Internet users in China soars

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Internet use in China is growing by leaps and bounds as more of the country's citizens move into the middle class, results of a large survey indicate. A marked increase in the number of broadband users is generating a great deal of interest from dot-coms and technology firms looking to expand operations in China's burgeoning markets.

The number of Internet users in China increased more than 23 percent in 2006, topping out at 137 million with an estimated 104 million of those having some level of access to a broadband connection.

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), a government agency that has been tracking online usage since 1997, reported the number of Internet users rose by 23.4 percent last year, accounting for 10.5 percent of the country's total population.

Another 17 million Chinese went online via mobile phones, accounting for 12.4 percent of the total Internet population, according to CNNIC.

"With a broadband penetration rate of 76 percent, China has already become one of the most-developed markets in broadband," Wang Enhai, an official with the CNNIC, said in the report.

In fact, China ranks second behind the United States, which has an estimated 210 million Internet users.

Good News for Business

The increase in the number of broadband users is generating a great deal of interest from dot-coms and technology firms looking to expand operations in China's burgeoning markets, according to a recent study by Forrester Research.

"Broadband is a key technology in consumers' uptake of Internet activities like social computing and e-commerce," said Christopher M. Kelley, a Forrester analyst who co-authored the report.

Between now and 2015, Kelly said, consumer spending power in emerging economies like China and India will more than double, from US$4 trillion to $9 trillion -- nearly equivalent to the current spending power of Western Europe.

The increased purchasing power will most likely be fueled by a billion consumers reaching middle-class status in these countries, a trend that is evident in China right now, according to the Forrester report.

Decreased Costs Equal More Users

Although affordability and low speeds were the major factors that slowed down Chinese Internet growth in the past, broadband infrastructure improvements in recent years have helped drive the costs of connections down.

The average connection fee dropped by almost 20 percent to 83.5 Yuan ($10.75) per month at the end of 2006, according to the CNNIC.

With the improved infrastructure has come a better-quality experience. More seamless content delivery has played a crucial role in the rise of users, according to CNNIC.

More than 70 percent of China's Internet users are under 30 years old, and 58.3 percent of the overall users are men, with 41.7 percent women, the CNNIC report noted. The two largest age groups for users are 18 to 24, with 35.2 percent, and 25 to 30, with 19.7 percent.

Service Leaps Forward

Online services like e-mail, search engines, e-commerce, blogs, online news and games saw rapid development, while new technologies brought new opportunities for the development of the Internet, Minister of Information Industry Wang Xudong said in the report.

However, there appears to be a growing disparity between the urban and rural areas, with Internet use in cities 6.5 times more than in the countryside, a situation that needs to be addressed in the near future, Wang said.

A lack of knowledge of computers and inadequate access to equipment and networks remain the main difficulties for Chinese who are not yet online, according to the report.

The statistics are based on telephone surveys of 32,325 Chinese.

Government Is Still Watching

On the same day that China's Internet community cheered the expansion of its members, the country's President, Hu Jintao, called on government officials to promote and better regulate Internet services in China.

At a study session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party on Tuesday, Hu said officials should "actively and creatively nurture a healthy online culture" that meets public demand, according to a report in China's official news agency, Xinhua.

"The rapid development of the Internet in China has played an important role in spreading information, knowledge and [the] Communist Party's policies, and it has also raised new issues for the country's cultural development," Hu said.

gaming keyboard

Amazon beefs up it's Askville after the shutdown of Google Answers

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Amazon.com is enhancing its user-driven research site Askville.com. Askville has been in testing for a few months and opened to the general public in December. As with leader Yahoo Answers, Askville is free, and participants can earn points based on the quality of answers they provide. Google recently abandoned its 4-year-old online answer site. You can also earn points for quality questions

Askville has been in testing for a few months and opened to the general public in December. As with leader Yahoo Answers, Askville is free, and participants can earn points based on the quality of answers they provide.

Participants will also earn a virtual currency called "Quest Coins," which Amazon says will be redeemed for unspecified prizes on the still-inactive Questville.com.

The new answer service is the latest in a growing portfolio of Web-based services from Amazon, which is best known for selling a vast array of consumer goods.

Another of Amazon.com's Web offerings -- the Mechanical Turk research service, where users collectively solve labor-intensive tasks like identifying specific objects in pictures and translating text -- will play a part in Askville by guaranteeing at least one answer for each question asked, according to Askville's Web journal. computer mouse

France and Germany want iTunes to open their DRM

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Apple is being challenged once again to open up its DRM by consumer groups in Europe. This time, Germany and France have joined the slowly-growing number of countries who are asking Apple to allow the protected songs purchased from the iTunes Store to be played on other music players besides the iPod. Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon told the Associated Press that France's consumer lobby group, UFC-Que Choisir, and Germany's Verbraucherzentrale are now part of the European effort to push Apple into an open DRM system, with more countries considering joining the group.

By now, everyone who owns a digital music player of any sort is painfully aware that buying music from a particular online store locks them into that platform. Apple, the current market leader in both online music and digital music player sales, has been particularly stubborn about allowing its protected AAC files to be played on anything but iPods.

However, the company has been under some fire over the last year due to those restrictions, first with France and then Denmark looking to open up restrictive DRM schemes (including, but not limited to iTunes). Neither of those forced Apple to open up their FairPlay DRM, but last June, Norway ruled that the iTunes-iPod tie-in was unreasonable. Norway's Consumer Ombudsman gave Apple a deadline of June 21, 2006 to come up with a solution, but the deadline then got pushed back to August 1, 2006. Norwegian consumer groups were unimpressed by Apple's response.

Norway has now given Apple a new deadline of September of this year to change its policies, and the pressure on Apple will likely grow in the months leading up to the deadline. "This is important because Germany and France are European giants. Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music," Thon said to the AP. Who will be next to join the group and how will Apple respond to the growing pressure?

Time Warner Runs Out Of HD DVRs

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NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse (New York) posted a story that said Time Warner had no more HD DVR boxes for customers. Apparently, there’s a shortage of HD DVRs because the company that makes the boxes have been “overwhelmed by requests for them”. Time Warner says that new boxes should arrive in two to three weeks.

NewsChannel 9 says that customers can still watch TV shows–like the upcoming Super Bowl–in HD because they have “plenty of regular high-definition boxes, without the DVR capabilities.”

I believe there are four reasons for this: 1) Super Bowl Sunday 2) a deluge of new HDTV sets purchased during the the holiday season, 3) the increasing popularity of DVRs and 4) the high price of the Tivo Series 3 HD DVR.

Customers that have a choice of HD cable boxes, prefer those with a DVR. That makes sense. Why not upgrade to a DVR after shelling out over $1,000 on a fancy new HDTV?

But buying a Tivo Series 3 for $800 (plus additional monthly fees) is out of the question.

So people want a Tivo but settle for their cable or satellite HD DVR. Something’s gotta give!

More layers on the HD drives soon

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To add more capacity to optical formats, stack on more layers

HD DVD’s dual-layer 30GB and Blu-ray’s dual-layer 50GB media is enough space to store crystal-clear 1080p video and uncompressed audio for today's movies, but media manufacturers are continuously looking for ways to increase capacity. Toshiba Corporation quietly announced on the first day of CES that the company has developed a triple-layer HD DVD-ROM (read only) disc with a capacity of 51 gigabytes.

HD DVD discs hold 15GB per layer. In order to reach a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc-besting capacity, an extra 2GB per layer was squeezed in, for a total of 51GB. Toshiba states that continued improvement in disc mastering technology has achieved further minimization in the recording pit, allowing for the boost in capacity to 17GB in single layer and a full 51GB on a single-sided triple-layer disc.

The new disc shares the same disc structure as standard DVD and previously announced HD DVD formats: two 0.6-mm thick discs bonded back-to-back. According to Toshiba, the added cost to produce discs with the third layer is minimal, thanks to the use of the same physical disc structure as DVD. Toshiba aims to secure approval of the new disc by the DVD Forum within this year.

While Toshiba has publicly announced its achievement, Ritek is disclosing behind closed doors at CES its own achievements in multi-layer HD optical media. Ritek claims to not only have been able to produce a three-layer and four-layer HD optical discs, but to have successfully designed HD media with a full 10 layers. The company says that its multi-layer process can be applied to both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.

At base specifications, 10 layers on an HD DVD would yield 150GB, assuming 15GB per layer. For Blu-ray, the total over 10 layers jumps to 250GB, assuming the base 25GB per layer.

While those numbers do sound impressive, Ritek officials point out that the real barrier to this advancement is the lack of reader and writer laser diode technology to support the additional eight layers above the current standard.

Intel Countersues Transmeta for patents

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Three months after small chipmaker Transmeta sued Intel for patent infringement, Intel has fired back with a countersuit that claims Transmeta is using seven of Intel's patented technologies without permission, including one that covers an "apparatus for controlling power usage." The other patents cover various features of the chips themselves.

Transmeta sued Intel in October, filing an action in U.S. District Court in Delaware that claimed the chip giant was infringing on Transmeta technology covered by 11 different patents.

The patents were infringed by a host of Intel products, including the Pentium III, Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core and Core 2 lines of microprocessors, the company said.

In its first answer to that suit, Intel filed a response along with a countersuit claiming that current Transmeta products include technology covered by seven different Intel-held patents, including one that covers an "apparatus for controlling power usage." The other patents cover various features of the chips themselves.

In the countersuit, Intel claims the infringement was willful and that the firm will seek triple damages. Transmeta made the same claim against Intel in its original action.

In its first answer to that suit, Intel filed a response along with a countersuit claiming that current Transmeta products include technology covered by seven different Intel-held patents, including one that covers an "apparatus for controlling power usage." The other patents cover various features of the chips themselves.

Both companies did not respond immediately to requests to comment on the suits. In the countersuit, Intel claims the infringement was willful and that the firm will seek triple damages. Transmeta made the same claim against Intel in its original action.

The news boosted Intel stock considerably, with investors sending shares up 2 percent in afternoon trading Thursday, to US$21.95. Transmeta stock was up nearly the same percentage, to $1.05 per share.

Very expensive lawsuit

Each company has asked the court for injunctions barring the other from selling the infringing chips until the case is resolved, and both have asked for as-yet unspecified financial damages.

The suits could have significant financial implications. In its original filings, Transmeta said that Intel shipped an estimated $100 billion worth of Pentium chipsets that may contain the infringing technology.

The dispute appears to focus on the issue of power usage, including how chips can be designed to power themselves down when a machine is not being used. Transmeta's chips have gained a reputation for offering high levels of power reduction.

Energy efficiency is becoming an increasingly important consideration for many buyers of information technology, especially in the mobile arena. Several companies have begun to emphasize power efficiency in their equipment, and Transmeta has argued for several years that its chips can run as fast as Intel's, operate the same software and on the same platforms, and use less power to do so.

Though Transmeta originally attempted to compete directly with Intel and others, the small chipmaker now focuses primarily on licensing its technology and on providing design services to other companies.

Transmeta was seen forcing Intel and others to respond to their early success in the power efficiency arena, according to Enderle Group Principal Analyst Rob Enderle. Not long after Transmeta launched its energy-efficient Crusoe chips in 2000, Intel developed the Pentium M line, which has been a smash success and helped drive the popularity of notebook PCs.

Back and Forth

Transmeta's power-efficient chip lines include the Crusoe, Efficeon and Efficeon 2 brands; Intel is claiming that all of those lines may violate at least one of its seven patents.

In addition to countersuing, Intel said in its response that Transmeta patents may be invalid and do not meet all the conditions necessary to be patented, suggesting that Intel could launch a separate challenge aimed at having the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office overturn the original patent grants.

eBay used that approach to call into question patents held by MercExchange, which had sued eBay for violating its patents governing online auctions. Research in Motion also challenged the validity of patents held by NTP, though it later agreed to settle a suit brought by that company.

Whatever the approach, Intel and Transmeta should prepare for a lengthy fight if they intend to let the courts decide the case.

"Patent cases can take years just to get in line for a trial," said David A. Roodman, co-chair of the intellectual property group at Bryan Cave in Washington, D.C. "As we've seen, if the stakes are high, companies can dig in and the cases can take even longer to play themselves out."

Why Apple does not blog

Slashdot It! The first thing this minor controversy highlights is how potentially dangerous it can be for developers to announce anything in advance. Company blogs are the Pandora’s Box of such pre-announcements, even when not intended as such. Once something is stated in an official blog, the proverbial cat is difficult to stuff back into the bag.

The other thing about blogs is that written text fails to capture the full range of rich human communication. It's easy to take more offense than is necessary to the wrong choice of words. Minor and casual criticism can quickly ferment into a difficult stink, and attempts to bury it can often just make it worse.

Blog entries are like emails that cc: to the entire world.

If anyone is still wondering why Apple does not encourage its internal developers to maintain blogs, here's a good example of how the good intentions behind sharing information can result in unpleasant, unintended consequences.

Apple is already assailed for not delivering products it has never even hinted at; if the company automatically assumes responsibility for rumors, imagine its predicament if it were to cast ideas for future products into the permanent record of a blog.

Apple uses secrecy to generate interest and garner publicity right when it will best help sales. In contrast, Microsoft has long used published plans of future products to generate publicity.

By focusing on the future rather than the present, Microsoft can continually position its competitors' products against ones it may choose to sell in the future.

Openoffice can work better in Microsoft Office now

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Novell is participating in an open-source project designed to bridge rival document formats and thus enable its OpenOffice.org customers to work with Microsoft Office documents.

By January, Novell said, users of the OpenOffice word processor will be able to read documents saved in the Office Open XML format, the default setting for Microsoft's recently released Office 2007 suite.

"OpenOffice.org is very important to Novell. And as our customers deploy Linux desktops across their organizations, they're telling us that sharing documents between OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Office is a must-have," Nat Friedman, Novell's chief technology and strategy officer for open source, said in a statement.

The project that Novell has joined was established by Microsoft earlier this year. It is known as the Open XML/ODF Translator project. Novell said it will contribute the code for the translators to the project.

Last month, Microsoft and Novell signed a legal and technical agreement to improve interoperability between their respective products, including their desktop productivity suites.

Corel, the maker of the WordPerfect Office suite, said that it intends to support both ODF and Microsoft's Office Open XML format in future versions.

Apple's iPod is expensive in some places of the world

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Having already stormed world fashion, Apple's hip iPod music player is finally making its presence felt in global currency markets.

One of Australia's biggest banks, the Commonwealth Bank, has used the latest version of Apple's music player--the slimline Nano--to compare global currencies and purchasing power in 26 countries.

iPod prices around the world Here is the CommSec iPod Index, based on January 2007 prices for 2GB iPod Nanos.
1	Brazil	$327.71
2	India	$222.27
3	Sweden	$213.03
4	Denmark	$208.25
5	Belgium	$205.81
6	France	$205.80
7	Finland	$205.80
8	Ireland	$205.79
9	United Kingdom	$195.04
10	Austria	$192.86
11	Netherlands	$192.86
12	Spain	$192.86
13	Italy	$192.86
14	Germany	$192.46
15	China	$179.84
16	South Korea	$176.17
17	Switzerland	$175.59
18	New Zealand	$172.53
19	Australia	$172.36
20	Taiwan	$164.88
21	Singapore	$161.25
22	Mexico	$154.46
23	United States	$149.00
24	Japan	$147.63
25	Hong Kong	$147.35
26	Canada	$144.20
Source: CommSec, Apple

Along the lines of the Big Mac index launched 20 years ago by The Economist magazine, the survey prices the 2GB Nano in U.S. dollars and found that Brazilians pay the most for an iPod, shelling out $327.71, well above second-place India at $222.27.

Canada was the cheapest place to buy a Nano, at $144.20, while Australia ranked 19th at $172.36, cheaper than Germany ($192.46), France ($205.80), South Korea ($176.17) and China, where the machine is manufactured. The United States was fourth-cheapest, at $149.

"Interestingly, especially with freight costs close to zero, China is middle-ranked, in terms of global prices, at $179.84," Craig James, the Chief Equities Economist at Commonwealth Bank, told Reuters.

Purchasing-power parity surveys compare the prices of goods in different countries and at their simplest level can help show whether one currency is undervalued against another.

James said the results suggested that the U.S. currency had scope to rise against a range of major currencies except for the Hong Kong and Canadian dollars, or the Japanese yen.

However, the results could be influenced by different pricing policies that Apple might apply in different parts of the world, James said.

More than 21 million iPods were sold in the last quarter.

Q&A for Windows Vista Content Protection

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A conversation has cropped up since the recent publication of a paper scrutinizing how Windows handles digital rights management, especially for HD video. I've since looped back with Dave Marsh, a Lead Program Manager responsible for Windows' handling of video, to learn from him the implications involved and to learn to what extent the paper's assertions are accurate. The following is an article Dave has put together to address the misconceptions in the paper, followed by answers to what we expect will be the most frequent questions in the minds of our customers. Leave us a comment to let us know what you think. -- Nick

Over the holidays, a paper was distributed that raised questions about the content protection features in Windows Vista. The paper draws sharp conclusions about the implications of those features for our customers. As one of the Lead Program Managers for the technologies in question, I would like to share our views on these questions.

Windows Vista includes content protection infrastructure specifically designed to help ensure that protected commercial audiovisual content, such as newly released HD-DVD or Blu-Ray discs, can be enjoyed on Windows Vista PCs. In many cases this content has policies associated with its use that must be enforced by playback devices. The policies associated with such content are applicable to all types of devices including Windows Vista PCs, computers running non-Windows operating systems, and standalone consumer electronics devices such as DVD players. If the policies required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs. Clearly that isn't a good scenario for consumers who are looking to enjoy great next generation content experiences on their PCs.

Associating usage policies with commercial content is not new to Windows Vista, or to the industry. In fact, much of the functionality discussed in the paper has been part of previous versions of Windows, and hasn’t resulted in significant consumer problems – as evidenced by the widespread consumer use of digital media in Windows XP. For example:

• Standard definition DVD playback has required selective use of Macrovision ACP on analog television outputs since it was introduced in the 1990s. DVD playback on and in Windows has always supported this.
• The ability to restrict audio outputs (e.g., S/PDIF) for certain types of content has been available since Windows Millennium Edition (ME) and has been available in all subsequent versions of Windows.
• The Certified Output Protection Protocol (COPP) was released over 2 years ago for Windows XP, and provides applications with the ability to detect output types and enable certain protections on video outputs such as HDCP, CGMS-A, and Macrovision ACP.

It's important to emphasize that while Windows Vista has the necessary infrastructure to support commercial content scenarios, this infrastructure is designed to minimize impact on other types of content and other activities on the same PC. For example, if a user were viewing medical imagery concurrently with playback of video which required image constraint, only the commercial video would be constrained -- not the medical image or other things on the user's desktop. Similarly, if someone was listening to commercial audio content while viewing medical imagery, none of the video protection mechanisms would be activated and the displayed images would again be unaffected.

Contrary to claims made in the paper, the content protection mechanisms do not make Windows Vista PCs less reliable than they would be otherwise -- if anything they will have the opposite effect, for example because they will lead to better driver quality control.

The paper implies that Microsoft decides which protections should be active at any given time. This is not the case. The content protection infrastructure in Windows Vista provides a range of à la carte options that allows applications playing back protected content to properly enable the protections required by the policies established for such content by the content owner or service provider. In this way, the PC functions the same as any other consumer electronics device.

With that introduction, here are the top twenty questions, and answers, that aim to address some of the other points raised in the paper.

Dave Marsh - Lead Program Manager for Video

Twenty Questions and Answers

Do these content protection requirements apply equally to the Consumer Electronics industry supplied player devices such as an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player?

Generally the requirements are equivalent for all devices. For example, an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc always requires HDCP protection for DVI/HDMI outputs regardless of the type of device playing the disc. There are some cases, such as DVD-Video, where PCs have slightly different protection requirements than CE devices, but these differences are mainly historical and as dictated by the licenses associated with the systems providing access to the content (e.g., CSS for DVD).

When are Windows Vista's content protection features actually used?

Windows Vista's content protection mechanisms are only used when required by the policy associated with the content being played. For Windows Vista experiences, if the content does not require a particular protection, then that protection mechanism is not used.

Will the playback quality be reduced on some video output types?

Image quality constraints are only active when required by the policy associated with the content being played, and then only apply to that specific content -- not to any other content on the user's desktop. As a practical matter, image constraint will typically result in content being played at no worse than standard definition television resolution. In the case of HD optical media formats such as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, the constraint requirement is 520K pixels per frame (i.e., roughly 960x540), which is still higher than the native resolution of content distributed in the DVD-Video format. We feel that this is still yields a great user experience, even when using a high definition screen.

Will this affect things like medical imagery applications?

Image constraints only apply to protected content being played and not to the desktop as a whole; therefore, the resolution of other non-protected media, such as medical images, is not affected.

Do things such as HFS (Hardware Functionality Scan) affect the ability of the open-source community to write a driver?

No. HFS uses additional chip characteristics other than those needed to write a driver. HFS requirements should not prevent the disclosure of all the information needed to write drivers.

Will the Windows Vista content protection board robustness recommendations increase the cost of graphics cards and reduce the number of build options?

Everything was moving to be integrated on the one chip anyway and this is independent of content protection recommendations. Given that cost (particularly chip cost) is most heavily influenced by volume, it is actually better to avoid making things optional through the use of external chips. It is a happy side effect that this technology trend also reduces the number of vulnerable tracks on the board.

Will Windows Vista content protection features increase CPU resource consumption?

Yes. However, the use of additional CPU cycles is inevitable, as the PC provides consumers with additional functionality. Windows Vista's content protection features were developed to carefully balance the need to provide robust protection from commercial content while still enabling great new experiences such as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray playback.

Aren't there already output content protection features in Windows XP?

