Ad-supported music

Slashdot It! At the Midem conference in Cannes, France, Qtrax and its parent company Brilliant Technologies Corp. announced deals on Sunday with all four major labels that would make it the first free and legal ad-supported P2P service with major label music. By allowing users to share DRM-protected files with label approval, Qtrax CEO Allan Klepfisz said he expected the service to offer over 25 million songs, dwarfing the catalogs of iTunes and other online music stores. The service launched today, after what Klepfisz called four and a half years of negotiations with the labels. But the resulting deals are nowhere near as firm as Klepfisz indicated they were during conversations with the press last week. For example, here's an audio sample of Klepfisz telling me that his company would announce deals with all of the major labels: Although the company is said to be negotiating with all four labels, and has at least one confirmed current major label deal (with EMI's publishing division), Qtrax apparently lacks current deals with the major labels to offer song downloads. "EMI Music had an initial agreement with Qtrax, essentially a license designed to help them experiment with this ad-supported model had licensed songs to Qtrax," said an EMI spokeswoman. "Qtrax didn't launch the service during the period of the agreement -- I think we initially did this two years ago. We're now in talks with the company about a possible new deal, but as of today, they don't have a license with EMI Music." Qtrax does have a deal with EMI Publishing, she said, but its license for offering EMI sound recording downloads has expired. An agreement with Universal Music Group has also apparently expired, while a Warner Music Group spokeswoman flatly denied any deal with Qtrax: "Warner Music Group has not authorized the use of our content on Qtrax's recently announced service." However, she confirmed that negotiations between Warner and Qtrax are ongoing. A spokesman for Sony/BMG said the label had licensed Qtrax to offer tracks from its catalog on a limited play basis in April of 2007, so long as Qtrax included an option to purchase the track once the play limit had been reached. However, Qtrax's new service offers unlimited playback, and so it is not covered by that agreement. The spokesman confirmed that Sony/BMG is also in talks with the company to forge a new deal. Apparently, Qtrax, eager to make its announcement during the Midem conference, misrepresented ongoing negotiations and expired deals as official major label sign-off. The company certainly didn't earn points with the media over this strategy -- at least one major publication had to "stop the presses" over the weekend, according to one source. The flub could hurt negotiations too. Now that Qtrax has promised major label catalogs to consumers, its bargaining position with the labels may have been weakened, although a spokesman said company executives "still feel they have the backing of the industry." Assuming that QTrax can untangle its licensing situation, it will offer a socially-driven music source for the 94 percent of internet users Klepfisz says do not and will not pay for music online. "You can't change the attitudes and habits of what is now probably amounting to two generations who believe that music ought to be free on the internet," said Klepfisz. "Those people are not going to be discouraged by Supreme Court decisions, they're not going to be discouraged by technological interference. Ultimately, what will discourage them is a demonstratively better service." Songs will be wrapped in Microsoft's Windows Media subscription DRM. This means that unlike the free, ad-supported services offered by imeem and Last.fm, Qtrax's songs can be downloaded onto compatible players. The application is based on the Songbird engine, so sharing and downloading occurs within a customized Firefox browser -- no separate application required. As of now, the tracks are not compatible with the Apple iPod, but Klepfisz said that the service would be compatible with iPods before too long -- an indication that Apple could apply the subscription technology developed for iTunes movie rentals to the music market. To get the industry on board with P2P, Qtrax will sign over "the lion's share of revenue" to labels and publishers, paying out on per-download and per-play bases. The site also categorized the music of the world into three lists. One list includes artists who do not permit their music to be made available online in any capacity. "The blacklist is fast disappearing -- my prediction is that in a year, the blacklist won't be in existence," said Klepfisz. The white list consists of the standard digital catalogs from major and indie labels -- the same 5-million-plus songs that are on iTunes. The gray list constitutes the difference between what's available on iTunes and what's available on BitTorrent. "Then you have the gray list, which is that vast body of stuff that's out there on P2P, where there are rights holders, but the rights holders themselves may not even know that a song is being downloaded frequently.... To the best of our ability, we identify the rights holder and pay them a percentage of the advertising revenue. In the minority of cases where we can't identify a rights holder, we will actually put up the song for claiming, and will reserve the portion of the ad pie until that song is appropriately claimed." As with other free, ad-supported services, revenue comes from advertisers who want to target ads to specific types of listeners. In negotiating with Qtrax, with whom some of them have signed deals in the past, the labels are demonstrating an openness toward revenue streams that deviate from the record-store model. "This is a tacit acknowledgment that 'bulletproof' wasn't working," said IDC consumer audio analyst Susan Kevorkian. "And it hasn't been working. But it was an experiment the music industry needed to undertake in order to figure out how to address digital distribution. It was a very long learning process, but fortunately there's still the possibility of finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." 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Lots of unlocked iPhones

Slashdot It! More than a quarter of people who bought Apple's iPhone are using them on wireless networks other than AT&T's, the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S., a "stunning" number that will pressure the company's business model, an analyst said Monday. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi said analysis of sales numbers from Apple and AT&T revealed about 1.45 million phones were "missing in action " at the end of 2007. About 480,000 of those iPhones were believed to be held by AT&T as inventory, leaving another 1 million phones, or 27 percent of the total, that Sacconaghi said were "unlocked" so they could work on non-AT&T networks. Apple executives said last week the number of unlocked phones was "significant" but declined to give an estimate. Most analysts had estimated the portion of unlocked phones at less than 20 percent. Spokespersons for Apple and AT&T declined to comment. The higher number is worrying for Apple because the company receives a cut of AT&T's iPhone service fees, revenue that carries a high gross margin and has fueled optimism over its earnings potential. Via Cnet Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Sony Ericsson cuts deals with 10 music labels

Slashdot It! Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said it had signed deals with 10 music labels to add content to its PlayNow service, which lets users download music via their mobile phones. Sony Ericsson, owned by Ericsson and Sony, said the deals added 5 million new tracks to its catalog. The venture said in a statement it had signed deals with Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5Music, Bonnier Amigo, and VidZone. Sony Ericsson, which made the announcement at a trade show in Cannes, France, said it was negotiating further deals with regional labels. The company introduced PlayNow in February 2004 as a way to listen to and then purchase ringtones for mobile phones. Since then, it as expanded the service, allowing full music tracks and games to be downloaded and other features. It said PlayNow was available in 32 countries. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Windows 7 isn't headed for 2009, says Microsoft. More like 2011.

Slashdot It! Hey, it's not Microsoft's fault that 2011 sounds like the realm of jet pack VR massage cars, but it's certainly a long ways away any way you slice it. Contrary to previous rumors of Microsoft planning a Windows 7 release sometime in 2009, Microsoft has apparently gotten in touch with WinVistaClub and set the record straight: Windows 7 is in "planning stages," and development will take approximately three years. Microsoft wouldn't comment on that supposed leak we spotted last week, and of course denied any implications that development was being accelerated to make up for Vista shortcomings. We can't help but wonder how different the OS landscape will look three years from now, with Linux rapidly reaching feature and usability parity, while Apple plugs away at OS X and cloud computing lands everywhere, but we're sure Vista SP1 won't be the last bid Microsoft makes at this generation. Update: Other quotes from Microsoft has the date set at 3 years from the launch of Vista, which would indeed land it around 2009, so perhaps all hope is not lost. No date is set yet, and our money is on 2010 at the earliest. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

SP1 coming out soon

Slashdot It! For the second time in two weeks, Microsoft Corp. has released a new build of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) to its invitation-only group of approximately 15,000 testers, giving weight to recent speculation that the final code is close. The newest version, dubbed Vista SP1 Release Candidate (RC) Refresh 2, was released to testers yesterday, Microsoft confirmed today. "This group includes corporate customers, consumer enthusiasts, software and hardware vendors, and others," a company spokeswoman said. "The code is not available for public download." Microsoft made the same claim two weeks ago, when on Jan. 11 it unveiled SP1 RC Refresh, saying then that it would keep the build private. Two days later, however, it posted the refresh to the Windows Update service. Microsoft has repeatedly said it has slated the release of Vista SP1, the long-anticipated first major update to its newest operating system, for the first quarter of the year. This week, however, fueled by a report out of Taiwan that claimed Feb. 15 would be SP1's day, talk intensified of the service pack's imminent release. When asked about the rumors, the Microsoft spokeswoman answered: "The final release date is based on quality, so we will continue to track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date." Microsoft also issued a new build of Windows XP SP3 this week. Tagged as SP3 RC Refresh 2, the update went to the same group of 15,000 testers, and like Vista SP1, was made available via the company's Connect beta site. An earlier preview of Windows XP SP3 was released to the public about a month ago, and is still available for downloading. XP SP3 is scheduled to go final in the first half of 2008. Windows XP SP3 has consistently been given shorter shrift by Microsoft. Unlike its public relations efforts via company blogs on Vista SP1, the company has made little effort to broadcast XP SP3's features or changes. In fact, some analysts have noted that the biggest barrier to Vista adoption is the continued devotion of business customers to Windows XP. In November, for instance, Forrester Research Inc. analyst Benjamin Gray said: "Vista's biggest competition isn't Apple or Novell or Red Hat; it's Microsoft itself, it's XP." Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Apple V.S AirPod

Slashdot It! A Delaware company specializing in air purification is suing Apple Inc. in order to get the iPod maker to stop causing a ruckus over the airPOD name used to market its desktop-based air filtration systems.

Apple sued for stifling air filtration firm By Kasper Jade Published: 01:00 PM EST A Delaware company specializing in air purification is suing Apple Inc. in order to get the iPod maker to stop causing a ruckus over the airPOD name used to market its desktop-based air filtration systems. Related AppleInsider articles: Apple faces new lawsuit over iPhone concept Lawsuit alleges Apple lifted idea for iChat... Class-action charges Apple with illegally... Apple may face iPhone trademark issue in Japan Apple sued over power adapters, store receipt... In the 4-page complaint, filed last week in an Illinois district court, BlueAir Inc. alleges that counsel for Apple have been making a big stink since last summer over its request for a trademark on term airPOD. Lawyers for the Cupertino-based gadget maker have reported asserted likely confusion of BlueAir's airPOD mark with Apple's iPod mark, threatening to file oppositions with the United States Trademark Office, and more recently "making threats of seeking attorney fees and more." BlueAir charges that it's Apple, rather than itself, which is therefore creating the actual controversy between the parties and causing harm by way of those threats of trademark infringement and unfair competition. Introduced in June of 2006, BlueAir's airPOD product stands at 6-1/2 inches wide, 13 inches tall, and 3-1/2 inches deep. It comes clad in aluminum with the mark "airPOD" embossed on its front-side and must be plugged into a 110-volt outlet to operate. "There is no reasonable likelihood of confusion, mistake, or error in the marketplace for persons of even the lowest perceptive capabilities who are seeking an iPod music player considering or buying an airPOD desktop air cleaner instead," BlueAir's attorneys at Chapman and Cutler LLP argue in the suit. "'AirPOD' and iPod are distinct in sound, appearance, and connotation as applied to their respective goods," they add. "Although the ending --POD portions are identical, the initial portions AIR-- and i-- are distinct in appearance and connotation and distinguishable in sound as well to any ordinary observer." Nevertheless, the complaint claims that Apple requested an extension with the trademark office to allow it time to file opposition to BlueAir's trademark application, and that lawyers for the Cupertino-based firm subsequently e-mailed and telephoned counsel for BlueAir demanding the company withdraw its application for the "airPOD" name and rebrand its product under a new mark not containing the three successive letters "POD." "On information and belief, neither BlueAir nor Apple knows of any single bona fide instance of confusion between the AIRPOD mark on personal desktop air purifiers and the iPod mark for personal portable music players," BlueAir's attorneys say. "Indeed Apple has not opposed federal registrations or impending federal registrations of AIRPOD marks for air fresheners, carrying cases, and industrial air filters, nor has it, on information and belief, sought to stop the hundreds of other uses of AIRPOD and AIR POD marks for other products such as 'air time' recorders for snowboarders, and the like, findable in any Internet search for those terms." BlueAir is seeking an order from the Court that would end the harassment by declaring that its airPOD mark is not confusingly similar to Apple’s mark and that it may be used and registered without further interference from the iPod maker.

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No more domain testing websites in Adsense

Slashdot It! A confidential informant says Google will stop monetizing all domains if they are less then five days old. This potential new policy change by Google could stop all Domain Tasting in its tracks. The Add Grace Period (AGP) is a time period when registrars can delete a domain at no cost, but in this time frame a registrant could register millions of these temporary domains and place Google Adsense for Domains on them. The result is the ability to produce millions of temporary websites that literally generate millions of dollars in income per week for Google. It was disclosed in court that one partner that Google had was generating as much as $3 million dollars a month from the practice and that was after Google’s revenue share. Oversee.net and other companies have been using this practice for years and it will have a direct impact on them. The gravy train of free money might be coming to a halt very fast. This policy change at Google should be announced to the channel partners soon and it will have a huge echoing impact on the Industry. The Good news is that the Quantity of advertising will be spread among fewer domains now and so those domain owners that actually own real full domains should receive more money if bid prices start to rise as a result of this. However some advocates of Domain Tasting say that perhaps no one will be able to serve the niche for some ads and no one will make money on the unserved ads. I think this is a return of the “Be Good” motto Google had a few years ago. Google has been quietly enabling this practice for years now. This is a smart policy move on Google’s part to ward off impending litigation that might have hit them in the coming months. Trademark lawyers have been getting crafter at taking down Kiting by suing under other laws. The new weapon of choice is not using Trademark laws but Forgery laws. The penalty for forgery is much worse and cares a much higher fine per article that is forged. Dell, Yahoo, and BMW have all filed lawsuits in the last two months that ask for millions of dollars of damage from Google partners and I think Google sees the writing on the wall, they might be named next. The question that remains, will Yahoo follow suit and block all advertising on domains less then 5 day old as well? I have a feeling Yahoo will because Yahoo was one of the groups that is suing Domain Tasters using the Forgery law tactic. Most of the big Domain Tasters are using Google ad syndication feeds to monetize the traffic right now and the money will come knocking on Yahoo’s door now. UPDATE: The new Google policy will go into effect before the end of February. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Cable Co. Empties 14,000 E-Mail Accounts

Slashdot It! Charter Communications officials believe a software error during routine maintenance caused the company to delete the contents of 14,000 customer e-mail accounts. There is no way to retrieve the messages, photos and other attachments that were erased from inboxes and archive folders across the country on Monday, said Anita Lamont, a spokeswoman for the suburban St. Louis-based company. "We really are sincerely sorry for having had this happen and do apologize to all those folks who were affected by the error," Lamont said Thursday when the company announced the gaff. Charter, one of the nation's largest cable TV operators, also provides telephone and high-speed Internet service. It has applied a $50 credit to the bill of each customer whose account was affected by the mistake, Lamont said. Via My Way Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft: Vista Has Fewer Flaws Than Other First-Year OSes

