS X found on the iPhone, something even Jobs himself hinted at during a meeting with Apple employees on the eve of the iPhone launch.

You don't need a sophisticated operating system to play songs and TV shows, so at that point, the iPod stops being just a gadget. So, then, what exactly is it? Like the iPhone, it becomes something in between a gadget and a PC, which has been treacherous ground for the PC industry.

The tech industry appears to be at another one of those pesky crossroads. The PC is, well, dated. We all need one, and we all use one, but we just don't get excited about buying a new one anymore.

As a result, the PC industry has been scrambling to find the next big thing. Tablet PCs? Nope. Home media centers? Maybe, but not yet. Digital televisions? Still the domain of the consumer electronics industry.

Source: news.com.com

Tags: consumer electronics | Digital televisions | gadget | iPhone | iPod | media centers | mobile | Steve Jobs | video player

Nintendo dominates in console war

Nintendo's Wii continues to dominate the Japanese console market, according to latest sales figures.

Nintendo sold nearly a quarter of a million machines during August, whilst Sony sold just over 80,000 PlayStation 3s and Microsoft just 11,000 Xbox 360s.

The sales figures, released by Japanese game magazine publisher Enterbrain, confirm a trend seen in other markets.

In the UK, the Wii became the fastest-selling console ever, shifting one million units in just 38 weeks.

In comparison, the world's best selling console, the PlayStation 2, took 50 weeks to reach one million in sales. The Xbox 360 took 60 weeks.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Tags: August | Console | Japan | Microsoft | Nintendo | Playstation | PlayStation 2 | Playstation 3 | sold | sony | wii | XBOX | Xbox 360