Yes. Output content protections are not new requirements for commercial content. The CSS content protection system for DVD-video discs requires output protections such as Macrovision ACP and limiting the resolution on component video outputs to standard definition. Windows XP has supported these requirements for some time.

Is content protection something that is tied to High Definition video?

While HD content has some unique content protection requirements, many of the requirements apply to commercial content generally, independent of resolution.

What about S/PDIF audio connections?

Windows Vista does not require S/PDIF to be turned off, but Windows Vista continues to support the ability to turn it off for certain content -- a capability that has been present on the Windows platform for many years. Additionally, in order to support the requirements of some types of content, Windows Vista supports the ability to constrain the quality of the audio component of that content. Similar to image constraint for video, this quality constraint only applies to the audio from content whose policy requires the constraint, not to any other audio being played concurrently on the system. As a practical matter, these audio restrictions are not widely used today.

Will Component (YPbPr) video outputs be disabled by Windows Vista's content protection?

Similar to S/PDIF, Windows Vista does not require component video outputs to be disabled, but rather enables the enforcement of the usage policy set by content owners or service providers, including with respect to output restrictions and image constraint.

Will echo cancellation work less well for premium content?

We believe that Windows Vista provides applications with access to sufficient information to successfully build high quality echo cancellation functionality.

Will it mean that there will no longer be unified graphics drivers?

The Windows Vista content protection requirements for graphics drivers will not lead to movement away from unified drivers. In fact, all graphics drivers shipped with Windows Vista are unified drivers.

Will Windows Vista audio content protection mean that HDMI outputs can't be shown as S/PDIF outputs?

It is better if they show as different codec types, as it allows the difference to be reflected in the UI, thus providing the user help with their configuration and creating a better user experience. The user wants to know the difference between HDMI and S/PDIF, as they are different physical connectors.

What is revocation and where is it used?

Renewal and revocation mechanisms are an important part of providing robust protection for commercial audiovisual content. In the rare event that a revocation is required, Microsoft will work with the affected IHV to ensure that a new driver is made available, ideally in advance of the actual revocation. Revocation only impacts a graphics driver's ability to receive certain commercial audiovisual content; otherwise, the revoked driver will continue to function normally.

Does this complicate the process of writing graphics drivers?

Adding new functionality usually introduces new complexity. In this case, additional complexity is added to the graphics driver, but that complexity comes with the direct consumer benefit of new scenarios such as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray playback.

Will the 'tilt bit' mechanism cause problems even when the driver is not under attack from a hacker, e.g., when there are voltage spikes?

It is pure speculation to say that things like voltage fluctuations might cause a driver to think it is under attack from a hacker. It is up to a graphics IHV to determine what they regard as an attack. Even if such an event did cause playback to stop, the user could just press 'play' again and carry on watching the movie (after the driver has re-initialized, which takes about a second). Again, it is important to note that this could only occur in the case of watching the highest-grade premium content, such as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. In practice I doubt it would ever actually happen.

Does Windows Vista's use of OMAC-authenticated communication impact graphics driver performance?

The authenticated communication mechanisms used for Protected Video Path in Windows Vista are only actively used while commercial content is playing. This means that while there is a performance impact, it is limited to the scenarios where it is required to provide robust protection for commercial content.

Do content protection requirements mean that graphics chips have to provide hardware acceleration for video decode?

No. The Windows Vista content protection requirements do not require that graphics hardware include hardware acceleration for decode for many years, but such support is highly recommended to improve the user experience for HD content.

Will the video and audio content protection mechanisms affect gaming on the PC?

The Windows Vista content protection features were design for commercial audiovisual content and are typically not used in game applications. A game author would have to specifically request these features for them to impact game performance.

Caution! When you play PS3s in shops, they might just freeze up while you are playing

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While what I say is exactly true, people in Gamestop is complaining that the PS3 is crashing while they are playing. Someone explained to me how when the machine would freeze, he would have to unlock the kiosk and hard reset the machine -- every time. It was easier, he said, to just leave it off and let people drool all over the protective plastic that housed what appeared to be an empty shell of a PlayStation 3 -- if you don't know, the actual unit is housed below the kiosk and is not visible. This, to me, was a fine explanation, and not surprising considering reports I've heard of units freezing at trade shows; and hey, the damned thing is cased in metal with little or no ventilation. I'll let it slide.

Intel shows off Penryn chips

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Intel says its 45-nanometer chips are almost ready for prime time.

The company demonstrated PCs and servers running its upcoming Penryn family of chips this week during a briefing for the press and analysts on its new transistor design for the 45-nanometer generation. Penryn is the code name for a family of desktop, notebook and server chips based on Intel's Core microarchitecture, and systems with the chips will be available before the end of this year, said CEO Paul Otellini at the event.

Penryn chips will come with the SSE4 instructions Intel announced at the Intel Developer Forum in September, said Stephen Smith, vice president and director of desktop platform operations. Smith called the new instructions "the biggest change to our instruction set in about five years," and said they improve the performance of multimedia applications and technical computing.

The Penryn chips are the first iteration of the new manufacturing strategy outlined by Otellini earlier this year. Intel wants to introduce new chip microarchitectures and manufacturing technologies on a regular two-year cadence, which the company refers to as the "tick-tock" strategy.

Penryn is essentially a shrink of the Core 2 Duo chips, with a few extras like the SSE4 instructions. It's being introduced along with the new manufacturing technology, the "tick" of Intel's plans. Then next year, when the 45-nanometer manufacturing technology is mature, Intel will introduce a new chip microarchitecture code-named Nehalem--the "tock"--with more significant changes to the chip design.

The rapid cadence is designed to ensure Intel won't get fooled again. Advanced Micro Devices caught Intel off guard earlier this decade, introducing a new chip architecture that represented a significant improvement in performance and power efficiency over Intel's chips at the time. Intel would like to avoid having to scrap years of planning again, so it is making smaller changes to its chip blueprints on a more frequent basis to keep up with the times.

The tide has started to turn back in Intel's favor with the Core 2 Duo chips. But one area where Intel has never fallen behind AMD is chip manufacturing.

Intel has been shipping chips based on its 65-nanometer manufacturing technology since late 2005, while AMD just last month introduced its first 65-nanometer chips. If Intel successfully introduces the Penryn family, it will have 45-nanometer chips out well before AMD's planned 2008 rollout of similar chips.

Smaller transistors have lots of benefits. Chip makers can improve performance by putting more transistors on the same size chip and dial-down power consumption by getting more work done. There's an economic upside as well, in that the chips themselves can be made smaller. This allows Intel and AMD to cut more chips from a single silicon wafer, reducing the cost to build an individual chip and making investors happy with fatter profit margins.

AMD has outlined plans to try to catch up to Intel, vowing to introduce its own 45-nanometer chips 18 months after its 65-nanometer chips, instead of the usual two years. Intel's Penryn demonstration puts additional pressure on that transition.

Apple user watch out in the month of January

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Apple's renowned reputation of having close to zero exploits is coming under the spotlight of many when January comes.

Two individuals, independent security researcher Kevin Finisterre, and a hacker called LMH, say they plan to publish a previously unknown Apple vulnerability every day throughout January. The pair will be scouring Apple OS X and applications that run on top of it.

Finisterre has found a number of bugs in Apple's software in recent years. In early 2006 he wrote a proof-of-concept worm that spread between OS X machines via a Bluetooth vulnerability.

Take-up of Macs is growing, partly due to the success of Apple's iPod, and the recent move to Intel chips could help the company grow its market share further. This, some claim, will inevitably make it a more tempting target for hackers -- if they can find vulnerabilities to exploit.

Thor argued that while Apple users should take security seriously, the Mac platform offered greater security.

"No reasonable user of any computer system, including Mac users, believes their system is bulletproof. Every system has flaws, and everyone needs to be cautious," wrote Thor.

Apple itself said that: "Apple takes security very seriously and has a great track record of addressing potential vulnerabilities before they can affect users. We always welcome feedback on how to improve security on the Mac."

At Least 25 Million Americans Pirate Movies

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Roughly 25 million Americans -- or 18 percent of the U.S. online population -- have illegally downloaded a full-length movie, a study released Wednesday asserts.

In a study of 2,600 Americans polled via telephone and online, Digital Life America, a unit of Solutions Research Group, found that 32 million Americans had downloaded a movie at some point in the past.

Of that number, 80 percent of those users -- or 25.6 million Americans -- exclusively used peer-to-peer file-sharing sites, the vast majority of which have typically been used for exchanging copyrighted files. The number of regular file-sharing users doubled between 2005 and 2006, the study found.

"It's all inclusive but as we note a few lines down, 80 percent of downloaders use only P2P," said Kaan Yigit, the director of the study, in an email Wednesday night. "CinemaNow!, MovieLink, Amazon Unbox are miniscule at this point - iTunes accounts for bulk of whatever legal downloads there is." The study's authors didn't clarify whether "downloaded" implied illegal downloads or participation in legal services such as CinemaNow! Some file-sharing sites, such as BitTorrent.org, have also signed deals with movie houses for legal distribution of licensed films. The authors of the study did not respond to a request for clarification by post time.

The perspective is that users simply don't care, or believe, that that the studios are being hurt by piracy, the self-funded study found. The survey revealed that 78 percent of those surveyed found that physcially stealing a DVD from a store was a serious offense, but only 40 percent believed copying the movie digital also merited a serious offense. The study pointed out that those surveyed described an example of a "serious offense" as parking in a fire lane.

"There is a Robin Hood effect -- most people perceive celebrities and studios to be rich already and as a result don't think of movie downloading as a big deal," Yigit said, in a statement. "The current crop of 'download to own' movie services and the new ones coming into the market will need to offer greater flexibility of use, selection and low prices to convert the current users to their services -- otherwise file-sharing will continue to thrive."

The study also found:

• A typical movie downloader is 29 years of age; 63 percent of all downloaders are male, and 37 percent are female.
• A downloader typically has 16 full-length movies stored on his PC.
• Of those surveyed, 56 percent watched a DVD on a PC at some point, while 29 percent watched a DVD on a PC in the last month. About 25 percent have watched a streaming TV show on their PC.

China's Baidu receives license to provide news

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Chinese Internet search leader Baidu won approval to become an online news portal, government and industry sources said on Tuesday, heating up a rivalry in the world's second-largest Web market.

China's State Council Information Office (SCIO), granted Baidu an Internet news content service license last week, a government source said, allowing Baidu.com--often referred to as "China's Google"--to do its own reporting rather than simply show news search results at present.

"This is definitely competition for Google," said Doug Crets, a Hong Kong-based researcher at Media Partners Asia.

The SCIO is the cabinet spokesman's office, which is responsible for the government news release and jointly regulates Internet content with the culture and information ministries.

Baidu had already started preparing its news department and had been ready to hire news-related staff, said the government source who is familiar with the situation. The company also changed the logo and name of its "Information" channel to "News" channel in Chinese characters on baidu.com early last week.

A rare license

China is relaxing its controls on its media and journalists in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but it still routinely censors news it deems politically sensitive for fear that it could incite social unrest.

China's largest Internet portal, Sina.com, obtained a news service permit a few years ago and carries its own reports. Still, Baidu is the first online search engine in China to win such a license.

"A news license is a rare resource to Internet companies in China. So far only very few Web sites are allowed to report news legally in the country," said the government source.

News and search are the two most popular Internet hobbies among over 120 million Chinese Web users, according to a government research report.

Industry watchers say Baidu's news ambition can help it sell more online advertising as more users are expected to see Baidu as a portal similar to Sina.com.

Google, the world's top search engine, drew criticism a year ago for bowing to Chinese government pressure to block politically sensitive terms on its new Chinese site, in return for access to the world's No. 2 Internet market.

Homegrown players such as Sohu.com, which received a news distribution license in 2000, Baidu, and China sites operated by Yahoo and Microsoft all routinely block searches on politically sensitive terms such as the Falun Gong movement and Taiwan independence.

From January 1, China will temporarily lift most restrictions on where foreign reporters may go in China and whom they can talk to in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, although military zones and Tibet are out of bounds.

Google placing ads on online Video Games

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Placing ads within online video games isn't an entirely new idea, but Google's entry into the space may cause it to take flight. The search giant, famous for its success in Internet advertising, reportedly will acquire Adscape Media as a vehicle to enter -- or perhaps take over -- the video game advertising world.

In-game ads include virtual billboards in urban environments, as well as special puzzles or challenges built directly into the game play when the games are connected to the Internet.

A virtual billboard, for example, could change to reflect new advertisements. Over the course of a single summer, the same billboard could show advertisements for different summer blockbuster movies. A player might be able to stop and watch a movie trailer, or even complete an immersive task built into the game itself.

In "True Crime: New York City," Puma and Activision created a mission challenging players to locate a special set of Puma shoes and return them to a particular store.

What does Google's entry mean?

"I think what keeps advertisers from adopting the medium is that it doesn't feel obviously relevant to them. If you're a bank or traditional advertiser, games are not the first thing you think of because they feel so untested," Shar VanBoskirk, an analyst for Forrester Research, told the E-Commerce Times. "I think what Google's entry into the space does is give the whole space credibility."

Microsoft took the first step toward increasing in-game advertising credibility last year when it acquired Massive, another in-game advertising company, reportedly for US$200 million-$400 million.

Even though in-game advertising is relatively young, Yankee Group has projected the in-game advertising market to explode, reaching a market value of $732 million by 2010.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 now make it easier than ever to connect console-based games, rather than PC-only games, to the Internet. In addition, the rapidly growing game industry is a prime place to attract the attention of 18- to 34-year-old males, a highly-valuable demographic for advertisers.

"What makes in-game advertising a viable place is that it's an engaging place for users," VanBoskirk noted.

"We're in an era where consumers are reacting to too much media in a negative way. They are starting to filter out messages, they aren't paying attention, and games are the last bastion where consumers are paying attention to the medium and are actively engaged with it," she explained. "So advertising that's placed in a smart way in the game can actually contribute to the gaming experience while communicating a brand or product message."

Google's Influence

Part of the problem for fledgling in-game advertisers is understanding what, exactly, they're buying in an online game.

"The advertiser craves standard ad formats, and yet it's precisely standard advertising formats that the consumer can tune out so easily," VanBoskirk added. "What the gaming environment needs is some definition of what you're paying for."

Can Google help define standard in-game advertising formats? Mostly likely, yes.

"Google takes a technological approach to a marketplace, meaning that they can develop technology that improves the delivery mechanism for advertising," Yankee Group Senior Analyst Michael Goodman told the E-Commerce Times. "In theory, Google could provide a cross-platform ad buy -- you could buy online, print, radio, and in-game. Since they haven't announced anything yet, it's hypothetical, but if you want to take advantage of it, that's what you want to do."

Google's ability to make ad buying easy, ultimately, is what might make it possible for many new advertisers to get in on in-game advertising.

Wal-Mart uses Microsoft for their Web operations

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Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores is contracting with Microsoft and Novell--Microsoft's preferred Linux partner--to build out the company's Web operations, according to a Wal-Mart executive.

On Tuesday, Microsoft and Novell are expected to announce that Wal-Mart is the latest customer to purchase both Microsoft software and support certificates for Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server.

In an interview arranged by both companies, Wal-Mart's senior vice president and chief technology officer, Nancy Stewart, provided some details on the project involving Wal-Mart, Microsoft and Novell.

Stewart said Wal-Mart is in the midst of expanding its Web presence globally. The partnership between Microsoft and Novell, announced last November, provides "a fine support structure" for the project, she said.

Wal-Mart, currently a Red Hat Linux customer, intends to use Windows Server and Suse Linux Enterprise Server in the expansion, she said.

With the partnership, Microsoft is seeking to make Novell its preferred Linux provider and to have both companies' products work well together. Microsoft offers coupons for Suse Enterprise Linux support services as well as legal indemnification for customers who use both Microsoft and Novell's Linux, which is open-source.

Wal-Mart, a global retailing giant with $315 billion in annual revenue, is already a Microsoft customer, and Stewart said the multiyear relationship has been "outstanding."

She said the intellectual property protections in the Novell deal give Wal-Mart more confidence in using Linux more broadly.

Questions over intellectual property are a "huge problem," Stewart said. The company now uses Linux in the data center of its current Web presence but had some trepidation with the idea of expanding it a much larger operation.

Apple cracks down on iPhone copycats

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Although Apple's iPhone won't hit the stores for a few months, some eager fans already have smartphones that look exactly like the user interface CEO Steve Jobs showed the world last week. Apple is taking action against any firm producing iPhone "skins." The company sent a letter to one such firm, MoDaCo, claiming that the iPhone icons and screenshot are copyrighted by Apple. At least one company, MoDaCo, has developed a screen shot of the UI that users can download and install as a "skin" on their PocketPC device. Apple, unsurprisingly, has not looked kindly upon these endeavors and is threatening legal action. The letter continues, "Apple therefore demands that you remove this screen shot from your Web site and refrain from facilitating the further dissemination of Apple's copyrighted material by removing the link to http://forum.xda-developers.com, where said icons and screenshot are being distributed." This is like getting attention for the wrong thing

What MoDaCo did appears to be the equivalent of waving a bright red cape in front of an angry bull. Apple is notoriously protective of its brand and related patents and trademarks; however, its rights to the iPhone name is a matter of dispute as Cisco Systems also claims ownership to the trademark.

In September 2006, for instance, Apple filed the word "pod" for trademark protection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office -- separate from its use in connection to iPod.

Apple also apparently is seeking to claim rights to the word "podcast" in certain commercial situations. Last year, the company sent a cease-and-desist letter to Podcast Ready, a company that offers downloadable podcasts along with a software application that supports many portable devices, including the iPod.

Patent or Copyright?

"So, if there is an original icon, Apple has copyright protection as of its creation. Apple would have to register the work in the copyright office to file suit but it's their right and can keep others from using that particular icon," Rubin said.

For patent protection, by contrast, Apple has to file for a patent with the Patent and Trademark Office, Rubin continued.

"In the software arts -- and a new UI would be considered software -- such an application could take five years to process because of backlog in the Patent Office," he noted. "If Apple only recently came up with the new UI, it could be years before the patent issues and they can enforce [it]. This is a major problem in industries where the technology is only hot for a few years. The whole relevant time could be spent waiting for a patent to issue."

It's highly likely that the patent application will publish before it issues, Rubin concluded.

"Once an application is published, Apple can inform its competitors of the publication but, unless the patent eventually issues in substantially the same way -- and there is no real guidance on what that language means yet -- Apple has no rights until the patent actually issue," he said.

WGA spots 22% of Windows not genuine

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Microsoft disclosed that over one in five Windows installations were deemed non-genuine through the company's Windows Genuine Advantage program, which requires users to validate their operating system before downloading updates from the company.

Since WGA launched in July 2005, over 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of Windows, Microsoft said. Of those, the non-genuine rate was 22.3 percent. 56,000 reports have been made by customers of counterfeit software, which grants that user a free replacement copy of Windows.

While high, that number is less than the average software piracy rate around the world, according to the Business Software Alliance. The BSA reports that 35 percent of the world's software is pirated (22 percent in North America specifically), and a Yankee Group study noted that 55 percent of organizations report instances of counterfeit or pirated software.

As it prepares to launch both Windows Vista and Office 2007 to the public next week, Microsoft has kicked off what it calls the "Genuine Fact Files" campaign for educating consumers on the downfall and risks associated with non-genuine software. It hopes to discourage users from downloading illicit software in the process.

Acknowledging that potential customers may be tempted to "try the new products first before they make the decision to buy" through the use of pirated software, Microsoft has posted an online "test drive" of Windows Vista, which joins an existing Web-based preview of Office 2007.

The Vista test drive, which requires Internet Explorer 6 or 7 and runs the operating system in a small Active X based virtual machine, lets visitors explore various new features of the forthcoming operating system, and guides them through common tasks. Meanwhile, a 60-day trial download of Office 2007 is also available.

Windows OneCare to be release with Windows Vista

Starting Jan. 30, consumers in the United States and 16 other countries will be able to purchase a major release of Windows Live™ OneCare™ online or from participating retail stores. Building on versions of Microsoft’s comprehensive PC care service previously available in the United States, the new Windows Live OneCare release will now offer an even simpler consumer experience. The service will feature unified virus and spyware scanning, more flexible file backup options and support for the Windows Vista™ operating system, which will also be available to consumers on Jan. 30. Delivering on the OneCare promise of a simple, evolving service, all active OneCare subscribers will be automatically upgraded to this latest release with new features and enhancements while they’re online.

To thank the consumers worldwide who participated in the Windows Live OneCare beta program for this major release, a special offer will be sent via e-mail to beta users for a significant discount off the annual subscription fee when they sign up at http://onecare.live.com. From Jan. 23 through Feb. 12, Windows Live OneCare beta users who take advantage of this offer will receive a year’s service at approximately 60 percent off the regular price. In addition, many retailers plan to offer rebates and other in-store promotions for Windows Live OneCare in the coming weeks.

“This new release marks our continued commitment to evolving and expanding our all-in-one PC care service around the world — both for Windows XP and now Windows Vista customers,” said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of the Technology Care and Safety Group at Microsoft. “In addition to helping guard against viruses, spyware, phishing scams and other security threats, OneCare also handles a variety of essential PC care practices behind the scenes so our customers can have peace of mind that their PC is being taken care of and will be able to spend their valuable time on other things.”

Windows Live OneCare offers automated protection, maintenance, performance tuning and support for PCs running either Windows^® XP Service Pack 2 or the Windows Vista operating system. Designed to evolve with the changing needs of consumers, Windows Live OneCare continuously delivers new and updated features to subscribers while they’re online.

Support for Windows Vista Operating System

Windows Live OneCare completes the security picture for Windows Vista adopters by providing real-time anti-virus protection and managing firewall policies to address new and evolving threats. The service goes beyond security to help simplify important maintenance tasks such as backing up photos, music and other files to a variety of storage devices and defragmenting the hard drive to help increase the performance of consumers’ PCs.