Slashdot It! Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system brought home its first-year security report card today: Vista logged less than half the vulnerabilities that Windows XP did in its first year, according to the Microsoft report. Report author Jeff Jones, security strategy director in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group, compiled the number of vulnerability disclosures and security updates in Vista's first year, and compared them to Windows XP, Red Hat rhel4ws, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, and Apple Mac OS X 10.4 in their first years. According to Jones, Vista came out ahead of all of the other first-year OSes: Microsoft released 17 security bulletins and patches affecting Vista, versus 30 for XP in its first year, for example. And Microsoft fixed 36 vulnerabilities in Vista, versus 65 for XP, according to the report. There are 30 vulnerabilities in Vista that have not yet been patched, and 54 for XP in its first year. "The results of the analysis show that Windows Vista has an improved security vulnerability profile over its predecessor," Jones writes in his blog. "Analysis of security updates also shows that Microsoft improvements to the security update process and development process have reduced the impact of security updates to Windows administrators significantly compared to its predecessor, Windows XP." But he also admits that looking at vulnerabilities is just one facet of security. "Is there anything in this analysis which will prove one piece of software is 'more secure' than another? No, that is not my intention," Jones says in his blog. "This report is a vulnerability analysis, which may provide some elements that could be part of a broader security analysis." Fewer vulnerabilities "make it easier to manage risk," he says. "All other things being equal, fewer patches mean more time to spend on other security projects to reduce risk." Rich Mogull, founder of Securosis LLC, says exploits and criticality are two additional important vectors to measure for OS security risk. "I think a measure of vulnerabilities, with criticality, mapped to exploitability, mapped to active exploits, is a more interesting metric. Not to take away from Jeff's work. It would be a good follow-on," he says. "[Vulnerabilities] are only one factor in a risk measurement, and alone [aren't] a true measure of risk," Mogull says. "That's what drives this 'my OS is better than your OS' pissing-match garbage." In the Vista report, Microsoft notes that there were more vulnerabilities fixed in other OSes in their first years than in Vista: 360 in Red Hat rhe14ws (reduced) in its first year; 224 in Ubuntu 6.06 LTS' (reduced) first year; and 116 in Mac OS X 10.4's first year. Jones also charted patch events for each OS and found that Vista required fewer patch activity than other OSes. So what does the Vista report card really mean? "It proves that it [Vista] is quantitatively more secure, but not that it's quantitatively less risky -- what I call security versus safety," Mogull says. "IT managers need to know the overall risk assessment, which includes that data as well as other information sources." Vista underwent more quality assurance and security testing than any other OS, Mogull says, and it paid off. "The Trustworthy Computing Initiative has resulted in material improvements in the operating system, and other OS vendors should adopt similar practices." Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Google eyeing operations in Malaysia

Slashdot It! Web search engine giant Google is interested in setting up operations in Malaysia, citing the country's technology infrastructure and strategic location, newspapers reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Google has started discussions with Malaysia's Multimedia Development on establishing a base in the country. "They want to make their presence felt in Malaysia. It will be a big boost for our ICT industry," he told reporters after meeting Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Abdullah said Malaysia ranked as the top users of Google in Southeast Asia, which was another reason why it would make sense to use the country as a base for its operations. In Asia, Google has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Plam to close all but one of their shop

Slashdot It! Palm Inc. will close all but one of its retail stores over the next five weeks, in keeping with its effort to cut costs and focus on its next-generation smartphone platform, according to the company. Palm has eight branded stores in California and 26 “stores within a store” at major metropolitan airports around the country. It will maintain the Palm store within its own corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. The smartphone maker will continue to sell its handsets through carrier stores, resellers and other retail and online channels, including its own Web site. The closings are slated to be complete during Palm’s fiscal third quarter, which ends in late February. “We continue to focus our company around core business initiatives and are consolidating more resources behind fewer programs in order to compete most effectively,” the company said in a statement. The company did not post a press release about the move on its Web site, but made the information and statement available to the press upon request, perhaps a reflection that while it is taking cost-cutting steps it is not aggressively publicizing its shift in sales channels. The move comes on the heels of an undisclosed number of job cuts at the roughly 1,200-person company in December and the cancellation of its Foleo product, a keyboard-and-monitor accessory, in September. The Treo maker also made a round of job cuts in June, shortly after attracting a $325 million infusion of private equity and raising an additional $400 million in new debt, while adding two former Apple Inc. executives to its board. While many analysts believe Palm has a shrinking window of time to introduce a compelling new smartphone platform, analyst Tavis McCourt at Morgan Keegan said that the company is poised to show “substantial financial improvement” after the company’s current, fiscal quarter ends in February. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

'Beavis' goes portable on PlayStation format

Slashdot It! The Universal Media Disc, a proprietary format for Sony's PlayStation Portable, failed as a movie format. But Sony's continued attempts to portray the PSP as a multimedia device rather than a game player now find the company trying again, this time with TV shows. Sony Computer Entertainment America on Thursday announced that it is offering popular MTV programming on the UMD, marking the first collaboration between Sony and a major TV content provider. Headed for UMD are Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection, volumes 2 and 3; Jackass, volumes 2 and 3; Wildboyz, volumes 1 and 2; Viva La Bam, volumes 2-4; and Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

HD-DVD DEAD?

Slashdot It! Warner Home Video's defection from the HD DVD camp may have put a damper on hardware sales. In the week since the studio's surprise early-January announcement that after May it will support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format, sales of HD DVD players ground to a virtual halt, giving Blu-ray hardware a whopping 93% sales advantage, according to data from the NPD Group. According to raw retail data collected by NPD, consumers bought just 1,758 HD DVD players the week of January 12, down from 14,558 players the week before. In contrast, consumers bought 21,770 Blu-ray Disc machines, up from 15,257 the previous week. NPD would not confirm or deny the actual sales figures, saying they are proprietary. (A copy of the report was provided to The Hollywood Reporter by a third-party source.) But analyst Stephen Baker confirmed the weekly market-share shift, with the caveat that it's too soon to tell whether this is the start of a long-term trend. "It's always very dangerous to make long-term assumptions based on one-week sales data," he said. Update Sales data for HD-DVD and Blu-ray players and movies has been misconstrued lately by various outlets, with reports implying that HD-DVD sales have fallen at an amazing pace while Blu-ray sales have blasted through the roof. Not so fast, says the NPD Group. While select articles have implied that HD-DVD as a format is doomed and the sky is falling for the format's supporters, the NPD Group this afternoon reinforced that sales results from a single week do not necessarily indicate a trend, and that the week in question had several intriguing variables that have gone unreported. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Smartphones Patented

Slashdot It! This past Tuesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent on "a mobile entertainment and communication device." Reading the patent, you realize it describes the quite common smartphone. It's a patent for a mobile phone with removable storage, an internet connection, a camera and the ability to download audio or video files. The patent holding firm who has the rights to this patent wasted no time at all. At 12:01am Tuesday morning, it filed three separate lawsuits against just about everyone you can think of, including Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, Samsung and a bunch of others. Amusingly, the company actually first filed the lawsuits on Monday, but realized it was jumping the gun and pulled them, only to refile just past the stroke of midnight. The patent itself is based on a bunch of continuation filings, which are commonly used by patent holders who want broad patents to cover the latest technologies well after they've already come about in the market. It would seem like the concept itself, merely combining a bunch of things that people were already talking about, should never have been granted based on the Supreme Court's recent KSR ruling that merely combining existing concepts doesn't deserve a patent. Also, as noted in the comments to the link above, it would appear that there's a fair amount of prior art. In fact, Apple even sent over some prior art concerning the patent just before it was originally supposed to be issued last summer -- but somehow patent holder's lawyers talked their way around it. In the meantime, it looks like we've got yet another case of an overly broad and obvious patent being used against a huge number of firms. I'm sure that's exactly what Thomas Jefferson expected when he created our patent system. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

PB reaches 10 million users

Slashdot It! The Pirate Bay is no stranger to making history, and today is no different. In an achievement that conjures an achievement from the annals of file-sharing history, The Pirate Bay has broken an impressive milestone. Today, The Pirate Bay asserts itself as the self-proclaimed "World's Largest Tracker" by topping over 10 million peers, while managing over 1 million torrents. Let's consider these staggering numbers. 10 million simultaneous users represents a number never duplicated by any file-sharing entity. The largest P2P networks, such as FastTrack and eDonkey2000, both topped out with approximately 5 million users. Gnutella, fronted by LimeWire, is more difficult to calculate, however reasonable estimates place Gnutella's population among the P2P heavyweights. Despite these impressive stats, The Pirate Bay has managed to exceed all previous file-sharing populations. 10 million users is more than the population of New York City (8.1 million) and The Pirate Bay's home country, Sweden (9 million). To imagine the scale of The Pirate Bay's ubiquity, it would be similar to every person in New York City running a BitTorrent application and using The Pirate Bay as their tracker - and even then, there would still be 2 million individuals to spare. Skype manages to have similar ambitions to The Pirate Bay; as of the time of this writing, the VoIP P2P network has approximately 9.1 million individuals connected - but still short by 1 million users. The Pirate Bay has also managed to break another achievement, as the BitTorrent tracker is now managing over 1 million torrents. Specifically, The Pirate Bay's statistics show that "10.044.335 peers" are currently connected, with "1.015.489 torrents" managed by the tracker. "We're very happy to be part of all of this and we hope our users keep sharing those files!," Peter Sunde of The Pirate Bay told Slyck.com. "And we're looking to break 20 million as well." The Pirate Bay's journey to this milestone was interrupted in late May of 2006, when it's server farm was raided by Swedish authorities. Its machines were confiscated, leaving many to wonder if the tracker would ever return. To put matters in perspective, The Pirate Bay had only 2.1 million peers during those events. Now, The Pirate Bay's server farm is scattered globally, giving the administration, and indeed many of its users, the confidence that it will be immune from any future prosecution. That confidence is under attack by entertainment industry, pressured ISPs, and governments world wide who are attempting to thwart that critical mass of users. ISP bandwidth throttling and filtering could be on the way shortly, with the aim of cracking down on the productivity of the file-sharing community. Despite this pressure, concerns are held in check with the knowledge that history is on the opposition's side. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising

Slashdot It! The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a "huge revolution," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said. "It's the re-creation of the Internet, it's the re-creation of the PC (personal computer) story, and it is before us--and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. Current estimates for mobile advertising are cautious, with consultancy Forrester predicting revenues of under $1 billion by 2012. But Schmidt said this figure was too low and failed to take into account the fact the mobile Web was reaching a tipping point. Google aims to be a prime mover by bidding for coveted airwaves to launch an open U.S. wireless network, pitting it against established telecommunications players. The move will take the Silicon Valley-based company well beyond its core Web search and online advertising franchises. Some analysts are worried at the high costs involved but Schmidt said he was confident that location-based advertising--which could, for example, direct hungry travelers to nearby restaurants--would be "a very, very good business." Content providers, already struggling in the modern world of music and film downloads, are less convinced that mobile Internet is a minefield. "It is not going to be easy to hang on the price of content," said Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Windows 7 coming out next year?

Slashdot It! A recently-release roadmap for the next major Window release – Windows 7 – indicates that Microsoft is planning to release the new operating system in the second half of 2009, rather than the anticipated release date of some time in 2010.

There are apparently three “milestone” builds planned for 2008, and the first one – M1 – has already shipped to key partners for code validation. M1 is for the English language build only, but is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will most likely be the last Windows operating system available in 32-bit, and given the rapid advances Windows Vista is making in the 64-bit computing market, this seems a sensible decision.

is this Windows 7: this screenshot, floating around on online forums, purports to be from an alpha of Windows 7. Probably fake, but interesting nonetheless. M2 should ship around April/May, and M3 some time in the third quarter of 2008. There’s no available roadmap information about further milestone, beta or release candidate builds, except the updated RTM release date of H2 2009.

If Windows 7 is released in the second half of 2009, this will be three years after Windows Vista which went RTM in November 2006. A three-year major product cycle would take the Windows operating system out of cycle with Windows Server, which is on an approximate four-year cycle.

The big question is who in the market will respond to an early release. The transition to Windows Vista seems to have caused a lot of angst amongst users, but I think has far more to do with moving out of the Windows XP comfort zone, rather than any indication of Vista’s quality or stability. In which case, perhaps a shorter product cycle from here on in will get users and businesses thinking ahead much quicker, not to mention the hardware vendors who were the major contributors to Vista’s shaky start.

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Lotus Notes for iPhone not ready yet

Slashdot It! Despite reports that the launch of Lotus Notes for the iPhone and iPod Touch is imminent, IBM says it is not quite ready to release the software. A formal announcement of Lotus Notes for Apple's portable devices was to occur at IBM's Lotusphere conference this week, with the software available free for users with a Lotus Web-access license or on a yearly subscription basis for new users. IBM is, however, not ready to put out the software. "It's not something that (is) ready to go out and market or launch," an IBM spokesperson told ZDNet Australia. The spokesperson said that speculation over the release may have been prompted by an earlier demonstration of the software by IBM. The release of Lotus Notes for the iPhone and iPod may drive adoption of the devices by business users. Analyst house Gartner recently warned enterprises against adopting the iPhone, saying the device could "punch a hole" through corporate security systems. However, Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at research firm IBRS, said he's not sure Lotus Notes will have a large impact on enterprise adoption of the device. "I can't really imagine someone who's really hip and cool--like an iPhone user--wanting to use Lotus Notes," he said. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

AMD Aims Three Graphics Cards at Budget Gamers

Slashdot It! AMD's ATI graphics division launched three new PC graphics cards that are designed to provide gaming performance at a budget price. The new products undercut the existing ATI Radeon HD 3850 and 3870. Directly below the two existing cards in terms of performance is the ATI Radeon HD 3650, priced at between $79 to $99. Two new cards, the new Radeon HD 3450 and Radeon HD 3470, both offer DirectX 10.1 support, but at prices as low as a suggested price of $49. What's interesting is AMD's approach: although the company plans to launch the ultra-high-end HD 3870 X2 soon, AMD's emphasis in its early 2008 launches is effective use of mainstream, budget graphics. "The good thing is that we've been very consistent in where we want to lead the visual experience," said Pat Moorhead, AMD's vice president of advanced marketing. "The key thing is to expand the definition of the visual experience; games are important to us, but so is video." A key facet of this is what the company calls "hybrid graphics," or its "Cartwheel" platform, which will launch later this quarter. There, the graphics chipset will function somewhat satisfactorily by itself, perhaps in a home office environment. Dropping in a Cartwheel-certified graphics card, however, will allow the graphics chipset and standalone graphics card to work together, divvying up the processor tasks. (The card-plus-chipset combo will default to the lowest common shader level, Moorhead said; if AMD were to make a Cartwheel-certified DirectX 9.0 chipset, a DirectX 10.0-capable graphics card would only be able to run in the older DirectX 9.0 mode.) And in this case, the new, higher-performance HD 3650 is not hybrid graphics certified; both the Radeon HD 3450 and the Radeon HD 3470 are, however. Adding either the HD 3470 ($59-$65) or the HD 3450 ($49-$55) can result in significant boosts; pairing the HD 3450 with the upcoming RS780G chipset can bump up graphics performance up to 80 percent, with boosts of about 50 percent seen in Crysis, about a 70 percent boost to Far Cry, and a 50 percent boost to FEAR, according to AMD. However, AMD did not indicate what those final frame rates would be after the graphics was combined. "I think we absolutely will win on performance per dollar; there's no question of that," Moorhead said. The HD 3450, the slowest card AMD is launching, runs at 600 MHz and uses a 500-MHz DDR2 interface to memory. Fortunately, the card can be passively cooled, while the HD 3470 will probably require active cooling. The HD 3470 runs at 800 MHz, and uses 950-MHz GDDR-3 memory. Both cards use a 64-bit interface, use Direct X 10.1, PCI Express 2.0, and DisplayPort, the first PC graphics cards on the market to do so. All of the AMD HD 3xxx series includes HDCP and HDMI, for "worry-free" digital playback, according to AMD. All of the cards also include hardware-based HD video decoding. Moreover, the HD 3470 supports scaling to 1440p, a 2,560x1,440 format that currently does not exist on today's HDTVs. The HD 3650, meanwhile, is targeted at the Nvidia 8600GT, which the company claims it handily outperforms. Although it officially only has one product name, the HD 3650 will run at 725-MHz, but be offered in either a 256-Mbyte (800-MHz GDDR-3) configuration, or a 256-Mbyte/512-Mbyte/1.02-Gbyte configuration using slower 500-MHz DDR-2 memory. It does not support hybrid graphics. According to AMD, OEMs will price the ATI Radeon HD 3650 at between $79 to $99. At peak power, however, the HD 3650 will use less than 75 watts, a legacy of its 55-nm process technology, Moorhead said, That's important for platforms where users will have the opportunity to pair two or more graphics boards together, he added. AMD is scheduled to launch all three cards at an event in Beijing. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

EBay's retiring chief may run for California governor

Slashdot It! As she prepares to depart from EBay after a decade at the helm, Chief Executive Meg Whitman appears to be investigating a new career -- in politics. Whitman has talked with top Republicans about the possibility of a run for California governor in 2010, according to three operatives who have had discussions with her. Whitman is said to be asking detailed questions about the logistics of a run and the effect she could have as governor, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the conversations. Whitman did not make herself available for comment. A source close to her said she had been talking with Republicans around the state and had become "fascinated" by politics in her work as a fundraiser for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and a former colleague of Whitman at the consulting firm Bain & Co. The source close to Whitman, however, downplayed the seriousness of the conversations, saying that Whitman was still new to politics and that California Republicans, not Whitman, were the ones driving the discussion. "This thing has come to her," the source said. "She hasn't given it all that much thought. It's not, 'I'm going to run. Give me a game plan.' " Last September, Whitman switched her party registration from "decline to state" to Republican, according to records in San Mateo County, where she lives. The source close to Whitman said she had made the change in part so she could vote for Romney in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, which is closed to independents this year. "Whitman has the potential to be a very strong candidate," says former Republican consultant Dan Schnur. "She brings very strong private sector experience to the table, and her involvement in politics gives her a potential base of support as well." Whitman could breathe life into a party that has little money and few stars beyond Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is often at odds with Republican doctrine. A moderate, she is a billionaire who could fund her own campaign. She ranked No. 361 on Forbes' 2007 list of the richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. Another anticipated GOP gubernatorial candidate, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, is also a billionaire from Silicon Valley. The two do not know each other. Whitman, like Poizner, could face a difficult Republican primary against a conservative candidate such as State Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). "It will be very difficult for her to explain to primary voters why she and Steve Poizner are different in any respect other than gender," Schnur said. Former Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim, who was among those who encouraged Schwarzenegger to leave Hollywood for politics, says he sees Whitman as a potential candidate. Sundheim is leading an effort to find candidates for 2010 and is talking to people inside and outside politics, including nontraditional candidates who are wealthy enough to finance their own campaigns, according to people who have spoken with him. Three sources said Whitman is among the candidates with whom he has talked. "I've heard from others that Meg may have an interest in running for office someday," Sundheim said in an interview Thursday. "We have many excellent potential candidates and I think Meg could be one of those candidates, and I hope she seriously considers it." Margaret C. "Meg" Whitman, a 51-year-old New York native, joined EBay as its president and chief executive in 1998, when the online auction company had 30 employees and annual revenues of $4 million, according to a biography posted on the company's website. The company now has 15,000 employees globally. Whitman said Wednesday that she would retire from EBay on March 31. Since launching her career at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati in 1979, Whitman has spent her professional life in the corporate sector, as an executive at toy maker Hasbro, Florists Transworld Delivery, Stride Rite Corp. and the Walt Disney Co. She did her undergraduate work at Princeton and later earned a master's degree at Harvard Business School. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Baidu led China search market in fourth quarter

Slashdot It! Baidu.com led China's search engine market in last year's fourth quarter with a 60.1 percent share, research firm Analysys International said on Friday. Google came second with a 25.9 percent share, followed by Yahoo China with 9.6 percent, it said in a statement. Baidu's fourth-quarter market share was roughly unchanged from the previous quarter. Google, meanwhile, gained 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter from the third, and has launched a mobile short-message search service. China's search engine market reached $131.3 million in the fourth quarter--almost double from a year earlier--and was dominated by Baidu, Google, and Yahoo China with a combined share of nearly 96 percent. China had 210 million Internet users at the end of 2007, second only to the United States. China's population is expected to become the world's largest at the beginning of this year, Xinhua news agency said this month. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

IDC: Single-digit handset market growth in '08

Slashdot It! Market researcher IDC expects growth in the global market for mobile phones to slow to single digits from this year onwards after unit sales rose 11.6 percent last quarter, it said in a statement on Friday. Despite slowing growth, more than 300 million handsets were sold in the fourth quarter--which includes the Christmas holiday season, when sales are traditionally strong--a record for any single three-month period, IDC said. "Over the last three years, growth in the industry during the holiday quarter has fluctuated from 18.0 percent to 30.0 percent, and this past quarter we saw it drop to 11.6 percent," IDS senior analyst Ryan Reith said in the statement. "The expectation that the market would maintain the level of growth it saw over the last three years was unrealistic. We expect growth to be in the single digits throughout 2008, and most likely for years to follow." During 2007, 1.144 billion cell phones were sold worldwide, 12.4 percent more than a year earlier. Last year saw Samsung Electronics overtake Motorola to become world No. 2 behind Nokia. Samsung grew almost four times as fast as the market, thanks to high-end replacement models for the United States and Europe, IDC said. Motorola spent much of the year addressing inventory issues in Europe and Asia. "Now that Motorola is implementing a new handset strategy, it will be interesting to watch the hotly contested number two position in 2008," IDC said. Nokia on Thursday reported fourth-quarter handset shipments that were higher than the combined total of its closest three competitors, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson. The company produced 1.5 million phones per day on average and said it could have manufactured even more had it not been for component shortages. IDC put Nokia's fourth-quarter market share at 40.0 percent, Samsung's at 13.9 percent, Motorola's at 12.2 percent, Sony Ericsson's at 9.2 percent and fifth-placed LG Electronics at 7.1 percent. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Digital Music Sales Grow, but at Slower Rate

Slashdot It! As consumers lose interest in compact discs and balk at paying for the digital alternatives, the music industry is looking for new allies, including Internet service providers, lawmakers — even Chinese air guitarists. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said Thursday that worldwide digital music sales rose to $2.9 billion last year, from $2.1 billion a year earlier. That was about 15 percent of overall sales, up from 11 percent a year earlier and less than 1 percent in 2003. But digital sales have yet to make up for the shortfall in sales of compact discs, and overall sales of recorded music fell about 10 percent last year, to $17.6 billion, the federation estimated. A recovery in the music industry remains at least a year away, the federation’s chief executive, John Kennedy, said. In the meantime, the recording industry is broadening its search for revenue. The trade group plans to step up a campaign to hold Internet providers responsible for stopping piracy over their networks, Mr. Kennedy said. It is lobbying the United States government to recognize a form of copyright that has provided musicians with a steady royalty stream in Europe and elsewhere. Mr. Kennedy praised a deal brokered last year by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, in which Internet service providers agreed to shut down the accounts of persistent copyright violators. Industry representatives are pushing for similar measures in countries like Britain and Sweden. In China, where piracy is rampant, the music industry is considering a lawsuit against Baidu.com, the largest Internet provider, Mr. Kennedy said. Some developments favored the music industry in China. Under a recent agreement, karaoke bars now recognize audiovisual rights to music videos and would collect fees. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Report: Yahoo discussing online music deals

Slashdot It! Web portal Yahoo is in early discussions with major record labels to offer an online music service, the Associated Press reported. The report, dated late Wednesday, quoted two unnamed record company executives and said details are still being negotiated and that Yahoo could offer the MP3 files either for sale or for free as part of an ad-supported service. A Yahoo representative was not immediately available for comment. Online retailer Amazon.com launched an MP3 service last year in a bid to compete with Apple's online iTunes music store. Amazon has signed deals with record labels EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Vivendi's Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

AT&T profit rises on wireless growth

Slashdot It! AT&T posted a higher quarterly profit after better-than-expected wireless growth, sending its shares up almost 3 percent in premarket trading. The company also affirmed its outlook for 2008. The biggest U.S. telephone company said its fourth-quarter profit was $3.1 billion, or 51 cents per share, compared with $1.9 billion, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Most of the year-ago quarter excludes earnings from BellSouth, which AT&T bought at the end of 2006. Before merger-related costs and other special items, AT&T's profit rose to 71 cents a share from 61 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose to $30.3 billion from $15.9 billion. The results were in line with the average analyst forecast of earnings per share of 71 cents before items, on revenue of $30.5 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. "We had an excellent fourth quarter, which affirms our outlook for 2008," AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said in a statement. The company also approved a buyback of 400 million shares, or 6.6 percent of its shares outstanding, and expects to complete the transactions by the end of 2009. AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple's iPhone, said it added 2.7 million net wireless subscribers in the quarter compared with average estimates of 1.9 million from four analysts contacted by Reuters. Estimates ranged from 1.35 million to 2.36 million. The company ended 2007 with "just at or slightly under 2 million iPhone customers," said Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner, referring to iPhone sales on the company's quarterly earnings call. "We had very solid sales results in October and November and we had almost double sales in December." The company said it maintained double-digit growth in revenue and subscribers for its broadband business and saw subscribers to its U-verse video service rise to 231,000 by the end of the quarter from 126,000 the previous quarter. Stephenson said the company was on track to reach more than 1 million U-verse subscribers by the end of 2008. AT&T earlier this month said it was seeing some softness in its consumer business, which represents about 20 percent of the company's revenue, but said this had less of an impact in wireless than in wireline services. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Sun reports increased quarterly profit

Slashdot It! Sun Microsystems, the world's fourth-largest server maker, said Thursday that quarterly profit doubled amid strong growth in emerging markets. Net income rose to $260 million, or 31 cents per share, for Sun's fiscal 2008 second quarter ended December 30, from $133 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 1.4 percent to $3.62 billion from $3.57 billion. The company said it had double-digit percentage growth in emerging markets including India, China, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East during the second quarter. Revenue decreased 8 percent in the United States and the region accounted for a smaller slice of total sales, but Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz repeated on a conference call with analysts that the company had not felt the effects of the U.S. economic slowdown. "We saw strong demand in the second half of the quarter despite a slowing U.S. economy" Schwartz said. The company's gross profit margin increased 3.5 percentage points to 48.5 percent. Sun executives told analysts they expect a gross profit margin of 45 percent to 47 percent for the current fiscal year and revenue growth of at least 5 percent in the second half as Sun targets full-year revenue growth in the low to mid-single digit percentage range. Sun recorded $32 million of restructuring charges in the period. Sun said in a preliminary earnings report last week that it expected to report second-quarter earnings of $230 million to $265 million, or 28 cents per share to 32 cents per share. It said revenue was about $3.6 billion, an increase of about 1 percent over the year-earlier amount. Its shares, down 18 percent this year through Wednesday, added 13 cents in extended trading following the earnings report after closing up 8.8 percent at $16.12 on Nasdaq. Sun, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has been trying to make a comeback under Schwartz, cutting jobs, selling server computers with processors from Advanced Micro Devices and Intel in addition to its own chips and growing in software. Last week, Sun said it would buy Swedish database-software maker MySQL for about $1 billion to drive growth in its software services business. Sun expects restructuring charges of as much as $50 million when the deal closes, probably in the third or fourth quarter. Schwartz said in a statement on Thursday the second-quarter results "highlight the demand set to fuel growth in the back half of the fiscal year." Second-quarter growth was helped by an agreement for Dell, the world's second-largest PC maker, to sell computers with Sun's Solaris operating system, Sun said. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Blu-Ray won the war?

Slashdot It! According to the latest NPD group report, during the month of December Blu-ray players held 60 percent of the HD media player market -- despite the fact that HD DVD players were considerably cheaper. While that might've helped Warner in its decision to go Blu, the move has definitely had a dramatic effect on player sales since. According to the same study the week after the announcement, Blu-ray players were able to grab 93 percent of the market, which puts the year to date (short, we know) share for Blu-ray players at 70 percent. Granted, it's hard to put too much stock in just a week or two of data, but if this and the recent media sales numbers (85 percent) becomes a trend, maybe this won't be such a slow death for HD DVD after all. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft Delivers Strong Growth and Includes a Sunny Forecast

Slashdot It! Microsoft reported quarterly sales and profit gains that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations and delivered an optimistic outlook, suggesting that a weakening economy would not slow it down. Microsoft’s strong performance was led by its three major businesses: personal computer operating systems, office productivity programs and software that runs computers in corporate data centers. The company, the world’s largest software maker, continues to struggle and lose money as it battles Google in its new markets for Internet services and online advertising. But for Microsoft, that is a financial challenge of the future, one overshadowed by the heft and continuing growth in its personal computer products, led by the Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007. Microsoft’s desktop software divisions accounted for 56 percent of the company’s revenue and more than 80 percent of the operating profit of its product groups. Microsoft’s game console and software business, helped by the best-selling Halo 3 title, has become profitable for the first time. “Microsoft is still investing without much to show for it yet in the online business, but that is kind of nitpicking when you look at the results of the company over all,” said Charles di Bona, a securities analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company. “The strong performance seems to be pretty much across the board.” Investors sent Microsoft’s shares up 4 percent in after-hours trading Thursday. The shares closed the regular session at $33.25, up $1.32, or 4.1 percent, after being battered along with other technology stocks this week. Other leading technology companies, like Intel and Apple, have reported strong quarterly results, only to have their shares punished after they warned of cloudy outlooks given the increasing possibility of an economic recession. But Microsoft executives still sound confident. In a conference call with analysts, Christopher Liddell, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said, “We have not seen any significant spillover for an economic slowdown in the U.S.” Sixty percent of Microsoft’s business is now outside the United States, which helps insulate the company from the chill of a slowdown in the American economy. Even so, Mr. Liddell noted that Microsoft’s sales in the American market in the last six months had grown at a healthy 15 percent clip. For its 2008 fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft offered a bit more optimism. The company said revenue for the year would be $59.9 billion to $60.5 billion, above the analysts’ consensus of $59.4 billion. Microsoft said its earnings would be $1.85 to $1.88 a share, up from Wall Street’s projection of $1.81 a share. For its second quarter, Microsoft reported net income of $4.7 billion, or 50 cents a share, a 79 percent rise compared with a year earlier. Analysts had predicted 46 cents a share. The company reported revenue of nearly $16.4 billion, or 30 percent higher than in the year-earlier quarter. The consensus revenue estimate of securities analysts, as compiled by Thomson Financial, was $15.9 billion. The percentage gains in sales and profits in the quarter were inflated by comparison with the year-earlier quarter, when Microsoft deferred $1.64 billion in revenue and operating income because of the delay in shipping Windows Vista and Office 2007. It issued coupons and free upgrades to consumers and businesses that bought personal computers in the holiday season of 2006, allowing them to upgrade to Vista and Office 2007 later. Yet after adjusting for the effect of last year’s charge, Microsoft still had a stronger-than-expected performance, with revenue rising 15 percent and operating income up 27 percent. Quarterly sales of the client group, which includes Windows Vista, rose 13 percent to more than $4.3 billion. The company’s antipiracy programs, working in cooperation with local police in 22 nations, have been particularly effective in the last six months, Mr. Liddell said, representing 3 percentage points of the year-to-year growth. The business division, which includes Office, reported sales of $4.8 billion, a 15 percent gain. Most of that comes from Microsoft’s popular word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs. But Mr. Liddell noted that SharePoint, a program for collaboration by teams of workers, has grown to become a $1 billion-a-year product. The entertainment and devices group, which includes the Xbox game consoles and video games, gained only 3 percent in sales, to $3.1 billion. But the year-ago quarter included a surge in revenue from the introduction of the Xbox 360. More significantly, the division reported a $357 million profit this year, compared with a $302 million loss a year ago, as Microsoft sold more games, which are solidly profitable. The online services business grew 38 percent to $863 million, helped by the contribution of aQuantive, an online ad agency Microsoft bought last May for $6 billion. But losses more than doubled to $245 million. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Video games a sales winner in '07