Pricing and Availability

In the United States, Windows Live OneCare is priced at an annual subscription rate of $49.95 (estimated retail price*) for up to three PCs. As of Jan. 30, the service will also be available at similar pricing and licensing structures in the following markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Dutch and French), Canada (English and French), France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland (French and German), the United Kingdom and the United States. Consumers can download the Windows Live OneCare subscription service at http://onecare.live.com.

Google going for Billboard Advertising?

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Google, the Mountain View, Calif. search marketing giant has filed a patent application for technology that lets local stores tie their stock control computers to a Google-powered ad network, a strong hint that the company is planning to expand expansion beyond Web, print and radio advertising. The patent, filed December 21, 2006 with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), covers systems and methods for allocating advertising space in a “network of electronic display devices.” The idea is to tie billboard advertising in local malls to actual products for sale nearby, much like the company’s flagship Google AdWords/AdSense network that handles contextual advertising on the Internet. The patent filing, first reported by New Scientist magazine, describes a way for retailers to put categories of products up for purchase in the vicinity of a display device. “Advertisers may upload advertisement messages to a server specifying information such as budget, price per impression, preferred billboards and/or other constraints. One or more keywords or other descriptors are specified for each advertisement message,” according to the USPTO filing (which can be viewed online here). Google said the system would then generate an advertising campaign specifying where on the display devices the advertisement message will appear. “The output may consist of various forms, including video, audio, printed incentive, interactive data transfers and/or combinations of these,” the company said in the filing. If the filing is a sign of things to come from Google, kiosk-type billboards, ATM machines and other digital displays in malls and hotel lobbies could start hawking products directly from a nearby retailer’s inventory. Nowadays, advertising in these screens are limited to looped, poster-type advertisements of movie promotions and other nearby events but, in Google’s eye, the ads could be pulled directly from a merchant’s stock control system. In the patent application, Google explained that its technology could remove the burden of manually loading looped ads, instead letting merchants create campaigns from available goods and services. The ads can be displayed in rotation and shut off automatically when a product is sold out. Once the product is restocked, the advertisement can be re-added to the display cycle.

Did anyone get free passes to Macworld Expo?

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A hacker claims he also got priority access to Steve Jobs' speech at the Macworld Conference and Expo this week.

A security weakness in the event's Web site allowed enterprising hackers to get free "platinum passes" to the event, a $1,695 value, a security professional claims. These passes--the most expensive sold for Macworld--included much-coveted priority seating for the Jobs keynote address on Tuesday. In that packed speech, Jobs unveiled Apple's new iPhone.

The hack was possible because special discount codes were available on the Macworld site without proper security, Kurt Grutzmacher, a Berkeley, Calif.-based security professional, wrote on his blog late Thursday. It was relatively easy to uncover the code that would make a platinum pass free, he wrote.

The pass would allow you to have a seat in the room and hear the release of iPhone

Grutzmacher picked up his free "Platinum Pass" on Monday and reported the issue to IDG on Tuesday, he wrote. IDG World Expo runs Macworld, which closes Friday.

"They'd spent most of the day looking back over their logs and found that others also had found this vulnerability and used it but I was the only one to report it," Grutzmacher wrote.

Macworld organizer IDG World Expo won't confirm or deny that the hack happened. Spokeswoman Charlotte McCormack on Friday said the company simply had "no comment." A representative for Registration Control Systems, the company that handled registrations for the event, referred all questions to IDG.

The claimed Macworld hack is an excellent example of security issues with Web 2.0 applications, Billy Hoffman, a researcher at Web security specialist SPI Dynamics, said in an e-mail interview Friday.

IDG tried to make their Web site more responsive by doing some of their validation on the PC of the user registering for the event, Hoffman said. They did this by pushing some JavaScript code to the browser. By doing that they leaked how the priority code is verified and used by the Web site, he said.

"I visited the IDG registration page today (Friday), and the priority codes are still in the JavaScript, available for anyone to steal," he said. "By trying to enrich the user's experience, the programmers exposed all of their discount offers in JavaScript, allowing an attacker to discovery them and perform fraud for thousands of dollars."

What Grutzmacher did isn't something that any layperson could do. When registering for the event, he discovered that the Macworld online registration page actually contained a list of possible discount codes, called "Priority Codes," he wrote.

This list was not in plain text, though. It was encrypted and showed a number of MD5 hashes, Grutzmacher wrote. The protection was easy to crack, however, because the Web site gave several key pieces of information that enabled a crack. In less than 10 seconds, he had the code that gave him a free platinum pass, he wrote.

"Ultimately, you don't want to give the client everything they need to gain access to something they shouldn't. Validate on the server rather than the client and keep the keys secret," Grutzmacher wrote. "Of course, you also shouldn't use a very easy key that will provide discounted access."

And you can get the passes for free legally by typing "digg"

IBM the world of patents

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It would be news if IBM didn't get the most U.S. patents in 2006.

So it's no surprise that the company did just that for the 14th consecutive year. But it's still worth noting the number of patents Big Blue was awarded--3,651--especially in light of various efforts to reform what some say is a flawed system to balance intellectual property and innovation. Not to mention IBM's continued willingness to launch patent infringement lawsuits and the fact that smaller companies eagerly trumpet the award of even a single patent.

IBM plans to tout its patent tally Wednesday. Second place went to Samsung Electronics, with 2,453 patents, followed by Canon with 2,378, Matsushita Electronics with 2,273, Hewlett-Packard with 2,113, Intel with 1,962, and Sony with 1,810.

Patents can be a lucrative source of revenue for technology companies that license their intellectual property to others. And patents can give strategic leverage to competitive negotiations, as in recent deals that Novell and Sun Microsystems signed with rival Microsoft.

But patents can be a pain, too. Amazon.com and IBM are locked in a legal battle about e-commerce patents. A patent infringement suit costs $3 million to defend, intellectual property lawyers estimate.

Then there's the open-source problem. The collaborative programming community, of which IBM is a significant part, shares technology freely with licensing terms that often are at odds with corporate patent licensing arrangements. IBM has made various attempts to put the open-source realm at ease, for example, by sharing some patents with open-source projects and pledging to avoid some patent lawsuits.

The latest modest-scale patent reform plan IBM is involved in is an online meeting called the Inventors' Forum where smaller companies or individual inventors, such as Super Soaker patent holder Lonnie Johnson, can have their say. The company plans to announce the forum Wednesday.

Pc shipments on the rise but the profit per machine drops

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Shipments of desktops, notebooks and servers with processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices grew by about 10 percent worldwide in 2006, according to figures released Wednesday from research firm Gartner. During the calendar year, 239.4 million PCs left factories.

Hewlett-Packard, the largest PC maker in the world for two straight quarters, expanded its lead over rival Dell in the fourth quarter worldwide. HP also edged closer to Dell in U.S. shipments. IDC found similar results, which were also released Wednesday.

For the year, revenue generated from worldwide PC sales across the industry, however, remained flat at $201.1 billion, according to the firm's early estimate. It doesn't appear that 2007 will bring much change. PC shipments will go up by 9.9 percent, Gartner predicts, but revenue will only climb to $201.3 billion.

The main culprit is price cutting. PC makers have continually tried to one-up each other with low prices to gain market share, which has depressed prices. Sony saw its market share jump in the U.S., Smulders noted, but after cutting prices--a move the company resisted for some time.

The customer base is also changing. In the U.S., PC shipments increased by only 1.2 percent for the year and actually decreased by 3.2 percent during the fourth quarter. Instead, growth in unit shipments is coming from emerging markets, where customers can't spend as much.

"There will be some pickup around Vista," Smulders said referring to the latest version of Microsoft Windows. "Toward the end of the year, we may see the start of a replacement market, but that is more of a 2008 issue."

The news, however, isn't bad for everyone. Some companies have learned to adapt better to the low-margin environment, and some have grown substantially faster than the market as a whole. No. 1 HP now has had six straight profitable quarters in PCs, Smulders said.

In the fourth quarter, HP saw its worldwide market share rise to 17.4 percent, a 23.9 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Dell, meanwhile, saw its market share decline. In the fourth quarter, the company accounted for only 13.9 percent of PCs shipped worldwide, an 8.7 percent drop from the same period a year ago. That's the lowest market share for Dell in four years. (Dell actually shipped more PCs than HP on a worldwide basis for the year, but trailed HP in the third and fourth quarters.)

In the fourth quarter, Dell remained No. 1 in the U.S., but it saw its market share drop by 17.9 percent. Dell now has 29.1 percent of the U.S. market, down from 34 percent for the same period a year ago. HP saw its market share increase in the U.S. to 25.3 percent, a 16 percent jump.

"There is a big question mark around Dell," said Loren Loverde, an analyst at IDC. Dell earlier in 2006 said it would seek profitability and sell to higher-end customers, and worry less about market share, he said. Additionally, Dell historically sees its PC shipment growth slow a bit in the fourth quarter, in comparison with rivals, because it places less emphasis on the consumer market. The consumer market accounts for only 15 percent of Dell's revenue. Still, the decline in market share is more rapid than anticipated, Loverde said.

"I expected them to be much more sensitive to market share," he said.

Acer, No. 4 worldwide, also remained the fastest growing PC maker for the third year in a row. For the year, Acer's shipments grew by 37.1 percent. Acer's market share in the fourth quarter stood at 6.8 percent.

"Acer has a business model that is suited to a low margin, low ASP (average selling price) market," he said.

Toshiba, which concentrates on the healthier notebook segment, also did well in 2006. For the year on a worldwide basis, Toshiba saw shipments grow 27.3 percent. In the fourth quarter, the company had a 3.8 percent market share. Toshiba is the fifth largest PC maker worldwide, according to both Gartner and IDC, and is about tied with Apple for the fourth spot in the U.S. (Gartner puts Toshiba at No. 4 in the U.S., while IDC says Toshiba comes in at No. 5, closely following Apple.)

Apple also saw its fortunes rise. The company accounted for 4.7 percent of the U.S. market in the fourth quarter, growing shipments by 31.8 percent, according to IDC. Apple is the fourth largest PC maker in the U.S., ranked behind Dell, HP and Gateway and barely ahead of Toshiba, according to IDC. Worldwide, Apple is ranked seventh and had a 2.4 percent market share in the fourth quarter, Loverde said. That's up from 2.1 percent worldwide in the fourth quarter 2005.

By contrast, Lenovo, continued to have trouble growing outside China. For 2006 as a whole, Lenovo saw its market share barely rise, from 6.9 percent to 7 percent worldwide for the year.

MySpace sues spammer

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MySpace.com has filed a lawsuit against Scott Richter, the so-called "Spam King" who allegedly sent out millions of unsolicited "bulletins" to MySpace members, the site announced.

The News Corp.-owned social-networking site cited violations of multiple state and U.S. antispam laws, including California statutes and the federal Can-Spam Act, in its case against Richter, who was the proprietor of a site called OptInRealBig.com. According to MySpace, Richter gained access to MySpace user accounts via phishing schemes, or took control of accounts that had already been phished, and then used the service's bulletin feature, which sends messages to all of a user's "friends," to churn out unsolicited messages that advertised products ranging from Polo shirts to cell phone ringtones.

The suit is aiming for monetary damages and an injunction that would permanently ban Richter and his affiliates from MySpace. The amount of money sought by MySpace has not been disclosed.

Richter was already ordered to pay $7 million in a 2003 lawsuit filed by Microsoft after initially refusing to settle the dispute for $100,000. Microsoft announced in 2005 that it would be using the money from the settlement to fuel further antispam operations.

Phishing is just one security problem facing MySpace these days. In December, the site had to deal with a QuickTime worm that posted links to fraudulent Web sites by exploiting a vulnerability in MySpace's architecture. It addition, it continues to battle safety problems, now that several high-profile incidents have made MySpace a seemingly perpetual bogeyman among parents' organizations and the U.S. government.

Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer, said in a statement Monday that the service is "committed to protecting our community from phishing and spam." He added that "if it takes filing a federal suit to stop someone who violates the law and damages our members' experience, then that's what we'll do."

2006 brand ranking with Youtube and Wikipedia

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Internet firm Google has again pipped Apple to the top spot in a global brand ranking that also sees YouTube and Wikipedia debut in the top five, a survey showed on Friday.

The annual survey by online branding magazine brandchannel.com often throws up controversial results, such as in 2004, when Arabic TV station Al Jazeera was named the world's fifth most influential brand.

This year the 3,625 branding professionals and students who voted have again surprised, awarding upstart firms star status when asked, "Which brand had the most impact on our lives in 2006?"

Google, the Internet search engine that has expanded regionally and moved into online advertising, mail and blogging, seized the top spot for the second consecutive year, ahead of Apple, which again comes in second place.

More surprisingly, video-sharing Web site YouTube, which was bought by Google in October last year, stormed into third place. Online encyclopedia Wikipedia makes the fourth spot, pushing coffee shop behemoth Starbucks to fifth.

Other new brand winners were News Corp.'s online chat site MySpace, debuting in 15th place in the North America rankings, and Al Jazeera, which advances to 19th place globally having launched its English-language channel in November and after its drop from fifth to 25th in 2005.

The poll does not take account of economic brand value, the murky science of assigning a financial value to brand, which regularly puts Coca-Cola's Coke in first place.

Neither does it ask respondents to consider whether the brand's impact is positive or negative.

Brandchannel also split the poll by regions and in the North America the rundown was similar to the global outcome, albeit in a different order, with Apple in first place, followed by YouTube, Google, Starbucks and Wikipedia.

The top five places in the European list are from homegrown corporations, with Swedish furniture giant Ikea knocking Nokia off the top spot and into third place. Skype comes in second, with fast-fashion brand Zara in fourth and Adidas in fifth.

Likewise, local firms dominate the Asia-Pacific region poll with the top five places taken by Sony, Toyota, HSBC, Samsung and Honda. Third-placed HSBC has Asian roots although it is headquartered in London.

And in a refreshing change from the high-tech brands that dominate the global poll, Latin America's top two are party beverages Corona and Bacardi, with mobile phone operator Movistar in third. Sandal maker Havaianas takes fourth place and Bimbo, the world's No. 3 bread maker, comes in fifth.

Google accidentally exposes user's data

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Finjan confirmed earlier reports that Google's anti-phishing blacklist, containing private user names and passwords, was accessible without protection on Google's servers.

Information gathered for Google's Safe Browsing extension for Firefox wasn't safely stored on Google's servers, according to a report issued by computer security company Finjan.

Finjan today confirmed earlier reports that Google's anti-phishing blacklist, containing private user names and passwords, was accessible without protection on Google's servers. The company said that it made the discovery on Jan. 3, that it informed Google, and that the data is no longer publicly accessible.

In a statement, Google explained, "Some URLs users submitted to the Google Safe Browsing project included credential information such as login and/or password for the Web site they were visiting. We have removed this information from URLs in the blacklist and created a process whereby this information is automatically stripped from future URLs submitted by users. In addition, we are in the process of notifying the users who inadvertently disclosed this information and suggesting that they reset associated passwords."

Finjan said in its report, "Such sensitive information could potentially have been used to compromise user privacy, and could even have been used for identity theft or financial profit (as users generally have a single 'Web' password for most of their online accounts)."

It could also be used for marketing, if you happen to be selling security products.

Google said 15 people have been notified. There's no indication that the data in question has been abused.

While Google reacted swiftly to the issue -- one caused by user carelessness -- it continues to make sensitive personal information available through its search engine, as do the other major search engines. And it's up to search engine users to police that information.

As InformationWeek reported in August 2005, searching for terms related to Social Security numbers using a search engine continues to return Social Security numbers, key data for identity theft.

In fact, Google is downright helpful when it comes to finding Social Security numbers: In one case -- and it may be the only one -- Google will identify an individual whose Social Security number has been posted online, thanks to a feature in the Google Toolbar that generates search suggestions based on popular searches. (Evidently, a lot of people have searched for this person's Social Security number.)

Entering two keywords related to Social Security numbers -- call them "x" and "y" so as not to compound the problem -- into the Google Toolbar will produce a keyword search suggestion in the form "x y John Doe." Selecting the suggested search terms and name, as might be expected, generates a search results page with the named person's Social Security number.

A spokesperson for Google said the company's engineers didn't have an immediate explanation for the auto-generated suggestion, that it was probably an aberration and that the suggetion would likely be removed.

Google explains the search suggestion feature as follows: "As you type a search query into the new Toolbar's search box, you'll see a list of useful suggestions based on popular Google searches, spelling corrections, and your own Toolbar search history and bookmarks."

A Google spokesperson acknowledged receiving the same suggestion using the search terms cited above, so it appears that this particular suggestion was made because the terms represented a popular search rather than as a result of local search history at any single computer.

Google has been aware of the problem of indexing sensitive information and discusses it in its Help Center. The company points out that its search index reflects the contents of the Web, and removing sensitive information from its index does not remove it from the Web. Thus, Google encourages users to seek to remove sensitive information from the Web rather than just its index.

Google is willing to help, however. The company says, "If you find a page in our search results that lists your Social Security, credit card, or bank account numbers, please e-mail us the URL and we'll contact the site's hosting company to request that the page be taken down from the Web."

Google also encourages users to use its search engine as a free credit card and Social Security number monitoring service for Web-based content. "We also suggest that individuals create Google Alerts for their credit card and Social Security numbers," the company recommends. "You can be notified once a day or once a week if a new result appears on Google for this query.

Canada accounts for 50% of piracy

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As much as 50 per cent of the world's pirated movies come from Canada, prompting the film industry to threaten to delay the release of new titles in this country.

According to an investigation by Twentieth Century Fox, most of the illegal recording, or "camcording," is taking place in Montreal movie houses, taking advantage of bilingual releases and lax copyright laws.

In Quebec, it is much more advantageous because you get both English and French. You cover a bigger part of the world," said Ellis Jacob, chief executive of the Cineplex Entertainment theatre chain. "They are using Canada because they can have the movie out on the street in the Philippines and China before it even releases there."

Jacob said he was warned in a letter from Bruce Snyder, president of Fox's domestic distribution, that if Canada doesn't do something to curb its growing piracy problem, Hollywood will.

Recent movies including Children of Men, Borat, Night at the Museum and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest have been made available on the Internet days after they were released.

The movie industry has complained that the Canadian Copyright Act, as well as the internal policies of police forces including the RCMP, make it extremely difficult for them to crack down on movie piracy.

Under the act, anyone caught copying a movie without the studio's consent can face criminal charges and jailed or fined up to $25,000. Copyright holders can also take civil action against someone who has infringed on their property.

However, Jacob said convicting someone is difficult.

Serge Corriveau, vice-president and national director of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, said law enforcement agencies don't see movie piracy as a big problem.

Cineplex's Jacob said theatre chains all across Canada already employ security guards who are equipped with night vision goggles and other surveillance equipment to try to catch pirates.

But he questioned how far the industry must go to protect itself.

Changes to laws in the United States have seen movie piracy in that country plummet.

According to Jacob, one man caught with a camcorder in a theatre was jailed eight years and fined $250,000.

Philip Kerr, an Ottawa lawyer specializing in copyright law with Bowley Kerr Nadeau Professional Corp., said Canada's copyright law already has plenty of teeth.

Because of movie piracy, a U.S. congressional committee has added Canada to a "country watch list" that includes such well-known piracy havens as China, Russia, India and Malaysia.

According to the 2006 watch list, "piracy in these countries is largely the result of a lack of political will to confront the problem."

The document says movies recorded in Canada are quickly filtered through organized crime groups and circulated around the world. It also claims that Canada has become a dumping ground for pirated content.

Studios are able to trace pirated movies to specific theatres by examining them for watermarks that are contained within the images, but invisible to the naked eye.

Have the extra cash? Buy the limited edition Windows Vista signed by Bill Gates

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Get this copy of Windows Vista personally autographed by Bill Gates for only $259.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. (Only in USA). Head to Amazon or click here to buy the limited edition now. Use Instant Search to quickly find the information you need. Windows Sidebar gives you quick access to gadgets like picture slide shows, Windows Media Player controls, or news headlines. You pick the gadgets you want to see in Windows Sidebar. Use Flip 3D to navigate through open windows using the scroll wheel on your mouse. Windows Vista Aero provides spectacular visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through. The redesigned Windows Media Center in Windows Vista lets you enjoy your media throughout your home, even on your Xbox 360.

Dell now sells PCs with no Windows reinstalled

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Dell has release new range of desktop for customers and the best thing is that it comes with NO Windows preinstalled

n Series Desktops Provides Excellent Flexibility for YOU!

Are you looking for a desktop on which you can run Linux® or other open-source operating systems? Look no further! Dell's new open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers with a DimensionTM E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or included Microsoft® operating system. With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux® ), and help reduce the price of this system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted hard drive ready for your custom installation. Dell's n Series desktop ships with a copy of FreeDosTM , an open-source operating system that is ready to install. Note: Dell does not support non-Dell installed operating systems.

Featured n Series

Dimension n Series E520 Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual CoreTechnology(2.80GHz,800FSB) FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache Dimension n Series E521 AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install 512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache Dimension n Series C521 AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ FreeDOS™ included in the box, ready to install 512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM Free Upgrade! 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache Starting at $899 $749 After $150 Off Instantly! Starting at $624 Starting at $624

Source from http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Microsoft extends support for XP Home, XP Media Center

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Microsoft announced that it is adding five-year customer support for the operating systems, marking the first time that such extended service has been offered with a Microsoft consumer product.

The "extended" support, which kicks in after April 2009, will bring the two products on par with Microsoft's Windows XP Professional for businesses. Microsoft previously reserved its five-year extended support feature to only enterprise-grade products.

Under Microsoft's Support Lifecyle Policy, consumers and businesses both receive "mainstream" support for their products. XP Home Edition and XP Media Center will see mainstream support end in April 2009, which includes paid support, security updates, design changes and feature requests.