Slashdot It! DVD sales might have slipped in 2007, but another key segment of the home entertainment market had a banner year: video games. Sales of video game hardware and software came in at an estimated $17.9 billion, according to data from market research firm NPD Group released Wednesday. That's up 43 percent from 2006, with credit largely going to high consumer demand for Nintendo's DS portable game device and Wii console. Hardware sales came in at $7 billion, up 54 percent from 2006, according to NPD data. Sales of consoles soared 73 percent to $5.1 billion, with Nintendo's Wii leading the charge with nearly 6.3 million units sold--a number that could have been much greater, analysts said, had production problems not led to widespread shortages of the console, particularly during the holidays. Consumers also bought 4.6 million Xbox 360s from Microsoft and 2.6 million PlayStation 3s and 4 million PlayStation 2s from Sony. The PS2 continues to be the most popular game system in the country, with an installed base of 41.1 million. U.S. consumers also own 9.2 million Xbox 360s, 7.4 million Wiis, and 3.3 million PS3s. Sales of portable game devices rose 19 percent in 2007 to $1.9 billion, led by Nintendo's DS, which sold 8.5 million units. Sony moved another 3.8 million units of its PSP. U.S. households now own 17.7 million Nintendo DS devices and 10.5 PSPs, according to NPD data. Sales of accessories, driven by Wii controllers, rose 52 percent to $2.3 billion. On the software front, consumer spending for console and portable games came in at $8.64 billion, a 34 percent increase from 2006. The category was driven by console games, which brought in $6.64 billion, 39 percent more than the previous year. Best-selling titles include Activision's Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero II, Microsoft's Halo 3, and Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Play. Halo 3 alone sold an estimated 4.8 million units at retail to become the top-selling game of the year. Wii Play was No. 2, moving 4.1 million units. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Nokia profits jump, market share at 40 percent

Slashdot It! Nokia, the world's top cell phone maker, reported a 57 percent rise in earnings per share from October to December, with booming demand in emerging markets boosting its global market share to 40 percent. Nokia's fourth-quarter earnings per share, minus one-off items, rose to 0.47 euros (about 68 cents), helped by buoyant demand for cheap phones in emerging Asian markets, and beating the average forecast of 0.44 euros in a Reuters poll of 34 analysts. Shares in Nokia soared on the news and were up 14.3 percent at 23.71 euros ($34.61) in early trading on Thursday. Nokia sold 133.5 million phones in the quarter, more than its three closest rivals combined, and beating analysts' average forecast of 130.7 million phones in the poll. The Finnish company has a strong lead in emerging markets including China and India, which it has been fiercely defending. Nokia and other large vendors increased their market share in the quarter at the expense of struggling Motorola, which said on Wednesday it would post an operating loss in the current quarter as recovery in its cell phone business was taking longer than expected. "Again we see a testament (that) whatever Motorola is losing, Nokia is gaining. And that trend was true throughout 2007, and the question is whether it will continue through 2008. If it will, we need to upgrade numbers," said analyst David Hallden, CAI Cheuvreux. Nokia said it expected its market share to stay at the 40 percent level in the first quarter, but it is targeting market share growth in 2008. "I believe the competitive environment will be a bit better than the market expected," said Glitnir analyst Pasi Vaisanen. Nokia said the average price of phones sold rose from the previous quarter to $121.18 (83 euros), beating analysts' average expectation of $119.72 (82 euros). Helped by its larger scale, Nokia boasts much stronger profit margins than its rivals; the operating profit margin from its three cell phone business units rose to 23.8 percent. Its closest rivals in terms of profitability, Sony Ericsson and Samsung Electronics, reported profit margins of 13 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Maxdirectory

Dear all website publishers and website owners, here is an way to make your website stand out from others. It is a way to gain some attraction in the online world.It is something called website directory submission. It is a service provided by some websites for you to submit your website in their website directory so that people in the world can find your website using their directory. This is the website I recommend you to submit your website to. web directory This is the website that I had submitted website to before. But the website is not very up yet, it only has a few websites in a few cag. with some cags with no websites in them totally. The main problem I foresee and I hope they improve on is the fees that are associated with having to submit your website to their directory. It is an hefty $5 for standard listing and a hefty $10 for Express Listings. Ok, lets talk about the benefits of the express listing. The difference between Express Listing and Standard Listing The main difference between the express and standard listing is that they provide a better service for you when you apply for an express listing instead of the standard listing. Your link would be approved in 3-7 days and your link would be below the express listing if you apply for the standard listing. However, if you apply for express listing, your link would be approved by 22-24 hours which is quite fast and your link would be on top of all other links. In both cases, if your link is not approved, your money would be fully refunded. They have an list if rules before your link can be approved, so look carefully through it before you submit it to them. Articles They also feature articles from different websites. They also include the website link and the Pr of their website. There are some interesting articles for some of you to read. check it out. All right, shall end of here, check them out.

AFS Loans

Do you need an loan now? Then, you better read this review about this loan website I love to introduce to you. Business Loans It is an loan website that lends you quite an huge sum of money for you so that you would be able to pay off your house, business and many other loans. Business Loans The website I am going to introduce is called AFS Loan. It is an loan service for loans between $10K to $50K. Business Loans What they promise you No Upfront fee’s 100% Approval Guarantee * Unsecured - No Collateral Stated Income – No Documents Required Quick 5 Minute Application Private, Confidential & Secure

IBM and SAP to develop joint software

Slashdot It! Services and software companies IBM and SAP, longtime technology partners, will bring out their first joint software product in the fourth quarter of this year, the two companies said on Monday. The product, code-named Atlantic, will allow users to access SAP's Business Suite applications for work flows, reporting and analytics through IBM's Lotus Notes desktop software. U.S.-based IBM and Germany's SAP, which was founded by five former IBM employees, have collaborated for 35 years. IBM is the world's largest integrator of SAP's business-management software, SAP software is certified for IBM servers, and SAP's favored development database is an IBM one. The two companies, which have been the target of repeated merger speculation, said their thousands of mutual customers had asked for the functions that Atlantic software will supply. Lotus Notes, which is designed for accessing business e-mail, calendars, and collaborative tools such as instant messaging from a Lotus Domino server, is used by more 135 million people worldwide, according to IBM. Via Cnet Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Publicis, Google reveal digital ad collaboration

Slashdot It! France's Publicis and Web search engine giant Google revealed they were combining their expertise to expand in the fast-growing digital advertising market. However, the pair did not wish to give details just yet. They would only say that Google would exchange its technological know-how for Publicis's analytical and media planning expertise. Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, and Maurice Levy, chairman of Publicis, told journalists the two companies had been cooperating for more than a year. Levy said the collaboration would allow Publicis to "grow the business of our clients through better use of the Internet, sending the right message at the right time." The news comes one year after Publicis, the world's fourth-largest advertising group, scooped up Internet ad agency Digitas for $1.3 billion. "We are telling the market we are being very serious about digital advertising," Levy said. It also follows a buying spree last year that saw Internet and technology powerhouses such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft snap up several leading Internet ad agencies. Collaboration with Google also reflects Levy's view of Internet heavyweights such as Google as partners, a view that diverges from some other industry ad executives. "Google is not a short-term friend and a long-term enemy. It's a real partner," Levy said. When Google bought online advertising ad agency DoubleClick, Sir Martin Sorrell, the head of British ad giant WPP Group, had described it as "a short-term friend and a longtime enemy." Schmidt told journalists on Tuesday: "Google will never become an advertising agency." Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Health Care forums

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WOW reaches 10 million

Slashdot It! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that subscribership for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has continued to climb, recently passing 10 million worldwide. Interest in the game has remained high in all regions, with thousands of new and returning players signing up through the holiday season. World of Warcraft now hosts more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and approximately 5.5 million in Asia. "It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead." Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade®, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007.* In addition to being the bestselling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, The Burning Crusade holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.* Development is underway on World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™, which was unveiled at the company's BlizzCon™ gaming festival in August 2007. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Mozilla turns 10

Slashdot It! Ten years ago, Netscape announced it would release to the public the code of its flag ship product, Netscape Communicator 5, making it an open source product. The action came at a time when Netscape was still the dominant web browser: 65 million users and 90% market share in the educational segment according to Netscape’s own accounts. But Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was grabbing share at a furious pace thanks to it being free (at a time Netscape was about$30) and specially the fact that it came bundled with Windows 95 and upcoming Windows 98 (released on June 1998). With a sliding market share, Netscape decided to focus on its enterprise oriented products and gave away the browser but most importantly allow volunteers to work on the product. Mozilla was nothing but Netscape’s user agent (the name a browser uses to contact the web server), a reminder of the first Netscape code name.

Over time, Mozilla would become the name of the open source project, AOL would buy Netscape and Internet Explorer would get up to 90%+ of market share leading to the worst period in web browsers’ history where innovation was a niche for Opera and IE remixes users.

In 2002, Mozilla would finally release its first public version with its crazy mantra: we are platform builders, we are for developers, we leave products for others.

Entered Phoenix, which took Mozilla, the application suite, and made a consumer product out of it. At about the same time, AOL spun off the Mozilla Foundation with a $2 million check. Phoenix, then Firefox, would become an instant hit in 2004 proving the user oriented approach to be the most effective way for Mozilla to achieve its goals.

It’s been ten years of hard times and good times, frustration and satisfaction. But in all, Mozilla existence and success is something we can all, as connected citizens, celebrate: having options when it comes to web browsing because it leads to standardization and innovation, no matter it comes from Opera, Safari, Mozilla or Microsoft.

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eBay warns of weaker 2008 results

Slashdot It! eBay warned that results for the current quarter and year would fall below Wall Street expectations, spoiling strong 2007 year-end results and the planned departure of long-serving Chief Executive Meg Whitman. Shares of the world's top auction and e-commerce company fell 7.5 percent following the report, reversing a jump of as much as 10 percent on anticipation that a new CEO could reinvigorate flagging growth in its auctions business. For the current quarter ending in March, eBay said it expected revenue of $2.00 billion to $2.05 billion--well below Wall Street's average predication of $2.14 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. First-quarter analyst forecasts had varied between $2.10 billion and $2.21 billion. The San Jose, Calif.-based company said it expected 2008 revenue of $8.50 billion to $8.75 billion, which at its midpoint represents growth of 12 percent--far below the $9.02 billion or 18 percent growth analysts had expected on average. The dour outlook came as eBay posted a 53 percent surge in fourth-quarter net profit, comfortably ahead of forecasts. Net income jumped to $531 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, from the year-earlier quarter's $346.5 million, or 25 cents per diluted share. Excluding one-time items, the latest quarter's profit was $611 million, or 45 cents a share. Topping year-end estimates Analysts were looking for a quarterly net profit, on average, of 33 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Excluding one-time items and stock-based compensation, the average Wall Street forecast was 41 cents per share. Fourth-quarter net revenue rose 27 percent to $2.18 billion, against an average forecast of $2.14 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Forecasts ranged from $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion. "The fourth-quarter numbers were fine, but the guidance is pretty weak and obviously below the mean," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital. "(It's) hard to tell immediately how much of it is fundamental issues or (management) conservatism and how much of it is macroeconomics and related to retail spending." Fourth-quarter growth was led by eBay's non-auction businesses, including its retail-like "fixed price" shopping sites; PayPal, which had revenue growth of 35 percent; online ticketing site StubHub; Web-based phone company Skype; and classified ads and other advertising. "We're very pleased with the results for the quarter, which were strengthened by a solid holiday shopping season," Whitman said in a statement. The company said full-year 2008 net earnings, excluding one-time items and option expenses, are expected to range from $1.63 to $1.67 per diluted share--at or below the Wall Street average forecast of $1.67, according to Reuters Estimates. Net profit was expected to range from $1.27 to $1.31 per diluted share. Analysts were looking for an average net profit of $1.37 per share. Cash, cash equivalents and investments leapt to $5.04 billion at the end of 2007 from $3.50 billion at the end of 2006, eBay said. "We closed the year with a very strong balance sheet, giving us the financial flexibility to invest across all of our business units in order to extend our leadership positions," eBay Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan said in the report. On Wednesday, EBay shares closed up 6.7 percent, or $1.81, at $28.94 in regular-session trading on Nasdaq following news that the CEO change was imminent but ahead of the results. Following the report, the stock fell back 7.5 percent to trade around $26.75 in extended trade. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

SONY COMPUTER TO POSTPONE THE RELEASE OF MICROPHONE PRODUCTS FOR PSP

Slashdot It! Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ), a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) responsible for business operations in Japan, today announced that it would postpone the release of two microphone products for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), SINGLE PACK (with one microphone, PSPJ-15010) and TWIN PACK (with two microphones, PSPJ-15011), scheduled to be released in Japan on Thursday, January 24th, 2008. SCEJ planned to release the microphone along with the introduction of Skype™ features for the new slim and light PSP (PSP-2000). However, it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification and SCEJ has determined to postpone the release of the microphone. New release date will be announced as soon as decided. With this, SCEJ has also reached a decision to postpone the introduction of the Skype features and services in Japan, scheduled in late January as part of the system software update for PSP. Solutions to enable users to start using Skype features and services on their PSP are being sought for and will be announced in due course. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Apple 1Q 2008 Results: Record $1.58 Billion Profit

Slashdot It! Apple posted revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share during the 1Q 2008 (ending December 29th). These results compare to revenue of $7.1 billion and net quarterly profit of $1 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, up from 31.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 45 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Other notes: - 2,319,000 Macs shipped (44% unit growth and 47% revenue growth) - 22,121,000 iPods shipped (5% unit growth and 17% revenue growth) - 2,315,000 iPhone sales "We're thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple's history," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We have an incredibly strong new product pipeline for 2008, starting with MacBook Air, Mac Pro and iTunes Movie Rentals in the first two weeks." "Apple's revenue grew 35 percent year-over-year to $9.6 billion, an increase of almost $2.5 billion over the previous December quarter’s record-breaking results," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Our strong results produced cash flow from operations of over $2.7 billion during the quarter, yielding an ending cash balance of over $18.4 billion. Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $6.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $.94." The 2nd quarter expectations, however, fall short of analyst projects. We have posted notes of interest from the conference call: Conference Call Notes - Highest Revenue ever. Record Mac, iPod and iPhone sales. Strong demand for software. - Mac: 47% of quarterly revenue. 44% year-over-year growth. 2.5x the general market growth - iMac sales remain robust. 53% year-over-year growth - 38% portable year-over-year growth - Successful launch of Leopard. "Terrific" response. - Sold over 22 million iPods. - New type of iPod: iPod Touch. Potential to grow the iPod from just music/video player to first mainstream wifi-platform running applications. - iPod Touch responsible for overall increase in average sales price. - iPod Touch software upgrade last week (at macworld) - iPod U.S. share for MP3 players is consistent with year ago quarter. - In International, gaining marketshare in virtually all European and Asian countries. - Over 2.3 million iPhones sold in quarter. - Apple Retail Stores. Revenue was 1.7 billion. 53% year-over-year growth. - 3rd store in Manhattan. Great start. entire floor to genius bar/personal training/pro lab - Over 50% of customers buying Macs in stores were new to Mac. - 38.4 million visitors in the retail stores during the quarter - Cash balance increased to over $18.4 billion. - Looking ahead to next quarter. Targeting $6.8 billion in revenue. Gross margins of 32%. Lower margins due to 1) sequential decline is software sales (as Leopard and iWork sales slow) 2) lower revenue due to seasonality. - Enthusiastic about announcements at Macworld. Very confident in our product line outlook for 2008. Q/A Highlights: - Confident hitting 10 million iPhone sales goal by 2008 - Sees iPod Touch as a new Wifi mobile platform Q: Any cannibalization of iPod sales from iPhone? A: Not seen in Europe, and difficult to say in U.S. Q: Use of cash for stock buyback program? A: These possibilities are discussed, but preference to maintain strong balance sheet for strategic investments or acquisitions. - Very confident in our business, strategy, and products. Very confident about what's coming in the product line. Couldn't be more proud of the Apple team. We give guidance that we have reasonable confidence in achieving. Q: MacBook Air. Do you think that will be incremental or cannibalize exhisting lines. A: MacBook Air orders have been very strong but too early to tell regarding cannibalization. Q: Mac Channels such as Best Buy A: About 286 stores in Best Buy. Thrilled with results. Added to the Mac momentum. Will be expanded further to 600 over the next 6 months. Q: iTunes Rentals goals? Drive hardware sales or profit by itself? A: We think customers are going to love it, but we'll have to see. Goal for iTunes store has been to run it above break-even and use it to drive hardware sales. Q: Regarding MacBook Air market? A: The MacBook Air will appeal to travelers, professors, all different kind of people who want to access a computer very quickly where ever they are. Competitively priced. Great new product. Orders are very strong. - 19% of the Mac OS X installed base is enjoying Leopard Q: Question about Revenue sharing on iPhone. France selling unlocked iPhone. A: We aren't discussing terms of agreements with carriers. - Still planning on launching iPhone in Asia and additional European companies in 2008. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft expected to post sharp profit rise

Slashdot It! Microsoft is expected to report a sharp rise in quarterly profit this week, boosted by surging revenue as strong computer sales drive demand for its Windows operating system and Office software. Investors will also look at its full-year outlook to see if the world's largest software maker can maintain momentum from a strong first quarter in the face of growing concerns over the U.S. economy. Microsoft reports fiscal second-quarter results. Economic concerns and stock market declines have erased the share price gains that followed its first-quarter results, but analysts said personal computer sales figures last week suggest any economic softness did not weigh on year-end demand. "We're looking for Microsoft to continue to have positive results. Last quarter was one of the best we've seen from it in a very long time and we think the company is certainly headed in the right direction," said Andy Miedler, technology analyst at Edward Jones. Analysts, on average, forecast that Microsoft will post a 66 percent rise in quarterly net profit to $4.35 billion, or 46 cents per share, on a 27 percent increase in revenue to $15.93 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Those growth rates are exaggerated by the results in the year-ago period, when Microsoft deferred more than $1 billion in net income due to delays in releasing Windows Vista and Office 2007, which hit stores in early 2007. Last week, research firm IDC said global PC sales rose 15.5 percent in the October-to-December period, while rival firm Gartner put worldwide computer sales growth at 13.1 percent. "We believe that the strength of PC shipments this quarter portends well for Microsoft's (Windows) Client division and should give at least some boost to the results," Bernstein Research analyst Charles Di Bona wrote in a note to clients. Windows, which sits on more than 90 percent of the world's PCs, was the main catalyst behind Microsoft exceeding 20 percent in revenue and profit growth in its first quarter. It was aided by strong PC sales, but the company also sold pricier versions of Windows and made progress in reducing piracy. Office 2007 sales are also expected to rise in the strong PC market, while growing demand from corporate customers for products like its SharePoint collaboration software should spur revenue growth at its business division. Technology outlook Investors will also watch Microsoft's results as an indication of the outlook for technology. So far, results from tech bellwethers have painted a mixed picture. Chipmaker Intel spooked investors with a disappointing forecast last week, while IBM provided some reassurance with a 2008 outlook that blew past Wall Street's expectations. Microsoft has long argued its products are less sensitive to swings in technology spending because they account for a small, but essential, portion of overall technology spending by corporate customers. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its Americas "Conviction Buy" list last week with analyst Sarah Friar writing that Microsoft is a good defensive stock in a tough economy. She noted Microsoft should benefit from new server software releases in February and the upcoming availability of Vista's first major update, Service Pack 1. Historically large organizations have waited for the release of SP1 to upgrade operating systems. Wall Street will also look for signs of improvement from Microsoft's online services arm. The just-ended quarter was the first since the company absorbed digital advertising firm aQuantive after last year's $6 billion acquisition. Microsoft has clinched several Web ad syndication deals in recent months such as a five-year deal with media conglomerate Viacom. Yet it has failed to take Web search market share from Google and Yahoo. Microsoft's entertainment and devices division has already said it had a strong quarter. The company said it sold 4.3 million Xbox 360 consoles in the last three months of 2007, while sales of Halo 3, a popular shooting game exclusive to the Xbox released in late September, hit 8.1 million units. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo

Slashdot It! Yahoo is planning to lay off hundreds of employees in an effort to increase its profitability, prop up its deflated stock price and narrow the focus of its sprawling Internet portal to a smaller number of crucial areas, people close to the company said. The final number of layoffs from Yahoo’s work force of about 14,000 is yet to be determined and is likely to be announced around the end of the month, perhaps during Yahoo’s conference call on Jan. 29 with analysts after it reports fourth-quarter results, these people said. Company executives are still trying to determine exactly which areas will be cut. One person close to the discussions said a final plan, or perhaps a few alternative plans, would be submitted to the board at a coming meeting. The plan’s final shape may be influenced by the company’s fourth-quarter performance, this person said. Yahoo declined to comment specifically on any plan for layoffs. In an e-mail statement, a company spokeswoman, Diana Wong, said: “Yahoo plans to invest in some areas, reduce emphasis in others, and eliminate some areas of the business that don’t support the company’s priorities. Yahoo continues to attract and hire talent against the company’s key initiatives to create long-term stockholder value.” The statement echoes a strategy sketched out in recent months by Jerry Yang, the company’s co-founder, who was appointed chief executive last summer amid growing shareholder dissatisfaction. After a 100-day review of the company, Mr. Yang said in October that Yahoo would focus on three areas: becoming a “starting point” for the most consumers on the Web; extending its advertising offerings to sites across the Web; and opening up Yahoo’s technology infrastructure to third-party developers and publishers. The strategy is aimed at revitalizing Yahoo, which has been eclipsed by Google in Internet search, and has faced increasing competition from social networks like MySpace and Facebook. As a result, Yahoo’s share of the overall online advertising market has declined. Still, the company remains a powerful force on the Internet, with about 500 million people visiting its sites around the world each month. Company executives have said that to achieve its “starting point” goal, Yahoo would continue to invest in areas like Internet search, e-mail, the Yahoo front page and the personalized home-page service MyYahoo, as well as news, finance and sports. Some other areas would be de-emphasized. In recent months, Yahoo said it would phase out or consolidate services like photos, premium music, auctions and Yahoo 360, a largely unsuccessful social network. During the weekend, some blogs reported that Yahoo was considering layoffs of 10 to 20 percent of its work force. But the people close to the company, who discussed Yahoo’s layoff plans on condition that they not be identified, said the cuts would most likely be in the hundreds. The last time Yahoo had sizable layoffs was in 2001, after the dot-com crash. During the last year, the company added several hundred people, some through hiring and some through acquisitions of companies like the online advertising specialists Right Media and BlueLithium and the e-mail provider Zimbra. Mr. Yang and other Yahoo executives have said recently that they believe that those acquisitions and a series of reorganizations have primed the company for a turnaround. But they have cautioned that financial results may not improve quickly. They have also said they believe Yahoo can succeed as an independent company, amid growing speculation that the company could become a takeover target. With the stock price sliding, Mr. Yang and the board may see layoffs as necessary to ensure that the company can indeed remain independent. Yahoo shares have lost more than half of their value since early 2006, closing Friday at $20.78. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Coolink introduces ChipChilla chipset cooler

Slashdot It! Coolink today introduced its new ChipChilla chipset cooler. The ChipChilla employs a thick 6mm dual-heatpipe as well as a quiet 60mm fan. Thanks to the asymmetrical design and the flexible mounting system for mainboards with push-pins and mounting-hooks, the ChipChilla offers broad compatibility with Intel & AMD motherboards. "Today's chipsets produce more and more heat, particularly when overclocked. Mainboards, especially the more affordable ones, still tend to come with insufficient cooling solutions however", explains Timothy Chu, Coolink CEO. "Our ChipChilla easily cools current chipsets and also offers sufficient headroom for overclocking thanks to the supplied fan." Due to its 60mm fan, the ChipChilla can dissipate heat faster than comparable passive solutions. At only 19dB(A) however, the ChipChilla is significantly quieter than other chipset coolers employing small 40mm fans. The ChipChilla features an asymmetric design that allows for the fan to be mounted on either side in order to evade compatibility issues with CPU coolers and graphic cards. The flexible mounting system for push-pins and mounting-hooks makes the ChipChilla compatible with virtually any current Intel or AMD mainboard. Price and availability The ChipChilla is available with immediate effect at a suggested retail price of EUR 16,90 / USD 16,90. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft to force updates to IE7

Slashdot It! Microsoft has warned corporate administrators that it will push a new version of Internet Explorer 7 their way next month, and it has posted guidelines on how to ward off the automatic update if admins want to keep the older IE6 browser on their companies' machines. The IE7 upgrade scheduled to roll out via WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) on Feb. 12 was announced last October, when Microsoft said it would no longer require users to prove they owned a legitimate copy of Windows XP before they were allowed to download the newer browser. Microsoft explained that the move was prompted by security concerns. "Because Microsoft takes its commitment to help protect the entire Windows ecosystem seriously, we're updating the IE7 installation experience to make it available as broadly as possible to all Windows users," said Steve Reynolds, an IE program manager, on a Microsoft company blog in early October. "Internet Explorer 7 installation will no longer require Windows Genuine Advantage validation and will be available to all Windows XP users." The IE7 Installation and Availability Update was immediately made available for manual downloading and was offered to consumers and small-business users via the Windows Update service in the weeks that followed. Beginning Feb. 12, the new IE7 package will be put into the WSUS pipeline as an Update Rollup package. "If you have configured WSUS to 'auto-approve' Update Rollup packages, Windows Internet Explorer 7 will be automatically approved for installation after February 12, 2008, and consequently, you may want to take the actions below to manage how and when this update is installed," Microsoft warned in a support document posted to its site. WSUS's default setting for Update Rollups is to not autoapprove them. Companies that stuck with IE6 must take action, Microsoft said, or IE7 may be automatically downloaded and installed to their workers' PCs. Specifically, administrators who have set WSUS to automatically approve Update Rollups will need to disable the auto-approval rule before Feb. 12 to prevent IE7 from infiltrating their infrastructure. After that date, they must synchronize the update package with their WSUS server and then switch the autoapproval rule back on. More than one in every three people still relies on IE6, according to data gathered by Web metrics vendor Net Applications. During December 2007, IE6 accounted for 35 percent of the browsers that visited the 40,000-some sites monitored by the company. Microsoft recognized that it needed to protect IE6 from replacement even before it released IE7 in the fall of 2006; prior to the browser's launch, the company posted a free set of tools administrators could use to block the automatic downloading and installation of the new browser. But it's unclear what impact, if any, the IE7 rollout via WSUS will have on users who have applied the Blocker Toolkit to keep that browser off their systems. Although asked to expand on the support document -- which didn't mention the tools -- Microsoft was not able to provide any additional information Tuesday. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

RIAA off the web

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A lack of security controls allowed hackers to "wipe" the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) website on Sunday.

The existence of an SQL injection attack on the RIAA's site came to light via social network news site Reddit. Soon after hackers were making merry, turning the site into a blank slate, among other things.

The RIAA has restored RIAA.org, although whether it's any more secure than before remains open to question, TorrentFreak reports.

The RIAA's high-profile lawsuits against file sharers have made it a prime target for hack attacks, so its apparent failure to apply rudimentary security controls looks especially dumb even though, as with most such attacks, little damage was actually caused. In other hacking news, the Church of Scientology's website reportedly came under attack last week, leaving it unavailable for parts of the weekend. The attack was reportedly an act of hacktivism prompted by the organisation's attempts to pull a promotional video featuring Scientologist Tom Cruise from YouTube. YouTube pulled the clip, but the material has since resurfaced on Gawker.com. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

What is happening to Xbox 360

Slashdot It! Since it's launch in Fall of 2005 Xbox 360 systems all over the world have had major hardware failure problems resulting in millions of costumers having to mail their Xbox back to Microsoft. No one really knows what has been causing these problems since the official lines never divulged the specific problems or rates of failure. All a person has to do is to press the power button on their Xbox 360 and there is a chance that it will just up and fail to boot up and shine the "Red Rings of Death". Microsoft decided to extend the warrantee for the Xbox 360 but the cloud of fear and uncertainly still hang around the game system. This past week I met and interviewed an individual who has worked on the Xbox 360 project for many years and they had some things that they wanted to get out into the public. I have the fullest confidence in the integrity of this confidential source. While respecting and protecting their rights we were able to have an in-depth interview of working in the Xbox project and just how things progressed to this point. Just keep in mind that a while back I broke the story that Bungie was leaving Microsoft and had all the details a full week before the official PR announcement Once again I have a confidential source from inside Redmond and I't all checks out to me. Via Inside Source Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Free Games but with ads

Slashdot It! Ever since John Riccitiello took over last year as chief executive of Electronic Arts, the video game industry bellwether, he has promised to revitalize the company with new games and new ways of reaching consumers. Now, that may be happening. In a major departure from its traditional business model, E.A. plans to announce Monday that it is developing a new installment in its hit Battlefield series that will be distributed on the Internet as a free download. Rather than being sold at retail, the game is meant to generate revenue through advertising and small in-game transactions that allow players to spend a few dollars on new outfits, weapons and other virtual gear. At a conference in Munich, the company intends to announce that the new game, Battlefield Heroes, will be released for PC this summer. More broadly, E.A. hopes the game can help point the way for Western game publishers looking to diversify beyond appealing to hard-core players with games that can cost $60 or more. E.A.’s most recent experiment with free online games began two years ago in South Korea, the world’s most fervent gaming culture. In 2006, the company introduced a free version of its FIFA soccer game there, and Gerhard Florin, E.A.’s executive vice president for publishing in the Americas and Europe, said it has signed up more than five million Korean users and generates more than $1 million in monthly in-game sales. Players can pay not only for decorative items like shoes and jerseys but also for boosts in their players’ speed, agility and accuracy. Mr. Florin said that while most users do not buy anything, a sizable minority ends up spending $15 to $20 a month. With Battlefield Heroes, E.A. hopes to bring that basic system of “microtransactions” to Western players, along with increased advertising. Mr. Florin said the licensing agreements around the soccer game prevent E.A. from inserting in-game advertisements from companies that are not already sponsors of FIFA, the international soccer federation. By contrast, E.A. already owns the Battlefield franchise and will be free to insert whatever advertising it wants. The game industry is booming worldwide, largely on the strength of two trends: a demographic expansion of the gaming population beyond the traditional young male audience and the rising popularity of online play. Electronic Arts, once the industry leviathan, has not taken full advantage of those shifts. Meanwhile, one of E.A.’s main competitors, Activision, is riding high on the strength of the mass-market Guitar Hero series and has agreed to merge with Vivendi’s games division, which makes the world’s most popular online game, World of Warcraft. With Battlefield Heroes, E.A. is trying to capitalize on both trends at once. Not only will Heroes be distributed online, but also it is meant to provide a simpler, more accessible entertainment experience than the relatively complex earlier Battlefield games. The combat-oriented series has sold about 10 million copies since the 2002 debut of the franchise’s first game, Battlefield 1942. “The existing Battlefield games are fairly deep; you have to be pretty good or you’ll die pretty quick,” Mr. Florin said Friday in a telephone interview from Geneva. “Now we’ve toned down the difficulty, shortened each game session to 10 or 15 minutes and made the visual style more cartoony.” Strategically, Mr. Florin said the game was a step toward figuring out how to generate multiple revenue streams from a single intellectual property, a maneuver Hollywood has mastered. “I’ve always envied the movie industry when they put a film out in the cinema, then they go to retail with a different business model and then to pay television and then free TV,” he said. “They have the same content reaching different audiences with different models, and we could never figure out a way to do that. Now with higher broadband penetration, we can use the technology to reach a broader audience.” Not to mention the fact that popular games distributed online can be more profitable than games sold at retail, a prime driver of the Activision-Vivendi deal. Across China and South Korea, where online games dominate the market, game companies are generating profits far beyond their Western counterparts’ returns. “The Activision-Vivendi deal changes the landscape for how investors will look at game companies, and that puts pressure on everyone else,” Ben Schachter, an Internet and game company analyst at UBS Securities, said Friday. “Before it was a battle for a few operating margin points here and there,” Mr. Schachter said, “but when you look at the Asian companies like Shanda or something like World of Warcraft, you talking about a 40 percent operating margin business, which is just in a different league from the U.S. companies. So the U.S. publishers like E.A. have to be looking at those models with envious eyes, and those companies will have to experiment.” Mr. Florin declined to name names but did say that if Battlefield Heroes is a success, E.A. would soon look to create free downloadable versions of some its other marquee games as well. Perhaps the prime candidate would be the company’s flagship Madden series, for which sales have slowed. Traditional versions of Madden are extremely complicated, but a simplified downloadable version would be expected to appeal to millions of more casual players. Via NYT Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

How does the Macbook package look like

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Sleek packaging for the MacBook Air but seems like a tight fit. And no, no Manila envelop. The Japanese had first dibs on the MacBook Air Packaging. Click here.