Once mainstream support expires, the five-year extended support is due to kick in. Previously, XP Home and XP Media Center consumers would migrate to self-help support for eight years, after their mainstream support ended.

The extended-support level includes roughly half of the eight features included in mainstream support. Those not included are design changes and feature requests, warranty claims, no-charge incident reports and nonsecurity hot-fix support, unless a user purchases an extended agreement within 90 days of the mainstream support expiring.

The phase for additional software support will provide consumers with service until 2014, Microsoft said.

For the software giant, extending its help window is nothing new. Microsoft extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME by two years, with assistance ending last summer.

And although Microsoft is expanding its support for its two consumer XP products, the move comes as it is gearing up to release its Windows Vista operating system to consumers next week. Vista, which is currently available to computer makers to load on their boxes, is expected to ultimately replace XP, though market watchers note that it might take some time.

"Microsoft has listened to customer feedback and realized that providing security patches for Windows XP Professional, and not extending that support to the XP Home and XP Media Center Editions, was not a consistent approach," a company representative said. "Microsoft is currently making the change for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition only, and (it is) taking additional time to evaluate a permanent policy change that would apply to all consumer operating system versions."

Nokia manage to post a higher earning despite more price cuts

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Nokia, the No. 1 cell phone maker in the world, reported a 19 percent increase in profits based on strong sales and steady profit margins.

In the fourth quarter, Nokia posted earnings of $1.65 billion (1.27 billion euros) compared with earnings of $1.39 billion (1.07 billion euros) in the same quarter a year ago. For all of 2006, Nokia saw profits of $5.59 billion, up from $4.69 billion in the previous year.

Nokia shipped 106 million handsets in the fourth quarter, an increase of 27 percent from a year ago. It gained market share in every region of the world except North America.

The company's chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, called 2006 a "good" year for Nokia. "We had record sales, but as good as 2006 was it could and should have been better. We are looking for ways to continue to improve our business."

Kallasvuo noted that there had been some production delays in the fourth quarter for Nokia's higher-end multimedia phones, which have cameras and music players embedded. But he said those issues have been improved. As a result, sales of these devices grew only about 6 percent during the quarter. The company had expected sales of these more expensive phones to grow about 24 percent.

But even as total shipments of handsets increased during the quarter, the average price of Nokia's handsets fell. Prices have fallen consistently throughout the year as Nokia targets emerging markets such as India and China with lower-end phones. In the fourth quarter, the average price was $116 (89 euros). In the third quarter, it was $120, and in the fourth quarter of 2005, it was $128.

Unlike competitors such as Samsung and Motorola, Nokia still managed to make a profit despite falling prices. Motorola, which is Nokia's biggest rival, saw profits drop 48 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 when it reported earnings last week. The company is cutting 5 percent of its work force in an effort to improve operating expenses.

Samsung Electronics also saw profits decline 8 percent in the fourth quarter. The company blamed the shortfall on poor sales of products other than mobile handsets, which actually sold well in the quarter. Samsung reported it had sold 32 million handsets in the fourth quarter.

Sony Ericsson also bucked the profit trend and reported that it had more than tripled profits during the fourth quarter, mainly through sales of high-end devices.

Windows Vista service pack 1 is in the planning stage

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Windows Vista is not even fully out the door, but Redmond is already laying the groundwork for its first service pack release of bug fixes and other enhancements for the operating system.

The software maker has put out a call for businesses that want to be early testers of the software. "Interested customers should contact their Technical Account Manager at Microsoft to get nominated," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail.

Windows Vista doesn't hit retail shelves until next week, though it has been on sale to large businesses since November.

Understandably, the company has not finalized what it will deliver in the first service pack, though the software maker outlined an update that is more similar to Windows XP Service Pack 1 and other minor updates than to Windows XP Service Pack 2, which was a fairly major overhaul of the operating system.

"We expect Windows Vista SP1 to be a standard service pack that will include security updates and hot fixes, as well as limited other changes focused on improving overall quality," the representative said.

Microsoft said it was "too early to provide any firm date range" for SP1, but said, "In general, we expect the first service pack for Windows Vista to be released in a timeframe similar to that of service packs for previous versions of Windows."

Windows XP Service Pack 1 arrived in September 2002, 11 months after XP's initial debut.

Microsoft's call for business testers was noted earlier Tuesday by APCmag.com.

Microsoft using Billboard to advertise Windows Vista

Microsoft will kick off its Windows Vista launch activities with a human billboard in downtown New York.

The Cirque du Soleil-style performance will take place at 9 a.m. Monday at the Terminal Building.

"It's a billboard. It's marketing, except that it's made by people," Mike Sievert, corporate VP for Windows told CNET News.com late Wednesday.

Among those on hand for the marketing stunt will be around 80 families that extensively tested Vista.

The performance will kick off two days of activities in New York as the software maker touts its first consumer Windows release in five years as well as the launch of Office 2007.

Sievert said New York was chosen because it is a "very big, very important city" for Microsoft. The company plans to invite several hundred beta testers from the Greater New York area to a party in the Times Square area Monday evening.

Microsoft, along with several of its hardware partners are hosting a lunch Monday at the posh Cipriani restaurant.

New York was also the locale for the business launch of Vista and Office 2007 in November.

Microsoft Reports Record Revenue

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Microsoft Corp. announced record revenue of $12.54 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, a 6% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $3.47 billion, $2.63 billion and $0.26, respectively.

These results reflect the deferral of $1.64 billion of revenue and operating income, $1.13 billion of net income and $0.11 of diluted earnings per share from the second to the third fiscal quarter, due primarily to the technology guarantee programs that were announced on October 24, 2006 for Windows Vista™ and the 2007 Microsoft® Office release. Revenue growth over the same period of the prior year would have been 14 percentage points higher before the technology guarantee programs.

“Results this quarter exceeded our expectations across the board, with revenue growth at or above our high end guidance for all divisions,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Healthy PC and server markets as well as broad-based business and consumer demand for Microsoft offerings fueled revenue growth this quarter.”

The same period last year marked the launches of Xbox 360™, Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005, Visual Studio® 2005 and Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 3.0. One year later, these products have contributed over $1.0 billion of revenue growth.

“The execution of our field sales and marketing teams were a major contributor to this quarter’s extremely positive results,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Customers have responded positively with strong contract renewals and license sales. We are pleased with such strong financial results and look forward to making Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system widely available to all customers next week."

Business Outlook

Microsoft management offers the following guidance for the quarter ending March 31, 2007:

•	Revenue is expected to be in the range of $13.7 billion to $14.0 billion, which reflects $1.68 billion of revenue recognition as noted below.
•	Operating income is expected to be in the range of $6.1 billion to $6.3 billion, which reflects a $1.68 billion impact due to revenue recognition as noted below.
•	Diluted earnings per share are expected to be $0.45 to $0.46, which includes a $0.12 earnings per share impact due to revenue recognition as noted below.

Note: The guidance above includes the impact of third quarter recognition of revenue deferred from the first and second fiscal quarters, primarily related to the technology guarantee programs.

Management offers the following guidance for the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2007:

•	Revenue is expected to be in the range of $50.2 billion to $50.7 billion.
•	Operating income is expected to be in the range of $19.3 billion to $19.7 billion.
•	Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.45 to $1.47.

Vista helps to generate $10 Billion in New Revenue for California IT Industry California’s IT industry is expected to experience a significant financial impact as a result of the launch of the Windows Vista™ operating system. According to a research study recently completed by IDC and commissioned by Microsoft Corp., within the first year of the Windows Vista shipment, California’s IT industry will begin seeing considerable increases in new jobs and revenue. The study’s findings indicate that Windows Vista will provide a foundation for the IT market, with more than 60 percent of total IT employment being related to Windows Vista. In addition, total Windows^®-related employment in California is expected to jump by nearly 16,000 jobs.

Windows Vista, together with the 2007 Microsoft^® Office system, was made available on Nov. 30 to Volume Licensing customers and will be broadly available on Jan. 30.

“Windows Vista will create additional revenues for Microsoft in California, but will also create even bigger economic ripples throughout the ecosystem that sells products and services in California that run on or work with it,” said John Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president of IDC. “Windows Vista’s footprint in the state will be wide, as original equipment manufacturers sell PCs that run on it, software companies sell applications that run it, and services and distribution firms deliver, install, support and train on it. We expect that in the first year of Windows Vista shipments, this ecosystem will sell more than $10 billion of Windows Vista-related products and services in California.”

Microsoft partners — companies that sell hardware, write software, provide IT services or serve as IT distribution channels — will also feel the impact of Windows Vista because it will drive substantial revenue and growth for Microsoft-centric companies. According to the study, the release of Windows Vista will help strengthen the more than 30,000 California IT companies that will produce, sell or distribute products and services running on Windows Vista. The study also forecasts that each dollar of Windows Vista-related revenue earned by Microsoft in 2007 will generate more than $19 in revenue for the ecosystem beyond Microsoft.

“Microsoft is proud to bring products to market that help infuse economic growth here in California,” said Sandi Thomas, Southern California District general manager at Microsoft. “This launch is generating economic opportunities in California and across the nation by creating jobs, enabling organizational efficiencies and helping solve business challenges for our customers, partners and the IT industry as a whole.”

Microsoft’s ecosystem is making a sizable investment to prepare for and roll out Windows Vista worldwide, according to the IDC study. Between now and the end of 2007, IDC expects Microsoft partners to invest approximately $1.4 billion in Windows Vista-related products and services.

PS3 arrive in Europe

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Well friends, the moment many of you have been waiting for has finally arrived: Sony's just lifted the months-long veil of secrecy that's been shrouding the PlayStation 3's impending European launch. The good news -- and there's not much of it here, folks -- is that March 23rd is indeed the date you need to circle on your calendars; all that talk of an April release turned out to be bullplop. However, there will only be a million consoles available for the entire continent, and as we mentioned before, each and every one of those will be of the pricier 60GB variety. Now, will they cost the same $600 that consumers have been paying in the US? Hardly; expect to drop a cool £425 (that's over 840 freakin' bucks) for the privilege of getting your PS3 on -- assuming that you can even procure one without looting or rioting, that is. We'll have more on the launch as this story develops, but we're thinking that you might wanna stop wasting your time here in favor of securing a place in line at your local gaming retailer -- as we know all too well, things are gonna start getting pretty hairy pretty quick. Several details need to be clarified, the £425 figure is a UK-only price, and it includes the VAT. The rest of Europe will be paying €599 ($776) for their little slices of gaming heaven, while the folks down under will be shelling out A$999.95 ($780) and NZ$1,199.95 ($840) in Australia and New Zealand, respectively.

Apple iPod is used as the tempo for currency

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As a sign of the global reach of the iPod, an Australian bank has opted to use the music player as a benchmark to track currency values worldwide.

Commonwealth Securities has launched an iPod index, based on the cost of the 2 gigabyte iPod Nano player as a way of showing if a currency is overvalued.

The idea stems from The Economist magazine's Big Mac index.

The bank has chosen the iPod since they are all made in China and its price - in theory - should be consistent.

Appreciation

This is in contrast to McDonald's burgers, which are made worldwide, says the bank.

As a result, the price of an iPod after taxes should be the same regardless of where it is sold, argues Commonwealth Securities.

However, in practice this is not the case.

At present the cheapest place to buy the iPod Nano is Canada, for around $172 (£87), but at the other end of the spectrum is Brazil, where the same model sells for $327.

"The index suggests that the US dollar has potential to appreciate against a range of major currencies, with the Australian dollar about 15% overvalued against the greenback," said Craig James, Commonwealth Securities' head economist.

As a means of playing music, the iPod has been hugely popular and helped significantly boost Apple's profits.

AT&T earnings rise with higher profits from Internet, wireless services

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AT&T Inc. reported strong fourth-quarter earnings growth led by record subscriber gains in wireless, continued solid regional wireline growth, improved enterprise trends, and merger integration initiatives that continue to generate cost savings ahead of original targets.

AT&T's reported earnings per diluted share were $0.50, up 8.7 percent versus the year-earlier fourth quarter. Before merger-related costs, earnings per diluted share were $0.61, up 27.1 percent versus comparable adjusted results in the fourth quarter of 2005. This marked AT&T's seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share.

"Our execution continues to be solid, we closed the year strong, and AT&T has excellent momentum heading into 2007," said Edward E. Whitacre Jr., AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.

"Wireless had a standout quarter," Whitacre added. "Enterprise revenue trends continue to improve. Our regional wireline operations extended their record of revenue growth in both consumer and business. And merger integration initiatives continue to run on or ahead of our original plan.

"In addition to these operational achievements, I am very pleased to have completed our acquisition of BellSouth," Whitacre said. "BellSouth brings terrific markets, an outstanding network and talented personnel, and our outlook for the combination is stronger now than when we announced the transaction last March.

"Today, AT&T has full ownership of the nation's No.1 wireless provider along with the industry's premier assets in business services, broadband and directory," Whitacre continued. "We also have substantial opportunities to improve our cost structure as we integrate operations. I am tremendously excited about the potential we have to grow our business and deliver value to shareowners."

Consolidated Financial Results AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 reported net income was $1.9 billion, up 17.1 percent versus $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005, and reported earnings per diluted share were $0.50, up 8.7 percent from $0.46 in the year-earlier quarter.

AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 reported results include costs related to recent mergers: AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth Corporation, which closed on Dec. 29, 2006; its fourth-quarter 2005 acquisition of AT&T Corp.; and Cingular Wireless' fourth-quarter 2004 acquisition of AT&T Wireless. In the fourth quarter of 2006, AT&T's portion of $516 million in wireless merger-related costs amounted to $0.05 per diluted share; AT&T Corp. merger-related costs amounted to $258 million, or $0.05 per share; and, BellSouth merger-related costs were $57 million, or $0.01 per share.

Excluding these items, AT&T's adjusted fourth-quarter 2006 earnings were $2.4 billion, up 38.5 percent versus comparable earnings in the year-earlier quarter of $1.7 billion. Fourth-quarter 2006 adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.61, up 27.1 percent versus a comparable $0.48 in the fourth-quarter of 2005.

Adjusted results for the fourth quarter of 2005 excluded: AT&T's portion of Cingular's $707 million of merger-related costs, which amounted to $0.08 per diluted share; charges totaling $866 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for AT&T merger-related costs; a gain of $902 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, resulting from tax settlements; non-merger force-reduction costs of $106 million, or $0.02 per diluted share; and AT&T's portion of Cingular's $20 million of hurricane-related costs.

AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 consolidated revenues totaled $15.9 billion, up from $12.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

On a reported basis, operating expenses in the fourth quarter were $13.3 billion, up from $11.8 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Before merger-related costs, fourth-quarter operating expenses totaled $13.0 billion, up from a comparable $10.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Fourth-quarter 2006 operating income was $2.6 billion on a reported basis, up from $1.1 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Before merger-related costs, adjusted operating income was $2.9 billion, up from a comparable $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 operating income margin was 16.2 percent on a reported basis, up from 8.8 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Before merger-related costs, AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 operating income margin was 18.2 percent, up from a comparable 16.3 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

This margin expansion reflects improved revenue trends along with solid cost management and progress in realizing merger synergies. In 2006, AT&T achieved merger expense savings of $1.0 billion, above its original January 2006 outlook of $600 million to $700 million.

AT&T's fourth-quarter revenue, operating expense and operating income comparisons reflect the timing of merger closings. Fourth quarter 2005 results include AT&T Corp. results starting with the transaction's close on Nov. 18, 2005. AT&T's results for the fourth quarter of 2006 include BellSouth results starting with the merger's close on Dec. 29, 2006. In segment results, BellSouth's fourth-quarter operating results for the two days after the close date are included in the Other segment.

In addition, AT&T's fourth-quarter consolidated revenues, expenses and operating income include results from Cingular Wireless from the time of the BellSouth merger closing on Dec. 29 through the end of the year. Prior to merger close, as required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for joint ventures, AT&T included its share of Cingular Wireless' results in the Equity in Net Income of Affiliates line of its Consolidated Statements of Income. Detailed financial results for the full quarter are shown in AT&T's Statements of Segment Income.

Wireline AT&T's fourth-quarter wireline revenues totaled $14.5 billion, up 22.3 percent from $11.8 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Along with reported results, to give investors additional background, AT&T provides supplementary quarterly wireline revenue comparisons to pro forma results for 2005. These pro forma revenues combine results from the former SBC and the former AT&T Corp. in all periods.

Versus pro forma results for the year-earlier quarter, fourth-quarter 2006 wireline revenues declined 4.3 percent, the company's smallest quarterly decline in this segment over the past year. Sequentially, versus the third quarter of 2006, wireline revenues declined 0.7 percent. Approximately 63 percent of the year-over-year decline and more than 100 percent of the sequential decline came from the former AT&T Corp. national mass markets category, primarily standalone long distance and local bundled services, where AT&T Corp. discontinued proactive marketing in 2004.

Beyond the national mass markets category, fourth-quarter wireline revenues declined 1.8 percent versus the year earlier quarter and were up slightly sequentially. These trends reflect continued growth in regional revenues and moderating declines in enterprise along with expected declines in wholesale, where recent shifts of traffic by major consolidated carriers to their own networks affected comparisons.

Wireline fourth-quarter customer highlights include:

• Solid Regional Business Growth. AT&T's regional business revenues increased 7.5 percent versus pro forma results for the year-earlier quarter, marking their strongest growth in more than a year. Results included 17.8 percent growth in data revenues along with continued growth in traditional access lines and voice revenues. Small/medium regional business revenues grew at a double-digit pace for the second consecutive quarter.
• Improving Enterprise Trends. Enterprise revenues posted their smallest decline since the AT&T Corp. merger — 3.7 percent versus pro forma results for the year-earlier quarter. This compares with declines of 5.1 percent in the third quarter of 2006 and 7.3 percent in the preceding quarter. Excluding results from acquired and divested businesses and CPE revenues, enterprise revenues declined 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with declines of 4.4 percent in the third quarter of 2006 and 5.9 percent in the preceding quarter. Improved enterprise trends were driven by strong growth in revenues from IP data services along with continued solid demand and revenue growth in data transport services.
• Stable Consumer Revenues. Regional consumer revenues were up 0.1 percent versus pro forma results for the year-earlier quarter, reflecting a 259,000 increase in consumer connections over the past year to 33.2 million. Consumer connections combine retail access lines, high speed Internet and video connections. Traditional primary consumer lines declined by 227,000 in the fourth quarter, reflecting continued competition. This compares with declines of 242,000 in the third quarter of 2006 and 129,000 in the fourth quarter of 2005. Additional lines declined by 105,000 in the fourth quarter, consistent with results over the past several quarters, reflecting migration from dial-up Internet access to high speed service.
• Broadband and Video Progress. AT&T's high-speed Internet connections — including DSL, AT&T U-verse^SM high speed Internet and satellite broadband services — increased by 383,000 in the fourth quarter to 8.5 million, up 1.6 million, or 23.4 percent, over the past year. High speed Internet penetration of consumer primary lines reached 33.3 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 25.5 percent a year earlier and 17.7 percent at the end of 2004. Video connections — AT&T | DISH Network satellite television and AT&T U-verse service — increased by 49,000 to reach 635,000 in service. AT&T U-verse services are now launched in parts of 11 markets in Texas, California, Indiana and Connecticut.

Wireline revenue comparisons reflect the movement of certain accounts during the quarter between customer categories, resulting in reclassified revenues between those categories for the current and past quarters. These movements correspond with changes in how the company serves customers as it continues to inte­grate operations. The changes affect previously reported revenues and trends in several customer categories. Total quarterly wireline revenues and product revenues were not affected by the changes. Financial data that include the changes are on the Investor Relations page of AT&T's Web site under the heading "Financial & Operational Results."

Wireless In the fourth quarter of 2006, AT&T's wireless operations delivered their best-ever net gain in subscribers, double-digit percentage service revenue growth, and substantial margin expansion.

Total subscribers increased by 2.4 million in the quarter, compared with net adds of 1.8 million in the year-earlier fourth quarter and 1.4 million in the third quarter of 2006. At the end of 2006, AT&T's total wireless subscribers in service reached 61.0 million, an increase of 6.8 million over the past year. Retail net adds in the fourth quarter totaled 1.6 million, also a record for the company, representing nearly 70 percent of total net adds.

Fourth-quarter gross subscriber additions totaled 5.5 million, up from 5.1 million in the year-earlier quarter and 4.6 million in the third quarter of 2006.

Subscriber churn levels remained low, driven by strengthened network performance. In the fourth quarter, average monthly subscriber churn was 1.8 percent overall, down 30 basis points versus the year-earlier quarter and flat sequentially. Postpaid churn was 1.5 percent, down 40 basis points versus the year-earlier quarter and flat sequentially. These churn improvements were achieved despite the ongoing migration of TDMA subscribers to the company's more advanced GSM network and the continued transition of multiple prepaid systems to the company's newer platform.

Driven by subscriber gains and strong growth in data revenues, AT&T's wireless revenues grew to $9.8 billion in the fourth quarter, up 10.2 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. Service revenues, which exclude revenues from sales of handsets and accessories, grew 13.1 percent versus the year-earlier quarter to $8.8 billion.

Wireless service ARPU (average revenues per user) posted year-over-year growth for the second consecutive quarter. Total ARPU in the fourth quarter was $49.29, up 0.9 percent versus the year-earlier quarter.

AT&T's continued robust growth in wireless data services was a major contributor to ARPU growth. Data revenues increased 68.6 percent to $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter, and data ARPU was $7.19, up $2.48, or 52.7 percent, versus the year-earlier fourth quarter and up $0.87, or 13.8 percent, sequentially.