Another picture after the jump.

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Tomato Video Touch, the cutest iPod Touch Clone Yet

Slashdot It! The mark South Korean Tomato announces the Video Touch, naturally inspired a clone of the iPod Touch. La ressemblance est d'ailleurs frappante entre les deux appareils, à tel point qu'un œil distrait pourrait se laisser piéger. The similarity is also striking between the two aircraft to such an extent that a distracted eye could be trapped. Du coté des spécifications, celui-ci embarque un écran tactile LCD QVGA 260K couleurs de 2.5", 2Go à 4Go de mémoire flash, un tuner FM et un haut-parleur. Il offre une compatibilité MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, MPEG-4 et AVI. Comptez entre 63$ et 84$. From the side of specifications, it loads a touch-screen LCD QVGA 260K color 2.5 ", 2GB to 4GB of flash memory, an FM tuner and a loudspeaker. It is backwards compatible MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, MPEG-4 and AVI. Count between $ 63 and $ 84.

Looks like some DAP companies have fun designing new music players that unmistakably feature the elements of the Apple iPod touch and even announce it officially. There are already lots of cheap fake iPod touch players on the market as you can see on eBay. I am not sure if the new one also imitates the iPone/touch user interface. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

CompUSA Refuses To Accept Cash

Slashdot It! A CompUSA cashier summoned her manager and a security guard when Bud tried to pay for his purchases with cash. The promise of 40% discounts drew Bud to the Boisie, Idaho store, but he settled for a 10% discount on an iMac and several accessories. I start counting out hundred dollar bills and the clerk goes nuts! "Sir, we don't accept cash for this kind of purchase! You must use a credit card!" she says at the top of her lungs. (I see her also hit a button on the phone at the same time.) Instantly a man shows up, clearly the manager from his nametag and the rent-a-cop security guy. Both tell me the same thing, "NO CASH! You have to pay with a credit card!" CompUSA's corporate office defended the manager, saying that each store is free to set its own policies. The manager's actions are legal. 31 U.S.C. 5103 says that cash is legal tender for all debts, public and private. Creditors can't refuse cash. CompUSA can. Of course, that doesn't mean they should. I got a call back from a guy at CompUSA corporate, apologizing for what happened. He said that he would make sure that I was taken care of properly and that cash would be no problem. I told him I would think about it and call him back. So I called the store to see if the items I wanted were in stock, after I asked the guy about them he said, "I know who you are, your the guy that wanted to pay cash. My district manager & corporate called me and read me the riot act over this. Thanks for getting me in trouble!" He then hung up on me! And you wondered why they were going out of business. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Man saves someone after learning from one game

Slashdot It! A North Carolina man who saw an SUV flip and roll on a highway last November was able to provide medical aid to the victims with skills he learned from the America's Army, say the videogame's makers. Paxton Galvanek pulled one of the passengers out of the smoking car, then found another bleeding heavily from his hand where his fingers had been lost during the crash. "I used a towel as a dressing and asked the man to hold the towel on his wound and to raise his hand above his head to lessen the blood flow which allowed me to evaluate his other injuries which included a cut on his head," Galvanek said in a letter to the America's Army design team. Galvanek said he learned about controlling bleeding from playing section two of the "medic" class training in America's Army, a game developed by the Army as a recruitment tool. "I have received no prior medical training and can honestly say that because of the training and presentations within America's Army, I was able to help and possibly save the injured men," Galvanek said. The press release mentions that this is the second time that skills developed from playing America's Army have been used to give people medical care in dire situations, but doesn't provide any details on the first incident. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Mac OS X 10.5.2 update to bring endless list of fixes

Slashdot It! During the MacWorld SF, Apple has quietly seeded to developers a new build of the Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 update numbered 9C16. The seed-note lists an endless list of enhancements in almost any part of the system. According to the seed-note, the update "focuses" (if we may call this focusing) on, Active Directory/Directory Services, AirPort, AppKit, Application, Firewall, Audio, Automator, Back To My Mac, Chinese Input Methods, CoreData, CoreFoundation, Dashboard Widgets, Data Detectors, Directory Services, Dock, Finder, Foundation, Grammar Checking, Graphics Drivers, High Level Toolbox, iCal, iChat, iDisk, Keyboard Layouts, Mail, Networking, Parental Controls, Podcast Producer, Printing/CUPS, Quick Look, Rosetta, Safari, SMB, Spotlight, SQLite, Terminal, Time Machine, X11. New issues fixed in this seed, as listed on the seed-note, are the following: Via Macscoop Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Piracy rates are just too high

Slashdot It! "We pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing [Call of Duty 4] Multiplayer (which was fantastic)," writes Robert Bowling, on the game's community blog. "What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game." "The amount of people who pirate PC games is astounding," he added. "It blows me away that people are willing to steal games (or anything) simply because it's not physical or it's on the safety of the internet to do." PC games sales have decreased in recent years due to rampant piracy of software and other digital goods over internet sharing sites. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Instant Boot-Up

Slashdot It! Many office workers have the same morning routine: turn on the computer, then grab coffee, catch up with coworkers, or look at paperwork while Windows boots up. Others save time, but waste energy, by keeping their machines on all the time. Now Device VM, a startup based in Silicon Valley, has a product that circumvents the everlasting boot-up. The company has recently released a tiny piece of software that, when integrated with common computer hardware, gives users the option to boot either Windows or a faster, less-complex operating system called Splashtop. Depending on the hardware and Splashtop settings, a person using the software--which is based on the open-source operating system Linux--can start surfing the Web or watching a DVD in less than 20 seconds, and, in some cases, in less than five. DeviceVM has formed partnerships with several hardware manufacturers, and Splashtop is already available on hardware from Asus, a manufacturer of motherboards, the main circuit boards inside computers. Within the next couple of months, desktops and laptops with Splashtop-enabled hardware will be available to consumers, says David Speiser, director of business development at DeviceVM. Lengthy boot-ups on Windows machines occur for a number of reasons, explains Ben Chong, senior architect at DeviceVM. "First of all," he says, "Windows is pretty big." This means that it has megabytes of instructions to follow--from opening up applications to checking what's in memory. Most computers also come with extra software that Windows automatically loads at startup. "In many cases, Windows PC comes with a whole bunch of stuff you don't need," Chong says. "Starting all of the programs takes a lot of time." (Microsoft wasn't able to comment on Windows' startup times before this article went up.) Hitting the power button on any computer loads software called the basic input-output system, or BIOS, which is often stored in flash memory. The BIOS checks for hardware drivers and sets up the operating system. Splashtop is embedded in the BIOS, so it starts before the operating system is up and running. The user sees a screen with a simple interface offering a handful of options, including launching the Firefox Web browser, a media player, Skype, or an instant-messaging program, or allowing Windows to boot. The applications are stored in a flash-memory chip on the motherboard, so they can be quickly accessed--even if the hard drive fails, Speiser notes. DeviceVM is not alone in its effort to give people a way to bypass Windows. Phoenix Technologies, a company that develops BIOSes that run on many computers, recently announced a technology called HyperSpace, a lightweight operating system that launches at the same time Windows does. (DeviceVM is also developing a version of Splashtop that can boot alongside Windows.) HyperSpace is expected to be available in laptops in the second half of this year. For its part, Intel is developing both hardware and software that will shorten boot times. "We see boot time as something in which there is room for improvement," says Steve Grobman, director of Intel's business-client architecture group. Intel is currently shipping Intel Turbo Memory, which boots Windows faster by caching data in flash memory instead of on the hard drive. It also consumes less power, which is a concern in mobile devices. Grobman says that Turbo Memory works in conjunction with software coming from Microsoft, called ReadyDrive and ReadyBoost. Grobman adds that Splashtop also resembles the lightweight operating systems found on some mobile devices, which allow access to only a few applications at a time. "I think Splashtop's capability is the same concept, but it's making it a little bit more general purpose," since it works on desktop and laptop machines, Grobman says. "It's a positive development in that it's making the PC easier to use in certain circumstances." Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

1.1.3 firmware broken

Slashdot It! TUAW Reader Randal S. writes in with a happy unbricking story. After running AnySIM on his 1.0.2 iPhone, he ignored the warnings and upgraded his phone to a 1.1.1 brick. "Even taking it back to 1.0.2, I couldn't get past the bad IMEI and SIM messages. I tried many things to get it fixed. Hopeless." Now, after the release of 1.1.3, he tried putting his now-1.0.2 phone into recovery mode and updated it to 1.1.3. "It rewrote the firmware, and I now have a fully functional 1.1.3 phone! Yeay! So 1.1.3 firmware must be a complete rewrite. Just FYI, but you probably already knew." See, TUAW readers? Happy endings do come true! His 1.1.3 phone is back to being locked but it's working again and can be used on the AT&T network. TUAW Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft Threatens Startups Over Account Info

Slashdot It! Ah, Microsoft. Nothing gets the knickers of Silicon Valley startup guys more twisted than signs that the world’s largest software company is over-reaching again. The latest outrage? Some of my friends at the Valley’s best-known social networks and Web 2.0 companies are privately grousing that emissaries from Redmond are trying to “strong-arm” (their term) startups into giving special treatment to Messenger, Microsoft’s (MSFT) answer to AIM and other instant messaging programs. The problem typically arises when a social network, say, offers its users the ability to import the list of contacts they’ve accumulated on Microsoft Hotmail. Since the summer, my friends tell me, Mister Softie has been sending cease-and-desist letters to startups that try to do this. These nastygrams are typically followed up by a meeting with Microsoft reps, who then try a couple different approaches to get the startup to integrate Messenger into their service. If the company wants to offer other IM services (from Yahoo, Google or AOL, say), Messenger must get top billing. And if the startup wants to offer any other IM service, it must pay Microsoft 25 cents a user per year for a site license. If, however, the startup decides to use Messenger exclusively, the licensing “fee will be discounted 100 percent.” Such a deal! Via Fortune's Blog Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

iPhone spurs Web traffic, if not music sales

Slashdot It! While Apple did not introduce any significant iPhone upgrades at Macworld, the iconic device still made waves. Apple has sold more than 4 million iPhones since launch, according to leader Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote. But what's more interesting is what the people who bought it are doing with it. In data provided to The New York Times, Google disclosed that it received more traffic from iPhones this Christmas than from any other mobile device, despite owning only 2 percent of the smartphone market and less than 1 percent of the overall mobile-phone market. That means that while fewer people own iPhones, those who do possess the device use it to access the Internet much more than those with competing handsets. What's not clear is whether the iPhone's slick design and simple user interface have proved useful for other functions, such as buying music. Although iPhone users can purchase songs from iTunes when in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple declined to reveal how many have done so. To date, downloading music to mobile phones has not proved a popular activity. According to a recent M:Metrics study, 20 percent of mobile users internationally listen to music on their mobile devices, but 83 percent of them are sideloading the music from their computers or from other devices rather than downloading it from a mobile music service. New model emerging? That has music industry executives wondering whether the future of mobile music will more resemble the Web services model gaining traction on the Internet--where fans stream music from multiple sources, including one another--rather than the purchase-and-download model pursued to date. In February, Apple will release a software development kit that third-party developers can use to write applications for the iPhone. To date, developers were limited to writing Web-based applications--one of the reasons behind the iPhone's high rate of browser use compared with other devices. The music industry will be watching iPhone versions of existing music-focused online services. "Imagine when something like a Last.fm becomes more streamlined and becomes truly portable, either on an iPhone or regular phones," said one label exec who asked to remain anonymous. "Are people going to make more use of it? Maybe." The M:Metrics report supports this theory. In France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, more mobile users were listening to music shared between phones via Bluetooth or other technologies than were doing so with music downloaded from a music store. In France and the United Kingdom, such shared activity accounted for 12.5 percent of the mobile music listened to in November 2007. Via Cnet Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Microsoft seeks patent for office 'spy' software

Slashdot It! Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical wellbeing and competence. The Times has seen a patent application filed by the company for a computer system that links workers to their computers via wireless sensors that measure their metabolism. The system would allow managers to monitor employees’ performance by measuring their heart rate, body temperature, movement, facial expression and blood pressure. Unions said they fear that employees could be dismissed on the basis of a computer’s assessment of their physiological state. Technology allowing constant monitoring of workers was previously limited to pilots, firefighters and Nasa astronauts. This is believed to be the first time a company has proposed developing such software for mainstream workplaces. Microsoft submitted a patent application in the US for a “unique monitoring system” that could link workers to their computers. Wireless sensors could read “heart rate, galvanic skin response, EMG, brain signals, respiration rate, body temperature, movement facial movements, facial expressions and blood pressure”, the application states. The system could also “automatically detect frustration or stress in the user” and “offer and provide assistance accordingly”. Physical changes to an employee would be matched to an individual psychological profile based on a worker’s weight, age and health. If the system picked up an increase in heart rate or facial expressions suggestive of stress or frustration, it would tell management that he needed help. The Information Commissioner, civil liberties groups and privacy lawyers strongly criticised the potential of the system for “taking the idea of monitoring people at work to a new level”. Hugh Tomlinson, QC, an expert on data protection law at Matrix Chambers, told The Times: “This system involves intrusion into every single aspect of the lives of the employees. It raises very serious privacy issues.” Peter Skyte, a national officer for the union Unite, said: “This system takes the idea of monitoring people at work to a new level with a new level of invasiveness but in a very old-fashioned way because it monitors what is going in rather than the results.” The Information Commissioner’s Office said: “Imposing this level of intrusion on employees could only be justified in exceptional circumstances.” The US Patent Office confirmed last night that the application was published last month, 18 months after being filed. Patent lawyers said that it could be granted within a year. Microsoft last night refused to comment on the application, but said: “We have over 7,000 patents worldwide and we are proud of the quality of these patents and the innovations they represent. As a general practice, we do not typically comment on pending patent applications because claims made in the application may be modified through the approval process.” Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