This accelerated data growth was spurred by increased messaging, browsing, downloads, media bundles, laptop connectivity, smart phone connectivity, and enterprise vertical market solutions. In the fourth quarter, AT&T's wireless operations had 32 million active data customers and delivered nearly 180 million multimedia messages along with 12 billion text messages.

The advanced capabilities and high speeds available with AT&T's new 3G UMTS/HSDPA network are also beginning to add to data usage and revenue growth. Through this network, which offers mobile wireless broadband connections averaging 400—700 kilobits per second, AT&T now provides 3G wireless service in 165 cities including 73 of the top 100 markets. Aggressive deployment is continuing in 2007.

Despite robust gross customer additions and typical fourth-quarter seasonality, AT&T's wireless operations delivered strong operating income and margins in the fourth quarter, as the company continued solid progress in its merger integration projects.

On a reported basis, fourth-quarter operating expenses for wireless totaled $8.4 billion, up 1.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005. Before merger-related costs, operating expenses were $7.9 billion, up 4.5 percent versus comparable results in the year-earlier quarter.

Reported operating income for the fourth quarter was $1.3 billion, up from $549 million in the year-earlier quarter. Before merger-related costs, operating income was $1.8 billion, up 44.4 percent from a comparable $1.3 billion in the year-earlier fourth quarter.

On a reported basis, the fourth-quarter 2006 operating income margin for AT&T's wireless operations was 13.6 percent, up from 6.2 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Before merger-related costs, AT&T's wireless operating income margin was 18.9 percent, up from 14.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005.

AT&T's reported wireless OIBDA service margin expanded 380 basis points versus the fourth quarter of 2005 to 33.1 percent. Before merger-related costs, AT&T's fourth-quarter wireless OIBDA service margin was 34.4 percent, up 340 basis points versus comparable results in the year-earlier quarter. (OIBDA service margin is operating income before depreciation and amortization, divided by total service revenues.)

BellSouth Results On Dec. 29, 2006, AT&T completed its acquisition of BellSouth Corporation. Therefore, BellSouth results and 100 percent of Cingular results for the final two days of the year are included in AT&T's fourth-quarter 2006 consolidated revenues and expenses. On AT&T's fourth-quarter Statement of Segment Income, BellSouth's results for those two days are included in the Other segment.

To assist investors in tracking business trends, AT&T is furnishing, separate from AT&T reported results, BellSouth Corporation key financial measures through Dec. 31, 2006, consistent with BellSouth's previously reported quarters prior to its merger with AT&T. Accordingly, all amounts in this section are adjusted to include results for the last two days of 2006.

BellSouth's key financial measures are also adjusted to include the company's 40 percent proportionate share of Cingular's revenues and expenses. They exclude the impact of significant nonoperational or nonrecurring items such as wireless merger integration costs, wireless merger intangible amortization and AT&T merger costs. In the fourth quarter of 2006, these costs totaled $309 million or $0.12 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings per share are calculated based on BellSouth's weighted average common shares outstanding as of the closing date.

BellSouth's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share totaled 68 cents, up 28.3 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2005. Revenues increased 4.6 percent year over year to $9.1 billion. Operating income grew to $2.2 billion, representing a 24.6 percent operating margin. Net income grew 29.3 percent to $1.2 billion versus the fourth quarter of 2005.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, operating free cash flow (defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures) was $1.2 billion.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, the BellSouth Communications Group's revenues held steady at $4.7 billion, and its operating income margin was 25.7 percent, up from 21.9 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Network data revenues were $1.3 billion, up 5.8 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2005. During the fourth quarter of 2006, BellSouth had a net gain in DSL connections of 183,000, to reach a total of more than 3.6 million. BellSouth's rate of year-over-year total access line decline slowed for the second consecutive quarter primarily due to moderating retail residential line losses. As of Dec. 31, 2006, total access lines were 18.8 million, down 6.4 percent year over year.

Highlights of BellSouth's fourth-quarter 2006 results are on the AT&T Web site at www.att.com/investor.relations.

AT&T Outlook Based on 2006 progress at AT&T, BellSouth and Cingular — and operational initiatives for the combined company — AT&T has reaffirmed and updated its outlook for 2007 and 2008.

• AT&T continues to expect to deliver double-digit percentage growth in earnings per share, adjusted to exclude merger-related costs and one-time items, in 2007 and 2008.
• AT&T also has reaffirmed its free cash flow outlook, with free cash flow after dividends expected to grow to the $4 billion to $5 billion range in 2007 and to $6 billion or more in 2008. (Free cash flow after dividends is cash from operations less capital expenditures and dividends.)
• In 2006, AT&T realized $1.1 billion in total synergies from the SBC/AT&T Corp. merger, versus its January 2006 outlook of $600 million to $800 million in synergies. AT&T now expects that total SBC/AT&T Corp. merger synergies will be at the high end of ranges provided in January of 2006 — $2.0 billion to $2.4 billion in 2007 and $2.7 billion to $3.0 billion in 2008.
• Synergies from the BellSouth merger are now expected to be higher and realized earlier than in the company's prior projections. AT&T now expects total synergies to be $0.8 billion to $1.2 billion in 2007, up from its earlier expectation of $0.5 billion to $0.8 billion. In 2008, total synergies are now expected to reach $2.6 billion to $3.0 billion, compared with an earlier view of $1.9 billion to $2.4 billion. In 2009, total BellSouth merger synergies are expected to be in the $3.3 billion to $3.8 billion range, up from an earlier projection of $2.6 billion to $3.1 billion. AT&T's estimate of the net present value of the synergies is now approximately $22 billion, up from its earlier estimate of approximately $18 billion.
• AT&T now expects the BellSouth merger to be modestly accretive to full-year 2007 adjusted earnings per share versus its earlier view of a neutral impact, primarily reflecting reduced noncash depreciation expenses due to opening balance sheet adjustments.
• AT&T continues to expect a return to growth in consolidated revenues in 2007, versus pro forma results for 2006, with a continued ramp in 2008 and 2009. This outlook includes wireless service revenue growth in the low double-digit percentage range in 2007, a return to enterprise revenue growth during 2008, and contributions from AT&T U-verse services.
• AT&T expects its adjusted consolidated operating income margin in 2007 to be in the 21 percent to 23 percent range. AT&T expects that its wireless OIBDA service margin will be in the high 30 percent range for the full year 2007 and above 40 percent for the full year 2008.
• In 2006, AT&T's U-verse deployment reduced full-year earnings per share by $0.06. For the full year 2007, exclusive of any deployment in the former BellSouth region, AT&T's outlook anticipates additional dilution from its U-verse deployment of approximately $0.03 to $0.05 per share above 2006 levels, for a total impact of $0.09 to $0.11 per share.
• AT&T expects that its capital expenditures will be in the mid teens as a percentage of total revenues in both 2007 and 2008.
• AT&T's plan to complete its $10 billion share repurchase in 2007 is unchanged. In March of 2006, when the BellSouth merger was announced, AT&T said it planned to buy back $10 billion of its common shares by the end of 2007, with $2 billion to $3 billion of the repurchases occurring during 2006. During the fourth quarter, AT&T repurchased 39 million of its shares for $1.3 billion, bringing its 2006 buyback total to $2.7 billion.

HD and Blu-Ray are cracked

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RM hacker du jour muslix64, his new BackupHDDVD tool decrypts and dismantles AACS on a Windows PC. Just feed the small utility a crypto key (it comes bundled with keys for a few popular HD DVD titles, with the promise of more on the way), and it'll dump the video right off the disc onto your hard drive, supposedly playable in any HD DVD compatible player. If true, this would instantly become the DeCSS of high def optical (where you at, Jon?), as AACS is the copy protection scheme used not only by HD DVD, but by Blu-ray as well.

The copy protection technology used by Blu-ray discs has been cracked by the same hacker who broke the DRM technology of rival HD DVD discs last month. The coder known as muslix64 used much the same plain text attack in both cases. By reading a key held in memory by a player playing a HD DVD disc he was able to decrypt the movie been played and render it as an MPEG 2 file.

The latest Blu-ray hack was performed by muslix64 using a media file provided by Janvitos, through the video resource site Doom9, and applied to a Blu-ray copy of the movie Lord of War. In this case, muslix64 didn't even need access to a Blu-ray player to nobble the DRM protection included on the title.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray use HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) for playback display authentication and similar implementations of AACS (Advanced Access Content System) for content encryption.

The hack sidesteps, rather than defeats, the AACS encryption used as part of the content protection technology used by both next-generation DVD formats. The approach relies on obtaining a particular movie's unique "key" and can't therefor be trivially replicated to rip content across all titles encoded via a particular format, as tools like DVD Decryptor make easy with standard DVD titles.

muslix64 has however posted a 18KB tool that allows other to try their hand at extracting the keys of other Blu-ray Disc movies

BD+, the second type of content protection on Blu-ray, is yet to fall by crackers but this is something of a moot point today as the technology is yet to be widely applied on discs.

Blu-ray and HD DVD both allow for decryption keys to be updated in reaction to attacks, for example by making it impossible to play high-definition movies via playback software known to be weak or flawed. So muslix64 work has effectively sparked off a car-and-mouse game between hackers and the entertainment industry, where consumers are likely to face compatibility problems while footing the bill for the entertainment industry's insistence on pushing ultimately flawed DRM technology on an unwilling public.

Windows Vista is condemn by Korean officials even before release

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When Microsoft releases its next-generation Windows operating system in Korea next week, local Internet users will find that it doesn't work with many of their favorite Web sites. A Hangul version of the new OS, called Vista, hits shelves Jan. 31, but the new OS is incompatible with many Korean online banks, portals, games sites and malls.

Three government bodies -- the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, and the Financial Supervisory Service -- warned Tuesday about the expected confusion. The problem is that Vista doesn't play well with a software program called Active-X that is widely used in Korean Internet sites. Without support for Active-X, online services that Koreans use everyday like banking, stock trading, and shopping won't be available. Vista users will also experience problems with government sites in applying for and printing documents and certificates.

The trouble is set to begin when PC users buy new computers with the new OS installed or upgrade to Vista from their current Windows systems. Most PCs from major brands sold since October come with an option to upgrade to the new OS. In February, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will start mailing upgrade programs to their PC customers so they can install Vista. The number of upgraders in Korea is estimated at 700,000. Computer experts advise that Internet users check with their online banks or portals before installing Vista.

◆ Internet Banking Temporarily Unavailable

Microsoft knew of the coming problems and has been working with online service providers to fix the problem, but programming delays mean that the online service of seven banks won't work with Vista until February: Kwangju Bank, CitiBank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, the National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation, and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.

Internet portals are also trying to deal with the issue. An official from NHN, a major Korean portal, said, "We are working on our online payment system to adapt it to Vista, but we're not sure if we can finish the task by the end of January." Daum and Nate are also adjusting their systems but don't expect to be Vista-ready until mid-February.

Online shopping malls are scrambling, too. Melon, SK Telecom's music downloading service, says it won't be able to solve the problem until March. Hmall, an Internet shopping mall, and Yes24, an online bookstore, hope to have things in order in February. GS e-Shop and GS e-Store are also working to accommodate Vista-installed PCs.

It's not just Internet services that will be affected; some software won't work with Vista either. Part of software maker Haansoft's "Hangul," a Korean-language word processor, is not functioning in Vista. An official from Haansoft said they are trying to have the program fully functioning with Vista by February.

◆ Avoid Vista Until Problems Are Solved

With just a week to go before Vista comes out, much remains to be done but Microsoft has declined to postpone the release. "We've been testing Vista with banks and other service providers since September, but we encountered more delays than we expected," a Microsoft official said. "We plan to release the product as scheduled."

There's not much the government can do, either. "We can't tell a private enterprise to postpone the release of a new product," an official from the Ministry of Information and Communication said. The best thing, the official said, is for Internet users to check with their service providers to see if there will be any problems before they use Vista. In other words, don't install Vista before you know what you're getting into. The Ministry of Information and Communication said it will publish on its homepage (http://www.mic.go.kr) a timetable to show when major portals, games, and shopping malls, become Vista-compatible.

Windows Vista is going to be more popular then OneCare release

Microsoft said it will make available its Live OneCare updated version on Jan. 30 -- the same day that Windows Vista goes on sale. Microsoft's timing might be an attempt to have Live OneCare benefit from the coattail effect of the Vista release, suggested Jon Oltsik, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group. Microsoft's late-in-the-game attempt to compete with other established computer security software makers, including McAfee, Trend Micro and Symantec, has been available in the United States since May 2006. On Jan. 30, consumers in 16 more countries will join the fold.

"Today we announced that Windows Live OneCare v1.5 will be rolling out to customers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States on Jan. 30," it continued.

Microsoft's timing might be an attempt to have Live OneCare benefit from the coattail effect of the Vista release, suggested Jon Oltsik, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group.

"Right now those in the PC channels are not really selling boxes," Oltsik told TechNewsWorld. "Everybody is waiting for Vista. When Vista ships, there will be an opening of the floodgates and Microsoft will announce this along with Vista."

Live OneCare might then bask in "the halo effect from Vista," he added.

Making a Dent

Will Live OneCare have wheels, so to speak? The service now captures about 4 percent of the PC security market, not bad for being less than a year old, Oltsik noted.

"I think it will be successful," he said. "It will be everywhere because of Microsoft's marketing dollars and channel muscle, and I think most consumers don't distinguish between one security product and another. If they see a big display and it has "Microsoft" on it they're ... likely to grab it."

The Live OneCare update supports Vista and includes a single scanning engine that will find viruses and spyware, according to Microsoft. This will boost the effectiveness of the program while other tweaks, including "more flexible file backup options" will simplify computer maintenance and security, the company said.

Subscription Offers

Live OneCare has a subscription list price of US$49.99 per year for up to three PCs, but it is often discounted by retailers. Microsoft also offers a free online system scanner that checks for security problems in PCs but offers no permanent protection.

Current OneCare subscribers will be automatically upgraded to this new version while they're online, and, in an effort "to thank the consumers worldwide who participated in the Windows Live OneCare beta program" for the new release, Microsoft will give those folks a subscription discount.

Microsoft solve a Counterfeiting Suit With French Firm

Slashdot It! Microsoft said it had agreed to settle a lawsuit with a French company that had allegedly made and sold thousands of unauthorized versions of Microsoft business software. Some 20,000 copies of the software, which had been backed by forged licensing agreements, were traced to MPO's operations in Thailand. What were pirated?

The pirated software included versions of Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server that Microsoft discovered starting in July 2003. The software, which had been copied without authorization and was backed by forged licensing agreements, was traced to MPO's operations in Thailand.

Some 20,000 copies of the software were believed to have been made at that plant, according to an investigation by Microsoft's Worldwide Anti-Piracy team and various law enforcement agencies. Though many pirated copies have been recovered, some are believed still to be in circulation.

MPO claims its Thailand-based plant made the disks based on a forged licensing agreement presented by a third party. Microsoft noted that it does not authorize third parties to reproduce its software; therefore, the agreement was a fake.

The software giant credited MPO for cooperating with the investigation.

"We appreciate the steps MPO has taken to tighten their security procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of wholesale counterfeiting of Microsoft software, and to help track down all those responsible for distributing the counterfeits," said David Finn, Microsoft's associate general counsel in charge of worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting efforts.

Microsoft expects to have an ongoing relationship with MPO, Finn added, likely using it to produce CDs of its software for overseas distribution.

BSA helped to slow down piracy

A report commissioned last year by the Business Software Alliance and conducted by IDC estimated that 35 percent of all PC software used worldwide is counterfeit or otherwise illegal. That same study estimated that if the piracy rate was lowered by 10 percent over the next four years, it would create as many as 2.4 million new jobs and add US$400 billion in economic growth to the global economy.

Microsoft has made a number of tweaks to its existing anti-piracy programs of late -- for instance adding technology to alert businesses when it appears their software may be in use beyond the scope of licensing agreements.

Also, it has been aggressive on the enforcement side, making headlines earlier this year by suing some of its own partners and third-party integrators for selling unauthorized software.

The Business Software Alliance has stepped up its own efforts, announcing in July that it would offer rewards for the first time to those who report instances of piracy.

The piracy crusade is a double-edged sword for Microsoft, however, possibly driving would-be users of its software to open source options, such as Linux, which can have lower up-front costs.

Nonetheless, Microsoft was forced to stop overlooking piracy because the cost was becoming significant and because its once robust growth has slowed some, Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle told the E-Commerce Times.

In fact, areas where piracy is most acute -- the Far East and Eastern Europe, for instance -- are markets that Microsoft and other tech companies are hoping will drive growth over the next decade and beyond as their economies grow and mature.

"When Microsoft was expanding rapidly, the cost of piracy could be justified to some degree," Enderle said. "As growth slows and competitors such as Linux gain steam, those losses become much more significant."

Bringing Technology to Africa

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In a small city near the Nile River where cars compete with cattle and modern conveniences are scarce, Intel Corporation is using computers and wireless technology to help Oseem's 200,000 residents tap into vast "knowledge resources" on the Internet in hopes of bettering their lives.

"Technology has expanded what is possible for the people of Oseem," said Intel Chairman Craig Barrett. "Intel is committed to support Egypt's leaders in accelerating access to technology so its people can get better health care, education and work skills."

Working with Egypt's government, business and education leaders, Intel installed a state-of-the-art WiMAX network to connect two public schools, a health care center on wheels, a municipal building and an e-government services kiosk. Intel also donated and installed computers in the mobile health center and PC labs at the two schools where students and teachers can regularly connect to the outside world for the first time.

"The next billion Internet users will be from rural areas like Oseem," said Barrett, who toured the village to explore how similar programs could be replicated in other regions. This issue has led Barrett, who also chairs the United Nation's Global Alliance for ICT and Development, to 10 developing countries from the Amazon to Africa in the past 100 days.

In each country Barrett visited Intel unveiled efforts -- through its World Ahead Program -- to create economic opportunities and improve quality of life. The new programs focused on improving education and accelerating access to computers and the Internet.

"The Internet is a great technological advancement because it helps us learn and advance," said Khaled Mohamed Ragab, a 14-year-old student at Oseem's BORTOS School. "We can also talk to the rest of the world and meet new friends on the Internet."

To improve health care in Oseem, Intel enabled the use of electronic medical records and audio and video interaction between patients and specialists hundreds of kilometers away.

"In remote areas we cannot diagnose most cases, so we have to transfer or refer cases to the central location," said Dr. Osama El Gameel, house officer for Kasr El Aini Hospital. "To transfer a whole family to Cairo or Giza is a problem for most families. This way we can easily diagnose their condition without any complaints from the family. A junior doctor in these areas also does not have enough experience. With telemedicine they can gain experience through video conferences and by e-mail."

The WiMAX wireless infrastructure in Oseem has an extended transmitting range of up to 30 kilometers. WiMAX is designed to be a less costly and more efficient way to deliver Internet connectivity to cities and remote areas.

Intel's Platform Development Center in Cairo contributed to the development of the computers in the e-government kiosks and schools. The PCs were designed to operate in hot climates such as Upper Egypt. The Community PCs used in the kiosks can connect to car batteries for power and have dust filters that are easily removed for cleaning. The full-feature, energy-efficient PCs used in the schools are designed for first-time computer users and are equipped with Arabic software.

Barrett's visit and meetings with government officials culminates a year-long effort to use technology to help communities in the Middle East and Turkey. It is called the Digital Transformation Initiative.

To extend the reach of technology to benefit students, Intel pledged to donate 8,000 PCs to Egypt's schools. The PCs will be equipped with educational software supported by the Ministry of Education and Microsoft XP Professional Edition, Microsoft Office 2003 Small Business Edition and Learning Essentials software donated by Microsoft Corporation. Intel also plans to train 650,000 teachers in Egypt by 2010 on how to apply technology to enhance classroom learning with 54,000 teachers trained to date. For the first time in the world, the Intel® Teach Essentials training program is being offered online in Egypt. Intel aims to extend the training's reach to a larger number of Egyptian educators, in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Technology.

Sharp makes Blue laser diode

Slashdot It! Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp said on Tuesday it has started the commercial production of blue laser diodes, taking aim at a market with strong growth potential.

Sharp in November began volume output of blue laser diodes, used to read and write data on high-definition optical discs, at 150,000 units a month at its existing plant in western Japan, Sharp spokesman Hiroshi Takenami said.

The diodes can be used in DVD players based on the Blu-ray format, championed by Sony, as well as competing HD DVD technology, promoted by Toshiba.

Sharp, which is entering the market dominated by Sony and unlisted Nichia Corp, plans to bring the monthly capacity to 500,000 units by the end of 2007, spending several billion yen.

Sharp aims for annual blue laser diode sales of about 15 billion yen ($127.2 million) at the initial stage.

HP Brings Mobile Device Management to Enterprise Customers

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HP announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Bitfone Corp., a privately held global software and services company that develops software solutions for mobile device management for the wireless industry.

The acquisition is part of HP's strategy to grow its mobile enterprise business. Acquiring Bitfone will strengthen HP's ability to provide customers with a flexible, modular approach to building a mobile infrastructure by allowing them to choose what they need to meet their business needs.

"Mobile device management is a key component to driving widespread mobile IT deployments," said Dave Rothschild, vice president, Handheld Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. "With the acquisition of Bitfone, HP adds mobile device management to a comprehensive management suite that already includes servers, desktops and notebooks."

The acquisition adds a strategic component to HP's device management software portfolio that is designed to accelerate customers' ability to manage their mobility infrastructure in a reliable, secure and cost-effective way.

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming part of the core IT infrastructure and there is a growing requirement that they need to fit into existing management systems and frameworks. This acquisition provides HP the software tools to help business customers reduce device support costs and smooth device deployments, migration and replacement.

"As a leading technology innovator in the mobile device management and wireless space, Bitfone has built a world-class software platform over the past six years," said Gene Wang, chairman and chief executive officer, Bitfone Corp. "We are proud to be joining HP, where we can continue to innovate and provide software solutions that deliver a more compelling mobile experience."