The pirate bay is being clamped down by Swedish police

Slashdot It! As the calendar pages turned from 2007 to 2008, one constant remained for the motion picture and music industries: The Pirate Bay's willingness to ignore their threats (and copyrights) to the point that the Swedish group's site has become the go-to destination for torrented content on the Internet. But there may be dark clouds looming on the horizon for The Pirate Bay. Swedish prosecutors are close to bringing charges against admins Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, and Gottfrid Svartholm. In May 2006, Swedish law enforcement officials seized The Pirate Bay's servers and took a couple of the site's operators into custody. They were soon released, and just a couple of days later, the web site for the Swedish national police was taken down by a DDoS attack. But while the raid may have won Sweden some friends from the world of Big Content, it angered many Swedes. They were upset about reports that the Swedish government carried out the raid at the behest of the US government. In fact, many Swedes are nonchalant about copyright, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription). A 2006 report showed that 87 percent of all films viewed illegally in Sweden were acquired via P2P networks, rather than via bootlegged physical media (France was second at 62 percent and the figure is just 34 percent in the US), and the Journal describes the country as a "file-sharing free-for-all." The antipathy towards copyright enforcement extends far beyond the Pirate Party in Sweden. Seven members of the Swedish Parliament from the free-market friendly Moderate Party (which is a member of the governing coalition) recently penned an op-ed piece in a Swedish tabloid (English translation) calling for the complete decriminalization of file-sharing. "Decriminalizing all non-commercial file sharing and forcing the market to adapt is not just the best solution," the MPs wrote. "It's the only solution, unless we want an ever more extensive control of what citizens do on the Internet." That op-ed had to send shudders up the collective spine of the IFPI, which has its own agenda for copyright reform in Europe, one that involves blocking P2P applications and filtering ISP traffic. Via Ars Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Ageia Steps Up PhysX efforts

Slashdot It! Ageia PhysX is stepping up its efforts to generate physics-heavy mods for Epic's Unreal Tournament 3. Last November, the physics processor maker introduced the PhysX Mod-Kit for Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3), which was designed to allow developers and modders to customize existing levels as well create new content with physics-based enhancements for the multiplayer shooter. While Epic's Unreal Engine 3 already supports Ageia's technology, the PhysX UT3 Mod Kit provides additional tools, guides and other material for additional enhancements and customized content. Ageia made the first PhysX UT3 Mod Kit available last December and in addition, the company released two PhysX-powered mod levels for UT3 - "Tornado" and "Lighthouse" - to show off the capabilities of the mod kit. The Tornado mod, which was introduced at the Leipzig Games Conference last year and also demoed at CES 2008 this month, is a completely new capture-the-flag map that includes a PhysX-powered tornado which roars through the battlefield. The tornado itself can damage structures, players, and even cause rockets and projectile weapons to change direction. The mod, which was jointly developed by Ageia and French studio Game Consulting, became a popular download along with the LightHouse map, according to Ageia's vice president of marketing Michael Steele. Via Toms Games Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

New Blu-ray 2.0 spec makes PS3 the most future-proof player

Slashdot It! With the sudden and unexpected announcement from Warner that the studio would be abandoning HD DVD titles in favor of Blu-ray, it seemed to many observers that the high-def format war was all over, bar the shouting.

With the upcoming 2.0 player profile requiring Blu-ray players to be networked, Sony finally gets to play its trump card: the PlayStation 3, which has clearly emerged as one of the best Blu-ray players on the market—and is likely to remain so for some time. Why? Because the first player now becomes the most versatile, sporting a future-proof Blu-ray setup.

Before we can understand why the PlayStation 3 is able to so easily deal with new profiles, we must first look at the difference between the 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 profiles to see why a simple firmware update isn't enough to make a player compliant.

• 1.0 is the launch profile, and secondary audio and video decoders are optional, as is local storage and network connectivity. The majority of standalone players fit into this category.
• 1.1 is the newer profile, and to take advantage of these discs, players need a secondary audio and video decoder to handle picture-in-picture, as well as at least 256MB of local storage for content.
• 2.0 is the profile of the future, requiring the two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection.

HD DVD players have included networking as standard since the beginning, but Blu-ray has not, and the evolving standard may become a large problem for early adopters. The 2.0 profile actually changes the minimum requirements for full compatibility. In other words, there is only one player currently on the market that will be 2.0 compatible: the PlayStation 3, which, with its upgradeable hard drive, Ethernet port, and powerful graphics capabilities, will be able to adapt to any and all future updates. This is quite the slap in the face to consumers who paid several hundred dollars for players that won't able to be updated to take advantage of the 1.1 profile, much less the upcoming 2.0

What 2.0 brings

The 2.0 profile brings picture-in-picture and online functionality to Blu-ray discs; these movies will have "BD-Live" stickers on the case so you know certain features will require 2.0-compliant players. Discs that only require 1.1 profile players will be adorned with "Bonus View" stickers. Are we confused yet?

In contrast, HD DVD has required an Internet connection and local storage from day one, and certain HD DVD movies already use picture-in-picture and online functionality for their bonus features.

What will Blu-ray do to compete with these features? At CES, FOX Home Entertainment showed off a Blu-ray version of Aliens Vs. Predator that featured an online, multiplayer game that had you throwing virtual knives and shooting at the aliens on the screen using the remote and competing against other players remotely. Other exhibitors were showing off trivia games with a PlayStation 3 as a demo unit. In other words, vendors and Blu-ray partners already have the 2.0 profile running on the PS3, allowing them to use the PS3 controller and remote to design BD-Live titles.

While HD DVD may have done a better job of future-proofing their players, the immaturity of the Blu-ray spec hasn't proven to be an insurmountable obstacle. At CES, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced that 3.5 million Blu-ray players had been sold to date. Of those, 3 million were PlayStation 3s, the most future-proof Blu-ray player on the market. Still, this means that roughly 15 percent of the early adopters are going to be frozen out of the latest and greatest Blu-ray features with BD-Live. That's bad news for current owners of stand-alone players, but with the price of the PlayStation 3 now down to $399.99 and the format wars shaping up nicely in Blu-ray's favor, the system may actually be less expensive and more powerful than the latest-generation standalone players.

This is quite the odd turn of events: it was assumed when the PS3 launched that the gaming system would be the Trojan horse that brought Blu-ray into the homes of the mass market. Now? The inexpensive and future-proofed Blu-ray functions of the PS3, matched with the high-quality upscaling the system brings to normal DVDs, may be the Trojan horse bringing gaming to home theater enthusiasts.

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Changing Macbook Air's battery is so simple

Slashdot It! Due to its ultra-thin profile, Apple's new MacBook Air was designed with an integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery that is not user-replaceable. Though this has caused some initial concern amongst potential adopters, AppleInsider has learned that the replacement process is quite trivial. According to people familiar with the new-generation notebook, there are no special tools or knowledge required to swap out the MacBook Air's battery, which Apple has billed its "thinnest ever" in a product. Instead, the process requires a single size-0 type philips screwdriver and some diligence. Once flipped upside down, the MacBook Air's bottom cover is easily unscrewed and removed, providing immediate access to the battery cavity. From there, the battery can be unscrewed from the chassis with the same screwdriver and unplugged from the circuit board with a simple tug -- it's not soldered to the board. The entire process, according to those in the known, can be completed by any service technician in as little as three minutes. For its part, Apple has announced its intent to offer a MacBook Air Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program, which promises authorized replacements for US $129. The mail-in repair process normally takes 5 business days, the company says. Given the simplicity of the upgrade, however, it's possible that Apple will in time offer the service on-demand at its retail stores. Similarly, third parties could also offer in-home do-it-yourself kits should they be able to acquire battery cells that meet Apple's standard for the MacBook Air.

More high-quality photos (1, 2) of the new MacBook Air.

There's no word, however, whether the latter process would void the notebook's warranty in Apple's eyes. In the meantime, the company recommends MacBook Air users follow these instructions for optimizing life span and battery life. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

U.S businesses starting to look at Vista

Slashdot It! Adoption of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is starting to pick up among businesses in the U.S. Just under half--48 percent--of IT decision makers in the U.S. are using or evaluating Vista, according to a poll by IT services firm CDW. CDW's third Windows Vista tracking poll since October 2006, this survey shows a 19 percentage-point increase in adoption since February 2007. Vista migration is also increasing, with 35 percent of those surveyed saying they are in the process of moving to Vista. Just 12 percent said this last February. Thirteen percent of these migrations are complete and another third are due to be finished by May 2008. CDW claimed this shows Microsoft's latest operating system is now seen as a more viable option in the mainstream business market. Of those still testing and migrating to Vista, almost half said its performance and key features are "above expectations," with the top-rated features being security, performance, productivity, search, and updates. Mark Gambill, CDW vice president, said the past year was one of "adaptations and learning for Microsoft, industry partners, and adopters alike." Gambill added that, since people have begun to understand the benefits of the operating system, there has been a "steady move towards adoption." The CDW survey also found an increase in Microsoft Office 2007 adoption, with 24 percent of businesses saying they'd made the move, compared to just 6 percent in the last survey. The poll was conducted by Walker Information and covered 772 IT decision makers. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Dell seen back to strong growth

Slashdot It! Dell returned to double-digit percentage growth in global PC shipments in the fourth quarter as its new retail sales strategy began to pay off, while rival Hewlett-Packard's growth slowed, technology researcher IDC said. Overall, global personal computer sales rose a healthy but less-than-expected 15.5 percent in the fourth quarter, and economic concerns were likely to cut into future demand, IDC said. Dell shipped 17.1 percent more PCs in the quarter than in the year-earlier period, for a total of 11.3 million units and 14.6 percent of the global PC market, IDC said in its quarterly PC market-share survey. But Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, remained in the No. 2 market-share spot. A year ago Dell's worldwide shipments shrank 8.4 percent, according to IDC. In the United States, Dell sold 15.2 percent more PCs than a year earlier, well ahead of overall U.S. market growth of 8.8 percent and faster than HP's 9.8 percent. HP kept the No. 1 market share spot with 19 percent, but growth slowed to 23.3 percent from 33 percent in the third quarter as demand slowed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and competition increased in the United States, IDC said. "Having struggled through the past year, Dell is starting to turn around," IDC said in a statement. "The company's rapid expansion in retail also has helped boost volume and address competition from other leading players." Dell lost the top market-share spot to Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP in 2006 as consumers bought more laptop computers in stores, where HP had an advantage. Dell last year abandoned its 23-year-old direct-only sales model and started selling PCs at Wal-Mart Stores in the United States and Carrefour in Europe, among other retailers. Dell has been expanding in retail, cutting costs, and making acquisitions since founder Michael Dell returned to take the CEO position a year ago. HP and Dell appeared to feel the impact of aggressive expansion by Taiwan's Acer, including its October purchase of Gateway in the United States. Its PC shipments surged 60.3 percent after the Gateway purchase. Acer held 9.6 percent of the worldwide PC market, up from 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006. Investors have been watching for signs of whether the PC market would deteriorate in the face of a possible recession in the United States, fears that were fanned on Tuesday by disappointing results from chipmaker Intel. But fourth-quarter U.S. PC unit sales rose 8.8 percent, topping IDC's 6.9 percent forecast. Researchers said global sales missed the IDC target of 16.7 percent because of relative weakness in Western Europe. But the slowing economy was not to blame for the European deceleration. Rather, consumers slowed purchases from a PC buying frenzy in the third quarter. Japan also recovered from recent declines, growing about 10 percent in the quarter, and notebook computers continued to drive growth worldwide. "Fourth-quarter results show a very healthy PC market," said analyst Loren Loverde in a statement. "Despite fourth-quarter strength, projections for the next couple years anticipate slower growth. Rising concerns about economic growth are likely to reduce expectations further." IDC analyst David Daoud said by phone that the industry had weathered recessions without major impact in the past. But there has been no recession since the industry had matured, he said. "We projected a 12.2 percent growth for 2008, projections that could be challenged by the potential economic downturn, in the U.S. in particular," he said. Recent U.S. growth was fueled by Dell's and Acer's rapid expansion, he added. Sales of Apple computers surged 30.9 percent in the fourth quarter, giving it 5.7 percent of the U.S. market. Rival researcher Gartner said that fourth-quarter global sales rose 13.1 percent, led by HP. Gartner said that Dell had shown signs of recovery at the end of the year. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

I.B.M. Says It Will Beat Analysts’ Estimates

Slashdot It! International Business Machines told Wall Street it was raising its estimates for 2008, further lifting a stock that was already buoyed by strong fourth-quarter earnings. I.B.M.’s chief financial officer, Mark Loughridge, said earnings would be $8.20 to $8.30 a share in 2008. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting $7.94 a share in 2008. Investors responded by bidding I.B.M. shares above $106 in after-hours trading. Before the earnings report, the stock had fallen 53 cents to close at $101.10. In the fourth quarter, I.B.M. earned $3.95 billion, or $2.80 a share, on revenue of $28.9 billion. The profit rose 12 percent from a year earlier, when I.B.M. made $3.54 billion, $2.31 a share, on revenue of $26.3 billion. That 10 percent revenue gain would have been 4 percent if not for weakness in the dollar. Payments in other currencies now translate into more dollars. I.B.M. had released the per-share and revenue figures Monday because the numbers were well beyond Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts had been expecting $2.60 a share on revenue of $27.8 billion. That initial release indicated that I.B.M.’s broadening international focus was shielding the company from a slowdown in the financial industry, which supplies more than one-fourth of the company’s revenue. But Thursday’s report offered more details about the company’s status and offered insights into overall corporate technology spending. Mr. Loughridge acknowledged that “we have an uncertain economic environment that we’re working through along with the rest of the business world.” But he expects I.B.M. to be carried by its investments in developing markets, saying that the chance to put down technological infrastructures in places like Eastern Europe, Vietnam and China amounted to “the gold rush of the 21st century.” The earnings report showed that I.B.M. continued to increase its reliance on software, its most profitable product line. The software division’s revenue rose 12 percent to $6.3 billion. Services revenue rose 17 percent to $14.9 billion. In another measure of I.B.M.’s strength in services, the unit signed $15.4 billion in new contracts in the fourth quarter, down 13 percent. Those signings reflect revenue that will flow to the company in the coming years. The hardware division’s revenue dropped 4 percent to $6.8 billion. The revenue figure would have been flat from a year earlier if not for I.B.M.’s 2007 divestiture of its printing division. A weak spot in the segment was I.B.M.’s crucial mainframe business, which had a 15 percent sales decline. Even with that dip in mainframes, the hardware division’s profits rose 18 percent. For all of 2007, I.B.M. earned $10.4 billion, $7.18 a share, on revenue of $98.8 billion. Those figures all rose from 2006, when the company made $9.5 billion, $6.11 a share, on revenue of $91.4 billion. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

A.M.D Back on feet again?