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be completed by February 2007.

Following completion, Bitfone will be integrated into the Handheld Business Unit of HP's Personal Systems Group.

About Bitfone Corporation

Bitfone Corporation is an innovative global software and services company focused on maximizing the mobile experience for subscribers, enterprises, operators and OEMs. Bitfone's innovative solutions provide the essential mobile foundation enabling valuable real-time access to the mobile device to enhance wireless services and promote widespread adoption. Bitfone is a private company headquartered in Laguna Niguel, Calif., with offices in Canada, China, Korea and the U.K. and approximately 134 employees. For more information, visit http://www.Bitfone.com.

Profit surges at eBay

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Quarterly net profit at eBay rose 24 percent, aided by strength in its core auction business and by international growth, and the company said 2007 earnings would be at the high end of analysts' forecasts.

The company reported on Wednesday a rise in net income for the fourth quarter to $346.5 million, or 25 cents a share, from the year-earlier quarter's net income of $279.2 million, or 20 cents a diluted share.

Wall Street was looking for a fourth-quarter net profit, on average, of 22 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net revenue rose 29 percent to $1.72 billion from a year earlier, representing a steadying of eBay's growth rate in recent quarters that could reassure investors worried by a decline in the past three years from levels around 50 percent.

Analysts were looking for revenue, on average, of $1.67 billion, a growth rate of about 25 percent, according to Reuters Estimates. Forecasts were in a tight range between $1.63 billion and $1.71 billion.

Excluding one-time stock-based compensation charges, net income rose 35 percent to $397 million, or 28 cents per share--matching Wall Street's consensus forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

eBay said it expects first-quarter net revenue of $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion, squarely in the middle of current estimates. Analysts forecasts range from $1.65 billion to $1.75 billion for the quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company expects first-quarter diluted earnings per share, excluding one-time items, in a range of 28 cents to 30 cents. The current Wall Street consensus is for 29 cents a share, according to the Reuters Estimates survey.

For the 2007 year, eBay said it expected revenue from $7.05 billion to $7.30 billion.

Wall Street was looking for revenue to grow around 21 percent, based on the average of a range of estimates between $6.94 billion and $7.49 billion, according to Reuters Estimates, squarely in the middle of forecasts.

2007 full-year earnings, excluding one-time items, are expected to be in a range from $1.25 to $1.29 per share, the company said. That's slightly above the current consensus of $1.24 a share and in the upper half of current forecasts ranging from $1.19 to $1.32, according to Reuters Estimates.

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Verizon Unveils Next Generation of FiOS That Redefines Home Entertainment Experience for Customers

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Verizon unveiled the next generation of its FiOS TV service, which makes it easy for consumers to find and manage multimedia content, and creates the most advanced combination of voice, broadband, mobile and TV services content in the industry.

"The next generation of FiOS breaks new ground and moves way beyond traditional television to make managing multimedia simple for customers," said Bob Ingalls, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Telecom, to an audience at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show here. "We've dramatically distinguished the new FiOS digital media experience from old-fashioned TV."

The new FiOS is the first broadband platform to pull together content from a variety of sources - broadcast TV, the Internet and users' own private music and photo collections - into one media-management system. It also provides the company's growing base of FiOS TV customers with a powerful new navigational tool and delivers a superior entertainment experience not available to users of competitors' broadband or cable services.

Ingalls noted that customers today demand and deserve infinite choice, absolute control and precise personalization. The FiOS digital media experience delivers to consumers all three.

New Interactive Media Guide Enhances Entertainment Experience

At the heart of the system is a new interactive media guide that makes watching FiOS TV easier and better than ever. With the new guide, customers can find, control and manage a vast array of digital content including television programming, movies, Internet video, games, music and photos. This lets a customer, for example, watch a movie about an action hero, play a video game about the same character and buy retail items associated with the character, all on the same home system.

FiOS TV customers in New Jersey will be the first to receive the new FiOS TV applications. By mid-year, all FiOS TV customers in the 10 states where the service is offered today will enjoy many of the new applications and services enabled by the new FiOS.

"FiOS TV already is intuitive and easy to use," said Ingalls. "In 2007, we'll further transform home entertainment by making it easier and more enjoyable for consumers to access rich Internet content and other digital media through the TV."

Simplifying the Entertainment Experience

The FiOS digital media platform provides FiOS TV customers with two key enhancements - a simplified entertainment experience and greater convergence of devices.

"As we designed the new FiOS, a key principle was to help customers reach all content with just two clicks of their remote control," said Ingalls.

The FiOS media guide helps customers easily navigate, personalize and enjoy all their digital media. The new interactive guide features a network search function that brings multimedia into the television-viewing experience.

During a demonstration of the new FiOS TV features, Ingalls explained that most search functions on TV today are limited to looking for broadcast listings. With the new FiOS TV, however, customers will be able to scan through broadcast, on-demand and recorded content with a single search.

In addition to getting Internet content to the television, the new FiOS gives customers the power to remotely manage parental controls and program their digital video recorder from any Web-enabled PC. Later in the year, the company will extend that capability to a customer's Verizon Wireless cell phone.

"We've designed this experience with minute attention to detail and have borrowed from advances in our other businesses, including the use of predictive text and "triple-tap" input when using the remote control that you typically find on a cell phone," Ingalls said.

The new FiOS builds on Verizon's earlier launch of the Home Media DVR and adds games atop the PC-based digital photos and music that FiOS TV customers can access on their TVs today. In addition, Verizon will deliver this year Internet radio and video content to the TV sets of FiOS TV customers, including user-generated content like that from Revver; expand its video gaming offer to embrace serious video gamers; and personalize customers' viewing experience with ratings and recommendations based on personal preferences.

FiOS Delivers Greater Convergence

"The combination of Verizon's unique 100-percent fiber network, which, extends all the way to customers' homes and our in-home FiOS network makes this all possible," said Ingalls. "This powerful network combination means we can capitalize on the interactivity of broadband, the mobility of wireless and the entertainment experience of TV.

"Only Verizon is positioned to enrich the entertainment experience across all three platforms - broadband, mobile and television," said Ingalls. "So don't think of us as a traditional telecommunications provider. Think of us as a key to the growth of the entertainment industry."

Verizon began offering FiOS TV service in the fall of 2005, and the service is now offered in more than 200 cities in parts of 10 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, with more states being added this year.

FiOS TV provides a true choice for subscription television and on-demand programming via the company's all-digital, fiber-optic network, said Ingalls. The company, which plans to have customers in 3 million to 4 million homes by 2010, said FiOS TV offers a better-quality picture, more high-definition and on-demand programs, and more reliable service at competitive prices.

The company's fiber network also offers consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet Service, which is currently available in more than 1,600 cities in 16 states. Only Verizon's fiber to the premises (FTTP) network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes and businesses.

My Opinion

It is great that there are more things that we can do with broadband and broadband is getting cheaper and better then ever.

BenQ mobile on the brink of collapsing

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Attempts to save BenQ Mobile from liquidation appear to have failed.

Insolvency proceedings were opened in Germany on Monday, after administrators were unable to find any investors willing to buy the struggling company.

BenQ Mobile filed for insolvency in September 2006, when Taiwanese hardware manufacturer BenQ said it was pulling out after suffering "unsustainable losses."

BenQ Mobile was formed only when it brought over Siemens just two years ago. At the time, Siemens effectively paid BenQ $97.5 million to take the business off its hands. BenQ put its best foot forward to rival Nokia but to no avail.

Under German law, a company has three months' grace after filing for bankruptcy before formal insolvency proceedings begin.

After the collapse of BenQ mobile, players know that it is tough to win in this tough competitive mobile phone market.

Ford uses Microsoft's technology in their cars

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Ford Motor plans to unveil a deal with Microsoft in January that will put the software company's technology into some of their cars.

The system, to be called Sync, includes a hands-free Bluetooth wireless system and an in-vehicle operating system that eventually will be an option for the entire Ford brand lineup, the Journal said.

Sync is designed to enable hands-free mobile-phone communication and other wireless information transfers in the car, including e-mail and music downloads.

Wii with different color skin soon

Slashdot It! Nintendo Wii is already the cheapest girl on the block, but there is talk that come spring, she’ll be sold for $50 less. What’s

While there isn’t a specific date for the $200 colored Wii, it is supposed to happen sometime between now and spring 2007.

Top Moblie phone markers get a pantent lawsuit

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Seattle-based Washington Research Foundation has filed a patent lawsuit against Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic, claiming the wireless device makers are using infringing Bluetooth microprocessors made by a UK-based firm. The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages, as well as an injunction halting the sale of infringing products until a licensing agreement can be worked out. The suit claims that consumer electronics giant Matsushita and its Panasonic unit, as well as Samsung and Nokia, are infringing on four patents sold under the "Bluetooth" name.

Washington Research Foundation (WRF), which assists Washington universities with commercializing technology, filed the suit Dec. 21 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Bluetooth technology is used in wireless headsets, or as a means of exchanging data between mobile phones, PCs and other devices without using cables. A blinking blue light is the product's signature. As of November, one billion Bluetooth devices had been shipped, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), a trade association.

WRF is asking for a court order barring the sale of products that use the patented technology and for monetary damages to be determined by a jury.

The Foundation said that another chipmaker, U.S.-based Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) , licensed the patented technology -- which was developed at the University of Washington -- as far back as 1999.

The patent covers a method that "allow users to exchange data among mobile phones, personal computers and other devices without using cables."

The patents trace back to Ed Suominen, a student who was studying radio design at the University of Washington before receiving a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1995.

Suominen, who now lives in Eastern Washington and is a technical adviser in the case, gave the rights to the patents to the UW, which, in turn, exclusively licensed the patents to the foundation to manage.

Reagh said the foundation has been keeping a close eye on the patents, and when it became apparent that Bluetooth was one of the obvious applications for it, it started to study the industry's players.

He said a number of the Bluetooth chipset manufacturers appeared to be infringing on the patent. One company, Irvine, Calif.-based Broadcom, agreed to license the technology. Another company CSR of Cambridge, United Kingdom, did not, Reagh said.

Matsushita, Samsung and Nokia are some of CSR's largest customers, said WRF attorney Steven Lisa. Instead of suing CSR, he said the organization decided to act against the handset makers because the chipset manufacturer may not know which chips are headed to the United States, where the patent is enforceable, but the device-maker would.

Bluetooth is a standard developed by a number of companies in the mobile industry and overseen by the Bellevue-based Bluetooth SIG. There are many patents surrounding the technology; the ones held by WRF represent only four.

"You can find a way to do it [use Bluetooth] that doesn't infringe on the patents, or you can buy it from Broadcom. That's why WRF is not going to sit back and let it go without it being addressed," Lisa said.

If WRF is awarded damages, the money will go to the University of Washington and a portion will go to Suominen, Reagh said.

US games sales goes up

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Overall U.S. video game sales rose 18 percent to $13.5 billion in 2006, boosted by new consoles from Sony and Nintendo and titles like Madden NFL 07 and World of Warcraft, market research firm NPD said Thursday.

Sales of video games and accessories for consoles and portable devices grew to $12.5 billion from $10.5 billion in 2005. Revenue from PC games rose 1 percent to top $970 million in 2006.

Sony and Nintendo released their PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles in November and were sold out at launch.

Madden NFL 2007 from Electronic Arts was the top-selling video game for consoles and handheld devices, based on unit sales, while World of Warcraft was the top PC game.

Here are the best-selling console/handheld and PC games, according to The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service.

Top 10 console/handheld video games in 2006 1. Madden NFL 07, EA 2. Cars, THQ 3. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LucasArts 4. NCAA Football 07, EA 5. New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo 6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted, EA 7. Gears of War, Microsoft 8. Call of Duty 3, Activision 9. Lego Star Wars, LucasArts 10. Fight Night Round 3, EA

Top 10 PC games in 2006 1. World Of Warcraft, Vivendi 2. The Sims 2, EA 3. The Sims 2: Open For Business Expansion Pack, EA 4. Star Wars: Empire At War, LucasArts 5. The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack, EA 6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Take-Two Interactive Software 7. Age Of Empires III, Microsoft 8. The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff Expansion Pack, EA 9. Civilization IV, Take-Two 10. The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack, EA

Yahoo's profit takes a beating

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Yahoo posted fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday that were down more than 60 percent from a year ago on higher employee stock options costs and lower investment gains, but still handily beat Wall Street forecasts. Semel also said the new ranking model for Yahoo's new search marketing platform will be launched February 5, earlier than some analysts had expected. It will allow search ads to be ranked by quality, like Google does, and not just keyword bid price. Panama will begin rolling out to international markets in the second quarter, starting with Japan, and Yahoo expects to start seeing a positive impact on its financials from Panama in the second quarter, Semel said.

Meanwhile, Yahoo continues to be the leader in display advertising, with strong sales from financial services, consumer packaged goods makers and phamaceutical companies, according to Semel.

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, was $269 million, or 19 cents a share, including stock-based compensation expenses, compared with $683 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose to $1.7 billion. Excluding traffic acquisition costs, which are fees shared with content partners, revenue was $1.2 billion. Revenue a year ago was $1.5 billion, or $1 billion excluding traffic acquisition costs.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting Yahoo to post fourth-quarter earnings per share of 13 cents, including stock-based compensation expenses, and revenue of $1.22 billion, excluding traffic acquisition costs.

Yahoo's own forecast was for revenue between $1.145 billion and $1.265 billion for the fourth quarter.

Yahoo executives are "cautiously optimistic" about the company's business outlook, said Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker. First-quarter revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs is expected to be in the range of $1.12 billion to $1.23 billion and for the full year it is projected to be between $4.95 billion and $5.45 billion, she said. Before the call, analysts were forecasting first-quarter revenue of $1.26 billion and 2007 revenue of $5.47 billion.

Yahoo announced a reorganization in which it aligned into three units overseeing consumer products, advertising and technology. Decker was promoted to head up the revenue-generating advertising group, and Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig and Yahoo entertainment chief Lloyd Braun left the company. The company is searching for a new chief financial officer to replace Decker.

Yahoo had a rough 2006 with slower ad sales dragging down earnings last quarter and the delay of Panama, which was designed to help it better compete against Google.

The number of Web searches on Yahoo's engine has risen more than 30 percent in the past year, giving the company nearly 24 percent market share, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Google's share is 50.8 percent.

Yahoo is expected to capture 15 percent of the search advertising revenues, while Google is expected to snare nearly 67 percent, according to a report issued Tuesday by eMarketer.

AMD's profit takes a beat

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Advanced Micro Devices posted a net loss of $574 million, or $1.08 per share for the fourth quarter. For the same quarter last year, AMD earned $96 million, or 21 cents per share. AMD's overall microprocessor shipments rose 26 percent over last year as the company said it set a record for total units shipped. A brutal price war and Intel's increasingly competitive processors also weighed on AMD's earnings, as the company said overall shipments of its high-margin server chips were essentially flat compared with the third quarter -- and that selling prices for those chips were down significantly. Smaller profit margin

However, AMD's overall microprocessor shipments rose 26 percent over last year. The company said it set a record for total units shipped, but it would not disclose specifics or details on the previous high.

The company said it experienced especially strong growth in shipments of laptop chips, which commanded slightly higher prices.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company posted a net loss of US$574 million, or $1.08 per share. For the same quarter last year, AMD earned $96 million, or 21 cents per share.

AMD said after the markets closed that the fourth-quarter figures include $550 million, or $1.04 per share, in acquisition-related charges and $27 million, or 5 cents per share, in stock-based compensation expense.

AMD announced in July that it was acquiring graphics chip maker ATI Technologies in a $5.4 billion deal that analysts said would erode a key advantage for Intel. The deal closed in October.

Revenue for the quarter was $1.77 billion, compared with $1.84 billion at the same time last year.

Analysts were expecting the company to earn, on average, 10 cents per share on $1.74 billion in revenue for the quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Stiff Competition

Hector Ruiz, AMD's chairman and chief executive officer, said on a conference call that AMD had underestimated pricing and competitive pressures, forcing the company to "tweak" its business model to prosper. Ruiz did not elaborate.

Ruiz said the company is currently focused on cost controls, a new design for its computer chips and its transition to a more advanced manufacturing technology to better compete with Intel.

"We have actually forced the competition to become more efficient," Ruiz said. "But in doing so, it made us realize that we have to raise our own efficiency to a higher level."

For the year, AMD said it lost $166 million, or 34 cents per share, on $5.65 billion in revenue. The company said it expects revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in the first quarter.

AMD's troubles come after a year of dramatic market share gains at Intel's expense.

Gaining Market Share

According to Mercury Research, AMD has lured about 5 percent of the overall computer chip market from Intel over the past year.

Most of those gains have come in the high-margin server and laptop chip markets, areas Intel has traditionally dominated but whose chips in recent years were seen as too power hungry compared with AMD's offerings.

Intel fired back last year with a new line of chips that boosted performance while reducing energy consumption. Intel also beat AMD to market with its quad core chips, which have four computing brains instead of previous lines with just one or two. AMD is expected to introduce its own quad-core chips this year.

AMD also suffered a setback this week when Sun Microsystems, which for several years has relied exclusively on AMD chips for a type of server based on the x86 design, said it would begin building servers and workstations that run on Intel chips.

Although Sun will still use AMD chips as well, analysts said the deal reflects the growing demand for Intel's new line of chips and should lower chip prices overall.

Before the report was released, AMD shares dropped 2 cents to close Tuesday at $17.51 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares fell $1.01 to $16.50 in after hours trading.

The older Video Game consoles outsell new Game console

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The Xbox 360 outsold the Wii, which outsold the PlayStation 3.

That in a nutshell is how the crucial holiday shopping season went for the video game industry’s latest consoles. But that battle does not tell the whole story of a curious December.

Over all, the industry sold $3.7 billion of hardware, software and accessories in the United States last month, up from $2.9 billion in the same period a year ago. For the full year, sales were $12.5 billion, the industry’s highest-ever returns, according to widely watched figures released Thursday by NPD Group, a market research firm.

During December, Sony in particular turned in surprisingly strong sales — but not for its new PlayStation 3.

In a development that industry analysts said speaks to the strength of the video-game market and the lure of low prices, the nation’s best-selling console during the holiday season was Sony’s PlayStation 2, a six-year-old system.

Americans bought 1.4 million PlayStation 2s during the period. That was more than the Xbox 360, which sold 1.1 million units; the Nintendo Wii, which sold 604,000; and the PlayStation 3, which sold 491,000.

The sales figures for the PlayStation 3, and in particular the Wii, fell below the expectations of industry analysts.

“The biggest surprise is the Wii,” said Mike Hickey, a research analyst with Janco Partners. He said analysts had projected Nintendo would sell around 1.2 million, twice what they wound up selling. Mr. Hickey and other analysts had estimated Sony would sell 500,000 to 600,000 PlayStation 3s and Microsoft would sell 1.1 million to 1.3 million 360s.

But for Sony and Nintendo, the trouble was not demand but supply, Mr. Janco said. “It probably means that Nintendo missed its goal” of shipping four million Wiis worldwide by the end of the year, he said.

Some of the PlayStation 2’s success can be attributed to the manufacturers’ inability to make and ship enough of the PlayStation 3 and Wii, which analysts said were gobbled up as quickly as they appeared on shelves.

But the PlayStation 2 also sold particularly well compared with itself; its December sales were just 4 percent lower than those in the same period a year ago, NPD said, despite the lure of more advanced machines.

Ms. Frazier said one reason for the PlayStation 2’s relative success is that its $129 sales price is considerably less than that of the Wii, at $249, the Xbox 360, at $299 or $399, depending on the model, and the PlayStation 3, at $499 or $599.

But buyers of the PlayStation 2, while perhaps inspired by the buzz created by the new console wars, were not necessarily the same people who might get a Wii or PlayStation 3.

“It’s reaching that value customer you see at the end of the cycle,” said David Hufford, director of Xbox product management at Microsoft. But he said the PlayStation 2 figures were nevertheless solid: “It’s a good number for them.”

Given the short supply of the new Sony and Nintendo machines, Ms. Frazier and other analysts said it was far too soon to declare a winner among the next-generation consoles.

“We can’t tell anything from these numbers,” she said. “If we had five million available, we’d have a truer sense of consumer demand.”

The Xbox 360 benefited from ample supplies and the large library of games it has built up over the last year.

Over all, Microsoft has sold 4.5 million Xbox 360s in the United States since the console was introduced in November 2005. Since their introductions last November, PlayStation 3 has sold 687,000 consoles and Wii, 1.1 million, NPD reported.

In software, the top seller in December was Gears of War, a shooting game for the 360 that sold 816,000 copies. The second big seller was Guitar Hero 2 for the PlayStation 2, which sold 805,000 copies.

Of the top 10 console games sold in December, two were for the Xbox 360 and four were for the PlayStation 2.

None were for the Wii or the PlayStation 3, though that is no surprise given the scarcity of the consoles.

For all of 2006, the top-selling console game was Madden NFL 07 for the PlayStation 2 from Electronic Arts, which sold 2.8 million copies.

Enterbrain, a game magazine publisher in Tokyo, released sales estimates in Japan this week that showed Sony had fallen far short of its goal of selling a million PlayStation 3s there last year. Sony sold 534,336 of the consoles from their debut in Japan on Nov. 11 to Jan. 7, Enterbrain said.

By contrast, Enterbrain reported that Nintendo sold 1.14 million units of the Wii by the same date, even though it went on sale three weeks after the PlayStation 3.

The slow sales could spell trouble for Sony, which needs the PlayStation 3 to be a hit to overcome years of lackluster profits and to polish its brand image.

The Skype founders start another company "Joost"

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Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the duo that brought the world Skype and Kazaa, have chosen a name for their new online-video start-up.

The two want people hungry for Internet entertainment to roost at Joost.

Company executives had referred to the new company for months by the codename "The Venice Project." They chose Joost because they like the ring of it, according to a spokeswoman. The word doesn't have any meaning in Danish or Swedish--Friis' and Zennstrom's respective native tongues.

The plan, according to Joost CEO Fredrik de Wahl, is to offer studios, cable stations and anyone else who wants to distribute high-quality video over the Internet, a fast, efficient and cheap distribution method. To do this, the company will rely on the peer-to-peer technology that helped Friis and Zennstrom build Skype and Kazaa.

Their sparkling track record of creating hit companies aside, Friis and Zennstrom face a crowded field of competitors, such as YouTube and Apple, which are already well on their way to establishing themselves as video-distribution platforms.

Most importantly, Joost has yet to strike any marquee partnerships with top film or TV producers. Without them, their challenge is a tough one: convincing studio executives and the like to turn over their content to Joost when the company has yet to attract a big audience.

BitTorrent, the San Francisco-based distributor of a competing peer-to-peer company is also vying to license technology to Internet video companies. Another threat could come from the growing number of sites that offer top cable and movie channels without permission. One such company, TVU Networks, made a splash last summer by offering soccer fans the ability to watch World Cup matches on their PC. For a while, TVU Networks was offering HBO, CNN, the Disney Channel and NBAtv before many of the companies forced it to pull their shows down.

What Joost has going for it is that the software replicates the TV-viewing experience better than many of the other companies trying to wed TV to the PC. And this is a time when Hollywood is experimenting with the Internet. During the past year, Warner Bros. cut distribution deals with Guba, a little-known video-sharing site, and BitTorrent, a company that many consider to be synonymous with digital piracy.

Joost's nifty technology may be enough to sway the entertainment industry to place a bet on proven winners in Friis and Zennstrom.

A menu allows users to switch channels with a click of a link. Users will also have TiVo-like control of the content and access to any show offered regardless of time of day. They can also move forward or backward within a show.

The Luxembourg-based company will support itself with advertising, specifically Internet ads that behave just TV commercials.

Pc is slowing down in America

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PC companies had a tough time doing business in the United States during the third quarter this year, according to new data from IDC.

PC shipments to the U.S. were flat in the third quarter compared to last year, after they grew by almost 5 percent in the first part of 2006, said Loren Loverde, an analyst with IDC. Corporations simply aren't replacing their PCs with as much vigor as they did from 2003 to 2005, when U.S. shipments grew at about a 10 percent clip, he said.

Poor performances by several PC vendors during the quarter didn't help, Loverde said. Hewlett-Packard posted a strong quarter, but companies such as Dell, Gateway and Lenovo all did worse than they would have hoped. Since Dell accounts for about one-third of all PC sales in the U.S., any hiccup at that company is going to have a noticeable effect on the overall numbers, he said.

Therefore, IDC is downgrading its growth forecast for the U.S. market this year to just 3.5 percent. Last year, U.S. PC shipments grew by 9.6 percent. The news comes despite word that retail PC shoppers in the U.S. are snapping up notebook PCs this holiday season.

The PC market is in a state of transition fueled by the notebook craze, the pending debut of Microsoft's Windows Vista, and the strong demand for PCs in emerging economies, Loverde said. The worldwide market for PCs is expected to grow by 10.4 percent this year, and overall growth is expected to remain above 10 percent over the next few years.

However, while U.S. growth is expected to rebound in 2007 to 6.9 percent, double-digit growth numbers aren't on the horizon. Corporate PC buyers tend to replace their systems every three to four years, and the buying frenzy from 2003 to 2005 suggests that the PC market is in store for a bit of a lull, especially as corporations hold off upgrading to Vista until they have put it through the paces, Loverde said. Corporations aren't expected to start adopting Vista en masse until 2008.

LCD ? Forget it. Plasma

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Panasonic, believes that plasma technology is under unfair attack from competitors making "desperate attempts" to denigrate what it sees as plasma's superiority.

To demonstrate plasma is better, the company has offered picture comparisons for journalists at electronics shows. And it has developed marketing materials that dispel some of the myths of plasma's limitations, like how often to refill the plasma gas (never) and the problems with picture burn-in (none anymore).

This holiday, Panasonic went a step further, running an ad in newspapers around the country under the heading "Six facts you need to know before you buy a large flat-panel TV." The ad points out plasma's superior contrast, color rendition, crisp motion, viewing angle and durability when compared to LCD TVs.

Not so fast, says Sony. The company, which exited the plasma TV market to concentrate on LCD sets, is running its own series of sportslike newspaper and magazine ads that promote what it calls an HD challenge. Once consumers see reflections of fluorescent lighting in the plasma set, they will opt for LCD, the ad contends.

While most people do not have fluorescent lights in their living rooms, Sony believes its challenge shows how bright light bulbs and other reflections can spoil a picture.

To help Panasonic maintain sales of both technologies, it sells plasma sets from 37 to 65 inches on the diagonal, while its LCD TVs can only be purchased in sizes from 23 to 32 inches. Sony, Sharp and other manufacturers sell LCD sets from 19 to 65 inches on the diagonal.

Panasonic also looks to segregate the market, depending on screen size. The company argues that LCD TVs, which look brighter in daylight, are the right choice for kitchens and other rooms that need smaller sizes. But in larger sizes and for fast-moving sports scenes, plasma is the right choice, said Greenberg. Since the ad campaign began, "field research shows that the dialogue is changing. Once you point out that the blacks in plasma are blacker than in LCD, it is like pointing out the rabbit in the painting."

LCD TVs held 49 percent of the market in 2006, compared with 26 percent last year. Plasma's market share increased to 10 percent from 5 percent. At the same time, sales of picture tube TVs dropped by more than half, to 21 percent this year from 46 percent in 2005.

Xbox gets a CPU change

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In mid 2007, the 360 will get a new processor, one that is smaller and cooler. The Singapore-based company that manufactures the current 90 nanometer chip has a new design for a 65nm CPU. Why the new chip? While the new chips are going to run at a lower temperature, it also require lesser electricity and cooling and less noise. Less heat = lesser need for fans so it also = lesser noise

Piracy hits another height

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The pirates of the world have fired another salvo in their ongoing war with copy protection schemes with the first release of the first full-resolution rip of an HD DVD movie on BitTorrent. The movie, Serenity, was made available as a .EVO file and is playable on most DVD playback software packages such as PowerDVD. The file was encoded in MPEG-4 VC-1 and the resulting file size was a hefty 19.6 GB.

This release follows the announcement, less than a month ago, that the copy protection on HD DVD had been bypassed by an anonymous programmer known only as Muslix64. The open-source program to implement this was called BackupHDDVD and was released in a manner designed to put the onus of cracking on the user, not the software. To extract an unencrypted copy of the HD DVD source material required obtaining that disc's volume or title key separately, which the software did not do. However, a key was later released on the Internet, and a method for extracting further keys is allegedly available as well.

Now that the genie is out of the lamp, so to speak, what will the reaction be from the content industry? CyberLink, the makers of PowerDVD playback software, have already stated that the title keys were not obtained through their software, although this has yet to be conclusively proven. As for the content providers themselves, they have already said that they reserve the right to invalidate known pirated keys in the future. But to be of any use, they'll first need to determine which software application is responsible for giving up the volume keys. If it is something like PowerDVD, future titles can require that the user upgrade their software in order to play discs—this can be made to happen automatically when new discs are first inserted.

Muslix64 and others involved in BackupHDDVD are deliberately not exposing the actual method by which the keys have been obtained. This is partly to protect themselves from legal repercussions, but also to ensure that whatever "hole" that is being exploited remains unpatched. In the ongoing war between the pirates and the content providers, the pirates appear to be winning, but who knows who will get caught in the crossfire?

Apple's profits rises but outlook does not look rosy

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Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 first quarter ended December 30, 2006. The Company posted record revenue of $7.1 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.0 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $5.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $565 million, or $.65 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 31.2 percent, up from 27.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 42 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple shipped 1,606,000 Macintosh® computers and 21,066,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 28 percent growth in Macs and 50 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

“We are incredibly pleased to report record quarterly revenue of over $7 billion and record earnings of $1 billion,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve just kicked off what is going to be a very strong new product year for Apple by launching Apple TV and the revolutionary iPhone.”

“We generated over $1.75 billion in cash during the quarter to end with $11.9 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2007, we expect revenue of $4.8 to $4.9 billion and earnings per diluted share of $.54 to $.56.”

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2007 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime, Apple’s standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PST on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq107/ and will also be available for replay. The QuickTime player is available free for Macintosh and Windows users at www.apple.com/quicktime.

Sharp unveils the world largest LCD TV

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Sharp Electronics took the wraps off a 108-inch LCD television, what it called the world's largest, during a press conference Sunday on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show.

The market for these behemoth televisions is small, but Sharp executives noted that prices over time decline and that other large televisions have found customers despite early skepticism. The 108-inch television comes out this summer for an as-yet unspecified price.

he 108-inch LCD is now larger than the biggest plasmas that have yet been announced, noted Toshihiko Fujimoto, CEO of Sharp Electronics worldwide. The television also has a higher resolution than plasmas and lower power consumption, he said. The technologies found in these big televisions eventually trickles down to smaller, higher-volume sets. (The largest plasmas measure around 105 inches.)

LCD televisions are also beginning to challenge plasmas in sales in the 40-inch and above categories, where plasma has been dominant, Fujiomoto added.

"There is no question that LCD is becoming the dominant format in flat panels," Fujimoto said. "LCD is not the undisputed flat-screen technology."

Global demand for LCD televisions will rise from 42 million units in 2006 to 69.7 million this year, he said, Fujimoto said, citing statistics from DisplaySearch. By 2010, LCD television shipments will rise to 128 million units.

Sharp, meanwhile, will increase its marketing and branding efforts in LCD TVs in 2007 as well as apply price pressure to its closest competitors.

Sharp's secret weapon is its eighth-generation plant in Kameyama, Japan. The factory processes eighth-generation glass sheets, which measure just more than 7 feet by 8 feet. Six 52-inch LCDs can be popped out of a single sheet. The smaller glass sheets processed in sixth- and seventh-generation plants can only produce two and three 52-inch panels, respectively, out of a single piece of glass. (Samsung, though, has announced plans for eighth generation plants.) Larger glass means that the company can produce more and larger sheets of LCD glass at the same time, thereby driving down costs.

The Kameyama plant opened in August 2006 and was producing 15,000 sheets of glass a month. Monthly production will go up to 30,000 sheets of glass this month, the company said. By March 2008, the Kameyama plant will be putting out 90,000 sheets of glass a month.

The output at Kameyama, along with allowing Sharp to make more televisions, is also allowing the company to come out with a wide variety of them. The company now has four separate lines of LCD televisions, ranging in technical sophistication. Some of the televisions coming out this year will feature a refresh rate of 120 herz, double the current 60-herz standard. This is expected to increase picture quality. Samsung earlier announced similar plans.

In the second quarter, Sharp is expect to come out with a line of LCD televisions for gamers that will cut down any latency between the game console and action on the television.

At CES, Sharp is also showing off networking technology to connect its TVs to PCs via powerline networking. The system will be capable of sending two separate high-definition video streams between PCs and televisions through a home's electrical system.

Sharp said it chose to go with the powerline networking standard crafted by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance rather than try to figure out a wireless system or adopt a powerline system developed by Panasonic.

Although Sharp mostly positions itself against other multinational giants like Sharp and Panasonic, company execs also said they keep an eye on smaller, emerging companies like Vizio.

"The lower prices of the tertiary brands is a concern for Sharp," Scaglione said.

Sharp also released a Blu-ray player at the show for North America. It will cost $1,199.

Verzion brings more products to make home a more entertaining one

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Verizon's new president and chief operating officer Denny Strigl Sunday (Jan. 7) said the company is leading the way in the next revolution of television. "With the strength of our powerful wireless and fiber networks, we have transformed our business into one of the world's greatest content-delivery systems," he said. To prove the point, Strigl, accompanied by two of Verizon's most senior executives, introduced new products that marry the phone, the Internet and television for consumers in ways not available from any other company.entertain

Speaking on the eve of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Strigl raised the curtain on two new products that move television to a new level: Verizon's next-generation, groundbreaking FiOS TV and V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless.

Verizon, the premier global telecommunications and content-delivery company, outlined the new services on Sunday. Verizon Telecom introduced FiOS digital media new interactive program guide and a platform that offers the company's growing base of FiOS TV customers a myriad of multimedia applications linking television, the Internet, personal computers and phones. Both will be available in the first half of 2007. At the same time, Verizon Wireless raised the curtain on V CAST Mobile TV, unrivalled as the first true mobile TV service in the nation, which is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2007.

Strigl detailed the two-fold strategy behind these products, which crystallizes the changing nature of Verizon's consumer business. "At Verizon, we build great networks and we offer great content," he said. "We have built the nation's most comprehensive all-digital broadband fiber network that reaches all the way into individual homes, while we offer the most reliable wireless voice and data network, period."

Verizon FiOS, with unmatched quality and reliability, provides individual homes and businesses in 16 states with up to 50 megabits of Internet speed, and FiOS TV is already available in more than 200 cities in 10 states. Verizon Wireless' broadband network covers more than 200 million people, offering V CAST Video, V CAST Music and BroadbandAccess for high-speed laptop and PDA connectivity.

"Our parallel networks of fiber and wireless create a delivery system for the high-bandwidth content of today, and will meet consumers' needs for years to come," Strigl noted.

Verizon's fiber and wireless broadband networks, and their superior reach, quality and speeds, provide the basis for advancing existing strong partnerships with technology companies such as QUALCOMM Inc., whose MediaFLO USA subsidiary supports V CAST Mobile TV. In addition, deep and extensive relationships with leading content providers, appearing on FiOS TV, on Verizon Online and in a variety of mobile platforms to package, format and program TV content, will combine to deliver the best overall TV experience in the industry.

Details about specific service offerings, including availability, pricing and programming, are expected to be available in the coming weeks.

About Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), a New York-based Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 57 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks, and Verizon Telecom, which is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers.

My Opinion

Now with more ISP(Internet Service Provider) adding more services to the broadband package, the broadband package is really attractive.

Wikipedia is blocking Qatar users

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User talk:82.148.97.69

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Attention: This IP address, 82.148.97.69, is one of the IP addresses assigned to Qtel's proxy servers. Qtel is the only ISP in Qatar. Consequentley, comments left on this page may be received by other users of this IP and appear to be irrelevant. Caution should be used when blocking this IP or reverting its contributions without checking.

If you are an unregistered user operating from this address, note that this need not necessarily be the IP address of your machine. In many cases, it turns out to be the IP address of a proxy server that communicates between your browser and the Wikimedia servers. Such proxies are shared among a huge number of users compared to the number of persons using your particular machine. If you are frustrated by irrelevant comments appearing here, you can avoid them by creating an account for yourself.

However, you might still be unable to edit Wikipedia if the IP you are using is blocked due to a MediaWiki "feature". In such a case you could request to be unblocked.

This IP has been repeatedly blocked from editing Wikipedia in response to abuse of editing privileges. Further abuse from this IP may result in an immediate block without further warning. Notify an administrator • contribs • block • block log

Technical note

FWIW, due to the technical workings of an automated censor imposed by the sole national high speed ISP, this IP represents the entirety of the country of Qatar, which means effectively the entire country from editing anything. I'm sorry to see that there has been a significant amount of vandalism coming from the country, and understand the reason for the block, and see the fundamental problem as being the fault of the required censorship; however, if there were a finer grained way to do the block, it would certainly be preferable for non-vandalising users in the country.

Perhaps it would be possible to find some compromise involving limited account creations and blocking on a per-account basis; I'm sure that Qatar is not the only nationality/organization with similar technical restrictions.

Are logged-in users coming from this IP still allowed to edit? If so then this is only blocking anonymous editing by Qataris. PermanentE 07:43, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

PermanentE, I don't know whether logged-in users can edit because I can't create an account: "Account creation from this IP address (82.148.97.69) has been temporarily restricted. This is probably due to persistent vandalism from the shared IP address you are editing from, most likely from your school or internet service provider." I'd also like to add that by blocking Qatar, wikipedia is blocking the majority of Al Jazeera journalists - so much for impartiality

Can't the users from Qatar use a proxy to get a different IP, and create an account. Maybe they can log in with that account once it's active, even though their IP is banned? MasterDirk 10:44, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Banning a million people from anonymous posting seems an over-reaction to some vandalism Ngourlay 12:00, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism notes

1. Your recent edit to United States was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // Tawkerbot2 09:26, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
2. 
   Welcome to Wikipedia. We invite everyone to contribute constructively to our encyclopedia. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing. However, unconstructive edits are considered vandalism, and if you continue in this manner you may be blocked from editing without further warning. Please stop, and consider improving rather than damaging the hard work of others. Thank you. Vsmith 11:10, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
3. Thank you for experimenting with the page Al Jazeera English on Wikipedia. Your test worked, and it has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you may want to do. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. A link to the edit I have reverted can be found here: link. If you believe this edit should not have been reverted, please contact me. amitch 11:33, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
4. Please refrain from adding nonsense to articles. It is considered vandalism. ↔ ANAS - Talk 11:43, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
5. 

   You have been blocked from editing Wikipedia for repeated vandalism. If or when the block expires, feel free to come back, but please make useful contributions instead, and refrain from vandalising or this account will face longer blocks, and action could be taken against the individual who uses it. --Bhadani 16:26, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
6. Please stop. If you continue to vandalize pages, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. Please stop changing spelling to the British form, particularly if the article is entitled in American form already. Kukini 18:23, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Blocked You have been blocked for vandalism for a period of time. To contest this block, add the text {{unblock}} on this page, along with an explanation of why you believe this block to be unjustified. You can also email the blocking administrator or any administrator from this list. Please be sure to include your username (if you have one) and IP address in your email. If you continue to vandalize Wikipedia after the block has expired, you will be blocked for longer and longer periods of time. Please do not erase warnings on this page. Doing so is also considered vandalism. Kukini 18:30, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] December 2, 2006

Please do not add nonsense to Wikipedia, as you did to Spoons sex position. It is considered vandalism. If you would like to experiment, use the sandbox. Thank you. delldot | talk 17:34, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your edit to Mawlid

Your recent edit to Mawlid (diff) was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // AntiVandalBot 21:38, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Welcome, and thank you for experimenting with the page List of Metal Gear Solid 3 characters on Wikipedia! Your test worked, and thank you for reverting or removing it yourself. The best way to do tests in the future would be to use the sandbox. You can look at these pages as well: how to edit a page, the tutorial, and how to write a great article. All of these pages are good places to start. Again, welcome, and I hope that you will like Wikipedia. ~Crazytales | 56297 01:06, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your edits to Kamahl Santamaria

Thank you for contributing to Wikipedia, 82.148.97.69! However, your edit here was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to remove spam from Wikipedia. If you were trying to insert a good link, please accept my creator's apologies, and try to reinsert the link again. If your link was genuine spam, please note that inserting spam into Wikipedia is against policy. For more information about me, see my FAQ page. Thanks! Shadowbot 10:34, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding edits made during December 21, 2006 (UTC) to Egypt

Please stop. If you continue to vandalize pages, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. If this is an IP address, and it is shared by multiple users, ignore this warning if you did not make any unconstructive edits. -- Chrislk02 (Chris Kreider) 12:20, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your edit to 41 shots

Your recent edit to 41 shots (diff) was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // AntiVandalBot 00:02, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your edit to List of Internet slang phrases

Your recent edit to List of Internet slang phrases (diff) was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // AntiVandalBot 19:56, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your edit to Sex.com

Your recent edit to Sex.com (diff) was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to recognize and repair vandalism to Wikipedia articles. If the bot reverted a legitimate edit, please accept my humble creator's apologies – if you bring it to the attention of the bot's owner, we may be able to improve its behavior. Click here for frequently asked questions about the bot and this warning. // AntiVandalBot 19:31, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

You have been temporarily blocked from editing Wikipedia for continuing to add spam links. If you wish to make useful contributions, you are welcome to come back after the block expires. Persistent spammers will have their websites blacklisted from Wikipedia. --Yamla 16:46, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dynamic ip

Hi .I'm from the wp:fr. I found a new maessage telling me that i was bloched. I would like to inform you that this is a dynamic ip adress . I didn't make all these changes . For exemple , i made this Wikipedia:Speedy deletions (+fr) but not those that concerns sex.com or others. 82.148.97.69 16:50, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

If you wish to avoid being blocked, please sign in using an account. Thanks. --Yamla 16:55, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

This user's request to have the autoblock on their IP address lifted has been DECLINED.

• 82.148.97.69 (block log • contribs • creation log • unblock)
• 82.148.97.69 (block log • contribs • ipblocklist • WHOIS • RDNS • RBLs • proxycheck • unblock)
• Block message:

Chronic vandalism and spam

• Blocking admin: Yamla (talk • autoblocks • blocks)
• Decline reason:

You have not been autoblocked. However, you have been blocked directly as stated in your block log. Since you have not provided a reason for being unblocked, your request has been declined. You may provide a reason for being unblocked by adding {{unblock|your_reason_here}} to your talk page. -- -Royalguard11(Talk·Desk·Review Me!) 20:53, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

---

Note: declined unblock requests may only be removed after two days or when the block has expired.

This blocked user (block log | autoblocks | unblock | contribs) asked to be unblocked, but one or more administrators has reviewed and declined this request. Other administrators can also review this block, but should not override the decision without good reason (see the blocking policy). This unblock request continues to be visible. Do not replace this message with another unblock request.

Request reason: "I_have_not_edited,_nor_for_that_matter_even_seen_the_aforementioned_articles._I_am_led_to_believe_that_it_is_a_shared_IP_address,_and_that_i_can_solve_the_problem_by_creating_an_account._However_I_cannot_do_so_as_the_IP_is_blocked._Help_would_be_appreciated."

Decline reason: "Unfortunately, this address has been a source of problems; to prevent abuse, we've been forced to put a little "roadblock" -- if you find a different web connection and register an account from there, you'll be able to bring that account back over here and edit over this block while logged in. Let us know if you need any help with that. To request additional review, you might consider the unblock-en-l mailing list. Luna Santin 22:20, 31 December 2006 (UTC)"

Administrators: This template should be removed when the block has expired, or after 2 days in the case of blocks of 1 week or longer.

This blocked user (block log | autoblocks | unblock | contribs) asked to be unblocked, but one or more administrators has reviewed and declined this request. Other administrators can also review this block, but should not override the decision without good reason (see the blocking policy). This unblock request continues to be visible. Do not replace this message with another unblock request.

Request reason: "this IP address is one of the addresses assigned to QTel's proxy servers. In Qatar, all internet traffic is censored by QTel, and by blocking these addresses, you are effectively preventing an entire country from posting to wikipedia -- nwetters(at)cpan.org"

Decline reason: "I have modified the block to allow account creation. This means that you'll be able to edit if you create an account and log in. Thanks, -- Martinp23 13:42, 1 January 2007 (UTC)"

Administrators: This template should be removed when the block has expired, or after 2 days in the case of blocks of 1 week or longer.

Source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:82.148.97.69

Microsoft makes it's its document format standard

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At the general assembly of Ecma International in Zurich, Switzerland, Microsoft's Office Open XML--a set of specifications detailing the document formats in Microsoft's office--was certified as a standard.

In addition, the membership-based standards organization voted to propose Office Open XML to the larger International Organization for Standardization (known as ISO) for standards approval through its fast-track process, a Microsoft representative confirmed.

The vote to accept Microsoft's submission as a standard was expected. The ISO standardization process typically takes about nine months, according to experts.

IBM, which has been a vocal advocate of another standard called open document, or ODF, voted against making Open XML a standard. ODF was passed earlier this month as an ISO standard.

These document formats are the default for Office 2007, an upgrade to Microsoft's productivity suite that was released to businesses late last month and expected to be available to consumers next January.

Novell, which participated in the Ecma technical committee, intends to support Office Open XML in its distribution of the OpenOffice open-source productivity suite. Corel, which makes the WordPerfect Office suite, intends to support both Office Open XML and OpenDocument.

New disc may make the HD-DVD wars

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Warner Bros, plans to announce next week a single videodisc that can play films and television programs in both Blu-ray and HD DVD, the rival DVD technologies and it is called Total HD disc.

The HD-DVD has just started, Blu-ray, backed by Sony and others, HD DVD, backed by Toshiba and Microsoft. Retail and media executives say this clash of corporate titans and their incompatible machines has left some consumers bewildered and has slowed the introduction of what is intended to be the next great thing in home entertainment.

Executives at Time Warner and its Hollywood subsidiary hope to spur sales of new DVD players and movies by gaining the support of retailers and cajoling rival studios into making their film and television libraries available in both formats on a single disc.

In addition to reviving the ghost of the war that marked the introduction of videocassettes in the 1980s, the high-definition battle has been exacerbated by the decision of several major studios to support only one of the technologies.

In a world besotted with gadgetry, few consumer products have generated as much excitement--and head-scratching--as high-definition television. Flat-screen, high-definition TVs have been flying off the shelves for the last year and are now as common in homes as coffee pots. Yet few people are actually watching superclear high-definition programming.

Part of the disconnect is the lack of high-definition programming on cable and satellite television, and the additional outlay for decoder boxes and premium channels needed to get it. The rival movie player technologies have further blurred the outlook for high definition. Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital, predicted in a recent report that this would be the first year since the introduction of the DVD that consumer spending on the discs would decline, putting pressure on the studios that rely heavily on them for profits.

For now, Sony; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is owned by private equity firms in partnership with the Comcast and Sony; 20th Century Fox, a division of the News Corp.; and Walt Disney Pictures are all exclusively releasing their DVDs in Blu-ray.

Universal Studios, which is owned by General Electric, is releasing only in HD DVD. Warner and Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, are issuing DVDs in both formats.

Behind these allegiances are complex strategic questions revolving around everything from manufacturing costs to profit margins, debates over each format's technical strengths and weaknesses, and how these players relate to Microsoft and Sony's video-game strategies.

(Blu-ray players are built into the new Sony PlayStation 3, while Microsoft is selling HD DVD drives that attach to its Xbox 360.)

Another wrinkle is plans by LG Electronics, and possibly other gadget makers attending the Las Vegas conference, to announce new DVD players with drives for both formats; however, such players will most likely be initially more expensive than other players.

Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the president of Time Warner, said the Total HD disc has a better chance of catching on than dual players. Research commissioned by Warner indicates that consumers are willing to pay several dollars more than current high-definition DVDs for a disc that works on both players. At the Web site for Best Buy, Warner's Superman Returns DVD was selling yesterday for $19.99 in its standard format, $29.99 for Blu-ray and $34.99 for HD DVD.

Still, it is not clear whether news of Warner's Total HD disc would convince the studio heads who are backing one format or the other to release their wares in both. Sony, of course, has placed a big bet on Blu-ray's success and does not want to relive the sting of Betamax's defeat. The number of studios committed solely to Blu-ray has been seen as a competitive edge, particularly because HD DVD came to market several months ahead of Blu-ray.

And HD DVD's boosters say they doubt gaming fans who have been snapping up the just-introduced PlayStation 3 will take advantage of its built-in Blu-ray player and buy movies as well as video games.

Like other Blu-ray proponents and partners, Chapek said that he favors Blu-ray because of its greater storage capacity and other attributes. HD DVD offers the same vivid picture by storing less information on its disc, which means fewer minutes of video and other features. However, among its perceived advantages, HD-DVD players are less expensive and also play standard DVDs, while Blu-ray players do not.

Because of manufacturing complexities, the Total HD disc will not contain a standard format version, said Kevin Tsujihara, the president of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group. However, several months ago the company filed patents for a new disc incorporating all three formats, which it could produce in the future.

Pirate Bay to buy Sealand

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Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay is planning to buy its own nation in an attempt to circumvent international copyright laws. The group has set up a campaign to raise money to buy Sealand, a former British naval platform in the North Sea that has been designated a 'micronation', and claims to be outside the jurisdiction of the UK or any other country. The Pirate Bay says it is the world's largest 'bit torrent tracker', and is a popular way of sharing music, films, software and other copyrighted material online. It has been under the scrutiny of authorities in Sweden and around the world for some time. The site was briefly closed down after raids by the Swedish police last May. After initially moving to the Netherlands, the site returned to Sweden in June. Swedish authorities have been put under pressure to do more to stop the site. The Motion Picture Association of America, the Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau and the US government have all lobbied for The Pirate Bay's closure. According to a website set up to secure the purchase of Sealand, The Pirate Bay plans to give citizenship of the micronation to anyone willing to put money towards the purchase. The "island" of Sealand, seven miles off the coast of southern England, was settled in 1967 by an English major, Paddy Roy Bates. Bates proclaimed Sealand a state, issuing passports and gold and silver Sealand dollars and declaring himself Prince Roy. When the British Royal Navy tried to evict Prince Roy in 1968, a judge ruled that the platform was outside British territorial waters and therefore beyond government control. The British government subsequently extended its territorial waters from three to twelve nautical miles from the coast, which would include Sealand, but Prince Roy simultaneously extended Sealand's waters, claimed that this guaranteed Sealand's sovereignty. The island is now being put up for sale by Prince Roy's son, Prince Michael, who styles himself head of state. A firm of Spanish estate agents has valued the island at £504 million (about 7 billion kronor), although Prince Michael told The Times of London that it is hard to gauge how much it will fetch in reality. The Pirate Bay says it is looking at alternatives to buying the former naval platform.

Xbox 360 going to be shipped to China

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Microsoft is set to launch its popular Xbox 360 game console in China in the next few months, expanding beyond its traditional focus on selling PC software in the country, industry sources said.

The software giant has been discussing the launch with local Internet service providers and personal computer makers since late last year, and plans to appoint several sales agents for Xbox 360 in the mainland, sources in the consumer technology sector said.

Microsoft is also checking with the Chinese government, including the culture and information ministries, that authorities are comfortable with the product, the sources said.

The government reviews the content of video games sold in China and has been cautious about approving the sale of imported games, so its stance may be the main factor determining when Xbox 360 sales begin.

Microsoft has declined to give a specific timeframe for when Xbox 360 will begin selling in China, but some stores in major cities such as Shanghai have told potential consumers that it may be available for sale around the lunar new year in the middle of February, retail industry sources said.

Microsoft said in 2005 it intended to launch the Xbox 360 in China. But it has not announced a timeframe partly because of uncertainty over Chinese regulators' attitude to the product, according to Chinese media.

"We take a long-term approach to each market and continue to evaluate the China market for opportunities," Andres Vejarano, Regional Marketing Director at Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division for Asia & Greater China, said in an e-mailed response to a Reuters enquiry about the launch.

A standard Xbox 360 set sells for about $300 in Hong Kong, where the system was first launched in November 2005. More than 10.4 million Xbox consoles had been sold worldwide by the end of 2006.

The Xbox 360, Sony's new PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii are fighting it out in the $30 billion global video game market. In China, however, the Xbox's main competition for now is likely to be the popular PS2, which Sony launched in China three years ago.

China is a fast-growing gaming keyboard market, where more than 120 million people out of a population of 1.3 billion are Web users. However, online gaming in China is far more popular than traditional consoles due to the big price difference.

"Microsoft definitely hopes to launch its Xbox 360 as soon as it can and a clear plan has been set for 2007," said a person familiar with the situation, who declined to be named.

"The company has been talking to a wide range of potential sales agents, getting feedback from game testers and experimental users, and doing everything they can with the sole aim of launching Xbox in China as soon as possible," he said.

The launch may be a sign that China's increasingly affluent consumers are starting to form a viable market for the more expensive console games. But how Microsoft prices the Xbox will be key, said Florian Pihs, assistant vice president of market research firm Analysys.

"Microsoft has to choose whether to go for better software protection or if they're going to charge more for the Xbox because there are already some gray imports," he said, adding that most firms launching games expect them to trigger piracy.

"The reason, however, that they are doing it anyway is because Microsoft wants to develop the Chinese software development community ... they already have teams that have software development for Xbox in China," Pihs said.

Intel's profit slips as it goes for Market share

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Intel reported yesterday that fourth-quarter profit fell 39 percent as the company continued to fight for market share and to absorb the high cost of its corporate overhaul.

The company, the world’s largest chip maker and a closely watched indicator of the overall strength of the technology industry, reported slightly higher sales than Wall Street predicted, although they were still down 5 percent from the period last year.

But on the critical measurement of gross profit margin, Intel clearly disappointed, indicating the price war with its smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices continued to take a toll.

Intel projected that its gross profit margin would be about 49 percent during the first quarter of 2007, down from 49.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006. Intel estimated that gross profit margin would be only about 50 percent for all of 2007. That compares with a gross profit margin of 61.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The report was released after the market’s close yesterday, but investors reacted strongly to the forecast of a lower profit margin, sending shares of Intel down 88 cents, or nearly 4 percent, in after-hours trading. Earlier in the day, Intel shares rose 17 cents, to close at $22.30 in regular trading.

Intel’s net income for the fourth quarter was $1.5 billion, or 26 cents a share, including the cost associated with stock option expenses. In last year’s fourth quarter, the last quarter in which it expensed stock options, Intel posted net income of $2.45 billion, or 40 cents a share.

The company’s revenue declined 5 percent, to $9.69 billion, from $10.2 billion last year, at the top of the range of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion the company had forecast.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 25 cents a share on $9.44 billion in revenue, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.

For 2006, Intel, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., posted revenue of $35.4 billion, while its net income was $5 billion, or 86 cents a share.

Closing what he called “a very tough pricing year,” Andy D. Bryant, Intel’s chief financial officer, indicated that Intel would continue to price aggressively this year. “We’re going to have to fight to win orders,” Mr. Bryant said in a conference call with analysts.

The brightest spot for Intel was that it sold record numbers of its highest-priced microprocessors, those used in computer servers. Sales of those chips helped drive up Intel’s average selling price during a period in which Intel was continuing to cut prices on older products.

Paul S. Otellini, Intel’s chief executive, described 2006 as a unique year in which the company introduced 40 new products. “We’ve never had that broad a base of new products all at once,” Mr. Otellini said in the conference call.

Intel’s report of higher selling prices on server chips was in stark contrast to news from A.M.D. last week. That company, which is scheduled to issue its earnings report on Jan. 23, warned last week that its fourth-quarter revenue would miss Wall Street forecasts because of lower unit prices.

A.M.D., based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said that it expected fourth-quarter revenue to be about $1.37 billion, or only about 3 percent above the third-quarter level. The news sent shares of A.M.D down $1.92, to $18.26, on Friday. Yesterday, A.M.D. shares declined 23 cents, or about 1 percent, in after-hours trading, after declining 13 cents, to close at $18.13, during the regular session.

Intel said it was also facing the high cost of its transition to a major new manufacturing process, a transition that occurs roughly every two years. Mr. Bryant said the bulk of the costs of the manufacturing changes would occur in the first half of 2007.

Looking ahead, Intel said first-quarter revenue would be $8.7 billion to $9.3 billion, in line with analysts’ forecast of $8.93 billion. Mr. Bryant declined to provide a full-year forecast.

Toshiba release 51 GB HD DVD

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Toshiba has release a triple-layer, 51GB HD DVD-ROM disc to the standard's overseer in the hope the technology will be adopted as a standard by the end of the year. If approved, it allow the format to exceed the 50GB storage capacity of rival medium Blu-ray Disc.

The HD DVD standard currently defines single- and dual-layer discs capable of holding 15GB and 30GB of data, respectively. That's plenty, say the format's supporters, for a movie encoded in 1080p HD resolution and a stack of extras.

But Blu-ray backers have long touted their favoured format's higher capacity. In May 2005, Toshiba said it was hoping to eliminate that advantage, and initially touted a three-layer disc capable of holding 45GB. The new disc's higher capacity arises from an increase in the storage space on each layer, to 17GB.

The snag, of course, is that today's HD DVD players will be incapable of reading the new disc, which is something of a problem for early adopters, who will presumably have to buy new kit. Toshiba last week positioned the new disc as an "extended capacity, high-end option".

Sony rejects Porn

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Prominent adult movie producer Digital Playground (site) says it is forced to use HD DVD instead of Blu-ray, because Sony does not allow XXX-rated movies to be released on Blu-ray. It does not matter how you stand to porn. It is here and it is a massive business. It is also an industry that is an early adopter for new media technology. Knowing their audience quite well, the adult entertainment industry holds their annual get together in Las Vegas to coincide with the CES. There is also a very pertinent crossover between the adult and tech industries - porn has a tendency to drive, and be driven, by technology. Which means HD DVD when it comes to high-def.

Quite famously in the war between Betamax and VHS the latter won especially because the adult industry preferred it. If you've been around long enough, you probably remember that the very early home video rental stores were primarily responsible for driving Betamax out of the market. And those stores carried almost exclusively pornographic content.

Although the market environments from then do not really compare to today's home video market, parallels are drawn between the Betamax-VHS battle to the ongoing and escalating fight between Blu-ray and HD DVD. One of the key questions at this year's CES actually is "Which high-def format will win the current format war - Blu-ray or HD DVD?" Surprisingly, it seems that there is no such question in the minds of the adult industry luminaries.

Putting myself through the arduous trek through the floor of the adult expo I did a quick straw poll on, the virtues of HD DVD versus Blu-ray, and the answer from a dozen companies, big and small, including Pink Visual and Bangbros editor-in-chief, is going into a single direction: HD DVD is the preferred format. Period.

One of the big problems they have with Blu-ray is its expense, followed by its market share. "Blu-ray has superior quality, yes," said a spokesperson for porn studio Bangbros, "but HD DVD is easier to produce, cheaper to produce and there are more HD DVD players in homes than there are Blu-ray players, for example in the Xbox 360."

Pink Visual heavily complained about the fact that Blu-ray discs cannot be replicated and a range of other studios, who did not want to be mentioned by name indicated that the cost of going with Blu-ray cancels the technology as a possible HD solution for this industry. "Only bigger studios can afford Blu-ray, and even then it's not economical," we were told.

It would seem that either Blu-ray has to do some catching up very quickly. But we got the strange feeling that HD DVD has won the format war already, at least in the porn industry.

If this holds true, Blu-ray is at a major disadvantage and could fail.

Microsoft may not be able to accesss Tamil Nadu customers anymore

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The Tamil Nadu government, has almost shut its door on Microsoft, preferring the Open Source Systems (OSS) like Linux for reasons of costs and easy migrating capabilities. “We have already dispatched 6,500 Linux systems to village panchayats and another 6,100 Acer desktop systems with Suse Linux operating systems are on their way. We are procuring 20,000 desktop systems for schools, which will run only on Suse Linux. Remaining 30 desktop systems will also migrate as and when the new machines arrive,” Mr Umashankar said. “We will train over 30,000 government officials in Linux Operating Systems and Open Office. A contract has been already finalised with the government departments and we have set up a Linux support centre with two Linux-certified professionals to assist the state officers. This number will go up to ten or more in 2007, which will be a path-breaking year for government on migration to Linux Operating System,” Mr Umashankar said. “India can live without Microsoft packages and even progress but Microsoft will find it tough without a huge country like India buying their software packages,” he said. He said a top official from Microsoft India had met him twice to convince him to continue with MS products. The official offered the XP operating system for about Rs.7000 while he quoted Rs.500. “I explained to her that for a mere Rs.300, I could get the entire operating system, office productivity software and a wide range of utility tools, such as DVD/CD writing software, database software, multimedia editing software, vector map-drawing software plus a whole range of software development tools. Also, I have the option of downloading this entire package in DVD media and not even pay that Rs.300, which is the media cost and not the software charges,” said the ELCOT chief, an IT expert himself besides being a senior IAS bureaucrat. He said he had also pointed out to the Microsoft official that MS Office did not allow saving of documents in open document format. While it was possible to open all MS Office files using Openoffice.org, the vice versa cannot be done. “I asked her why ELCOT should buy such an inferior product when Openoffice.org is available free of cost for Windows as well as Linux. She said Microsoft are working on open XML format,” he added. Mr Umashankar said he had written to state finance secretary enumerating the “huge financial and working advantages” of shifting to Open Source Environment in all government departments. “I have been receiving great support from all the senior IAS officers here, from the chief secretary downwards. It is very encouraging. ELCOT is not the loser when Microsoft did not accept our price of Rs.500; on the other hand, Microsoft loses out due to our big volumes involved,” he said. “There is a gross misconception among the governments and officials that if they migrate to Open Source platform, Microsoft would get angry and the entire software industry could come to a grinding halt. This is totally misplaced fear,” Mr Umashankar said. “Within the next five years, it is going to be the IT services which would dominate the revenue share of the IT companies, because more and more users, governments and the corporate sector have started migrating to OS software, thus removing the scope for more revenues from products. It is time that the users understood this scenario and start saving their precious revenues,” Mr Umashankar said. Talking of the changes happening in this direction, he said he had ordered 43 rack servers for ELCOT to host various government applications. “All the applications are to run under OS software. I would have paid Rs.20 lakh per server if I had adopted proprietary software but now I have saved over Rs.8 crore from this one transaction. We intend to procure 1000 servers in the next two years. Imagine the amount of savings we are getting out of this,” the ELCOT chief said. “In my view, a state government of TN magnitude would be able to save Rs 200-500 crores every year, when the National e-governance action plan gets implemented,” he said, adding that school children too could get the benefit of “more robust, secure and economical Open Source software for their work,” he added. “Today, there is more demand for OSS trained engineers. I require at least 500 trainers to train 30,000 state officials across Tamil Nadu in the next six months.

World's few largest companies face patent lawsuit

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Intertainer has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against three of tech titans -- Apple, Google and Napster. Intertainer alleges that the companies are using its technology illegally, claiming its patent covers the commercial distribution of both audio and video over the Internet.

The trio of technology titans are tapping the technology without permission, according to Intertainer's complaint filed with a federal court in Marshall, Texas. Some acts of biases here Intertainer's patent, supposedly covers commercial distribution of both audio and video over the Internet.

Intertainer calls the alleged infringement "willful and deliberate." If the movie distributor proves its case, the judge would have the leeway to as much as triple any damages awarded.

Whereas the big name brands being targeted are noteworthy, the big online brands that are not being targeted are also noteworthy, according to Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, referring to Amazon, Real Networks and Sony Connect.

This company has long collapsed

Intertainer, launched in 1996 by television and film producer Jonathan Taplin and two other Hollywood entertainment executives, folded about five years ago despite investments from Microsoft, Intel, Sony, NBC and Comcast and 155 subscribers.

However, Taplin, who is now an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, still wants his pay day. Intertainer suit claims it has suffered irreparable harm and has asked the court for cash compensation and an order to prevent the companies from using its technology.

Patent trolls

Nuisance lawsuits are often filed by what are known as patent trolls. Patent trolls are individuals or companies with a patent portfolio containing important software patents that they never intended to commercialize. When they are unable to obtain a licensing agreement with another company, they threaten or initiate patent infringement litigation.

IBM in the league of faster flash memory

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A new chip technology could encroach on flash memory and hard-disk drive market share, as a group of companies led by IBM explore phase-change memory.

Big Blue, Macronix and Quimonda on Monday announced joint research results that give a major boost to this new type of computer memory, which they are touting as the successor to flash memory chips. Flash memory is widely used in computers and consumer electronics, including digital cameras and portable music players.

Scientists designed, built and demonstrated a prototype phase-change memory device that switched more than 500 times faster than flash while using less than one-half the power to