Slashdot It! Advanced Micro Devices inched closer to profitability despite posting a huge loss as it struggled to absorb the huge cost of its acquisition of ATI Technologies, a graphics chip maker. The financial report covered a difficult quarter for A.M.D., one in which it tried to control costs, get a balky processor back on track and convince wary investors that its troubles were behind it — all amid fears of a slowdown in demand. But the company also reported a lot of good news, including a repaired software flaw and improved profit margins. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company, the second largest maker of computer microprocessors behind Intel, posted a net loss of $1.77 billion, roughly equal to its revenue for the quarter. The loss amounted to $3.06 a share. It includes a noncash charge of $1.61 billion, or $2.89 a share, for the fourth quarter. Without the charge, however, A.M.D. soundly beat Wall Street’s expectations for the quarter, posting a loss of $97 million and 17 cents a share, compared with a loss of $576 million, or $1.08 a share in the same period a year ago. Analysts had forecast A.M.D. to lose 36 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Many analysts had been skeptical that A.M.D. would show much progress at all during the quarter given its challenges. “We are very pleased with our financials,” Hector de J. Ruiz, A.M.D.’s chief executive, said in a conference call with analysts. “We came darn close operationally to breaking even during the quarter.” A.M.D. executives said they now expected the company to break even early in the second half of the year. On an operating basis, A.M.D. posted a loss of only $9 million. Robert J. Rivet, A.M.D.’s chief financial officer, told analysts he expected revenue in the first quarter, typically A.M.D.’s weakest, “to decrease in line with seasonality." Investors cheered the results, which were announced after the end of regular trading. Shares of A.M.D. rose 35 cents, or 6.52 percent, to $6.69 in after-hours trading, after declining 23 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $6.34 in the regular session. The market’s reaction to A.M.D’s report was in stark contrast to the sell-off that had accompanied Intel’s report on Tuesday. It reported record fourth-quarter revenue but issued a disappointing outlook for the first quarter, fueling Wall Street’s fears of a slowdown in spending on computers. Cody Acree, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, said A.M.D.’s report eased some investors’ fears of a slowdown. “I think the industry was more concerned about overall demand here than A.M.D.,” he said. “Things weren’t as bad as they could have been.” A.M.D. had other good news to report. Mr. Ruiz said on Thursday that the company now expected to start shipping its new Barcelona quad-core chip for servers in two to three weeks and would increase shipments through the end of the quarter of the processor that A.M.D. executives called one of the most significant new products in several years. A technical irregularity was delaying widespread availability of Barcelona, which prevented some server manufacturers from selling products using the new chip. The company also said its gross margin was 44 percent during the fourth quarter, compared with 41 percent in the third quarter of 2007 and 36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, indicating the company was making progress cutting costs. A.M.D. executives also said average selling prices rose during the quarter, and that it sold more higher margin processors, including 400,000 quad-core chips. For the full year 2007, A.M.D. reported $6 billion in revenue, an increase of 6 percent over last year, but said it lost $3.38 billion, including $2 billion in noncash charges. Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Boeing to Release Fourth Quarter 2007 Financial Results on Jan. 30

Slashdot It! The Boeing Company will release its fourth quarter 2007 financial results at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Boeing Capital Corp. results will be released at the same time. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer James Bell will discuss the results and company outlook during a conference call at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Would the delay of the Boeing 787 affect their earnings? I doubt so, but it might affect their future earnings. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

SilverStone TJ10 Full Tower @ Techgage

Slashdot It! Got a hankering for a new case? Been bit by the water cooling bug? Having a bit of trouble reconciling the two? You should have a look at SilverStone's TJ10B. Despite the nay-sayers claiming it's not ideal for water-cooling, you might just be surprised! Link: http://techgage.com/article/silverstone_tj10_full_tower/ Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

NZXT Rogue SFF Gaming Chassis @ Techgage

Slashdot It! Link: http://techgage.com/article/nzxt_rogue_sff_gaming_chassis/ Get Daily Updates via Email Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Mozilla hires developers from Humanized

Slashdot It! Mozilla has hired several developers from Humanized, a small software company that is known for its considerable usability expertise and innovative user interface design. The Humanized developers will be working at Mozilla Labs on Firefox and innovative new projects. We talked to Mozilla CEO John Lilly, who provided some additional details. "Mozilla has hired three of the principals from Humanized. They will be joining the Mozilla Labs team on January 16, 2008. We expect a lot of innovation work from them, some Firefox-related, some broader, just like everything else in Mozilla Labs," Lilly told us. "The work done by the Humanized principals speaks for itself—there are lots of great, web-relevant ideas in their work, and we're excited to have them join Mozilla." It should be noted that this is not an acquisition, as some have erroneously reported elsewhere in the blogosphere. Lilly clarifies that: "This was not an acquisition. No premium was paid and no intellectual property was acquired by Mozilla." I met Humanized president Aza Raskin (son of Macintosh luminary Jef Raskin) at the Ubuntu Developer Summit last year. At the summit, Aza gave a very informative presentation about user interface design and discussed usability issues in several applications. His design philosophy extends from the belief that the best kind of interface is no interface at all. He advocates creating software that conforms to the Taoist notion of Wu Wei, which is to "act without doing." Mozilla's recruitment of interface experts from Humanized is a very nice move. We have seen some really intriguing technologies coming out of Mozilla labs lately and the addition of a few usability gurus will surely help Mozilla provide a better user experience. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Mac version of Dragon Naturally Speaking

Slashdot It! MacSpeech, the leading supplier of speech recognition software for the Mac has canned its long-running iListen product and has launched a Mac version of the top selling Windows speech recognition product, Dragon NaturallySpeaking through a licensing agreement with Dragon's developer, Nuance Communications. For users of iListen, MacSpeech is offering reductions on the retail price ($US199) of the new product, MacSpeech Dictate when it goes on sale on 15 February. Any registered user will be able to buy the new product for $US99, those who have bought iListen in 2008, for $US29. The most recent version of iListen, 1.8, was released only on 30 November 2007 at an upgrade cost of $US39.95 and according to the few comments posted on VersionTracker, was a significant improvement on earlier versions. So there may well be a few customers now regretting forking out $US40 for that upgrade because that purchase gives them no additional discount on the new product. MacSpeech claims that MacSpeech Dictate is a great improvement on iListen. "Now for the first time, Mac users can begin dictating straight into their applications with very little time spent training the software to recognise their voice." It claims that training MacSpeech Dictate up to a 99 percent accuracy level,generally takes less than five minutes and that the product "performs at the highest accuracy level on the market today...Using the new MacSpeech Dictate, user-spoken commands are recognised separately from dictation, liberating the user from the need to tell the software to change modes, simplifying the experience." The product is not targeted only at those who for whatever reason find keyboard use difficult. MacSpeech Dictate is "designed to simply make computer input easier for anyone. Whether composing email, writing a report or even a novel, MacSpeech Dictate makes the computing experience more comfortable," the company claims. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Sun acquires MySQL

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After all the industry speculation about MySQL being a “hot 2008 IPO”, this probably takes most of us by surprise — users, community members, customers, partners, and employees. And for all of these stakeholders, it may take some time to digest what this means. Depending on one’s relationship to MySQL, the immediate reaction upon hearing the news may be a mixture of various feelings, including excitement, pride, disbelief and satisfaction, but also anxiety. Being part of the group planning this announcement for the last few weeks, I have had the fortune to contemplate the consequences during several partially sleepless nights (I usually sleep like a log). And over the coming days and weeks, I’ll provide a series of blogs with various viewpoints of the deal. First of all, let’s point out a couple of facts about Sun Microsystems — since all MySQL stakeholders may not be fully up to speed about Sun. Via MYSQL blog Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

First scare for Macs

Slashdot It! Fseacure had just found the first rogue software for Macs and the surprising thing is that a Windows machine would not be infected. Here are some details. It claims to clean your Mac from compromising files and it will always find something to fix/clean but the only way to do so is to buy the program.

Once installed it will also randomly show a big popup window stating that your privacy is compromised and again prompt you to buy the program. Even more telling that it's a scam is the fact that when you visit the MacSweeper website with a PC and click on "Scan", it will tell you that you have security vulnerabilities in folders that only exist on Mac like system_root/home. Fake? Oh yeah… Today I spoke with a journalist about MacSweeper and he said something that stuck in my mind. "I visited the macsweeper.com website. I know I probably shouldn't have - but I used a Windows PC so I knew I wouldn't get infected." Now that's something you don't hear everyday! Via F-Secure Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Macbook Air

Slashdot It! During his Macworld Expo keynote address on Tuesday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, a computer that the company billed as the world's thinnest notebook -- small enough to fit inside an interoffice mailing envelope. It's priced starting at $1,799 and will be available within two weeks. Sporting a silvery finish, the MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display that has a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The backlighting saves power and provides "instant on" response from the moment you turn it on, according to Jobs. The device has a slightly wedge-shaped profile. It weighs about 3 pounds, and sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches. It's 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep. .

Via MacWorld Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Sony Ericsson beats forecasts

Slashdot It! Sony Ericsson, the world's No. 4 mobile phone maker, posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings as it shipped more phones, and said its share of the global handset market had increased. Sony Ericsson, owned by Ericsson and Sony, said it earned pretax profit of $741.4 million, little changed from $742.9 million a year earlier but better than an average forecast of $679.3 million in a Reuters survey. Sony Ericsson said the average sales price, or ASP, of its mobile phones, a key indicator for profitability, rose to $182 (123 euros) from $177.60 (120 euros) in the third quarter, beating forecasts for $179. The joint venture said it gained two percentage points of market share in 2007, taking its share up to slightly more than 9 percent. Market leader Nokia is on top, followed by Samsung Electronics and Motorola. "Profits are good, ASP is up sequentially ... Overall, it's a good publication for the group," said Eric Beaudet, analyst at Natixis Securities. "It's a little bit above expectations on the profit level, and that's the important part." Gross margins improved to 31.8 percent in the fourth quarter from 30.7 percent in the third and 29.0 percent a year earlier. "The good ASP and the fact that the gross margin was near an all-time high is encouraging," said SEB Enskilda analyst Mats Nystrom. "This is a proof of strength, given that many in the market had expected weak results." Emphasis on lower-priced products Phones shipped in the quarter rose 18 percent to 30.8 million from a year earlier. But Sony Ericsson said sales were in line with the year-earlier figure, reflecting its strategic shift to focus on lower-priced products. The market had been keen to see whether the company's new president, Dick Komiyama, would signal any shift in strategy. Chief Financial Officer Ulf Lilja, in a conference call after results, said there was no change. Via Cnet Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Toshiba drops HD-DVD players prices

Slashdot It! Now, Toshiba is fighting back—a week after the death-bed stories, if not obits, in response, first, to Warner Bros.’s embrace of Blu-Ray from Sony and then to Universal’s decision not to date HD DVD exclusively. The consumer electronics company, which has placed a large bet on HD DVD being at least one of two formats, is slashing prices on is HD DVD players, with some dropping to as low as $149.99, according to AP. It’s a half-empty, half-full moment for retailers, who could see a sales boost at the same time that some may be faced with price matching from holiday sales. The headline on the release actually explains the strategy: Toshiba Deploys New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives Based on Strong Fourth Quarter Unit Sales: Mass Market Acceptance Confirms that HD DVD is the Consumer’s Choice for Next Generation High Def Entertainment.” The theory: play up the acceptance by consumers who have already paid for HD DVD versus those who get it with something else like a gaming console, get more players out there—and dare studios to ignore those consumers. In addition to the sales cuts, Toshiba will launch “major initiatives, including joint advertising campaigns with studios.” Toshiba says it closed 2007 with approximately 50% market share and an 80%-plus share of next-gen equipped notebooks sold in Q407. Yoshi Uchiyama, Group Vice President Digital A/V Group: “While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer.” But will mainstream users pay even reduced amounts for something without full studio coverage? Online content access: Universal Home Video, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG report that “an average of 30 percent of HD DVD owners have accessed Web- enabled network features and continue to do so regularly.” Players hooked up to the internet can stream new content, trailers, etc. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Dell and HP faces lawsuit

Slashdot It! PC vendors have unleashed a reign of fire across America, if claims in two recently filed lawsuits are to be believed.. Dell and Hewlett-Packard are facing unrelated lawsuits in which it's alleged that faulty computers manufactured by the tech companies sparked fires that gutted two buildings and disfigured a girl. In one case, a North Dakota auto lube shop owner claims that a Dell monitor he purchased caught fire and burned down his business. "The computer monitor was unfit for its intended purpose in that it was assembled in such a way as to cause the electrical system to malfunction and cause a fire," attorneys for Big Sky Battery of Williston, N.D., allege in court papers. The fire "destroyed" the business and caused nearly a quarter million dollars in property damage, Big Sky claims. The company is seeking reimbursement and other damages. The lawsuit was filed in December in county court in North Dakota. Dell last week asked the court to move the case to the North Dakota federal circuit. Meanwhile, an Arkansas man has sued HP, claiming that an HP Compaq Presario PC he purchased from Wal-Mart burst into flames, causing a blaze that destroyed his house and seriously injured his daughter. Keith Price claims his daughter Magdelyn was forced to jump from an upstairs window to escape the inferno. As a result, she suffered "burns and physical injuries" and permanent disfigurement, according to papers filed in December in county court in Conway, Ark. Price also claims to have suffered "extreme mental anguish." He's accusing HP of negligence and is seeking unspecified damages. Dell and HP have yet to file formal responses to the allegations. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Video Ads on shopping carts

Slashdot It! Microsoft is bringing digital advertising to the grocery cart. The software maker spent four years working with Plano, Texas-based MediaCart Holdings Inc. on a grocery cart-mounted console that helps shoppers find products in the store, then scan and pay for their items without waiting in the checkout line. Microsoft's acquisition of aQuantive, an online advertising company, last year for $6 billion shored up the company's capacity to serve video ads onto these grocery cart screens. Starting in the second half of 2008, the companies plan to test MediaCart in Wakefern Food Corp.'s ShopRite supermarkets on the East Coast. Customers with a ShopRite loyalty card will be able to log into a Web site at home and type in their grocery lists; when they get to the store and swipe their card on the MediaCart console, the list will appear. As shoppers scan their items and place them in their cart, the console gives a running price tally and checks items off the shopping list. The system also uses radio-frequency identification to sense where the shopper's cart is in the store. The RFID data can help ShopRite and food makers understand shopping patterns, and the technology can also be used to send certain advertisements to people at certain points - an ad for 50 cents off Oreos, for example, when a shopper enters the cookie aisle. Microsoft said it is still working on how it will present commercials and coupons. Microsoft is also working with MediaCart and ShopRite to help advertisers reach potential consumers based on past grocery purchases, which are logged when they swipe their loyalty cards. "This is not all necessarily about bombarding consumers, about targeting advertising," said Scott Ferris, general manager of Microsoft's Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group. "It's about also making the shopping experience better for the consumer." Advertisers will get more feedback about which commercials or coupon offers are effective, because customers either buy the products or accept the offers on the spot, or they don't. But Ferris said neither Microsoft nor any advertisers will have access to the personal information consumers provide when they join the supermarket's loyalty card program. Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Intel Posts Record Quarterly Revenue

Slashdot It! Intel Corporation today announced record fourth-quarter revenue of $10.7 billion, operating income of $3 billion, net income of $2.3 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of 38 cents. For 2007, operating income grew 45 percent, reflecting the company's ongoing efficiency programs, with profits growing significantly faster than revenue. "2007 was a breakthrough year for innovation at Intel," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "We realized the benefits of our investments in new products and our efforts to drive efficiencies. Our customers embraced the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, extending our competitive leadership and driving a significant gain in operating results. We enter 2008 with the best combination of products, silicon technology and manufacturing leadership in our history." Protect your computer with Windows Onecare Get paid $7.50 for reviewing my post

Malware hitches a ride on digital devices

Slashdot It! It's time to add digital picture frames to the group of consumer products that could carry computer viruses and Trojan horse programs. In the past month, at least three consumers have reported that photo frames - small flat-panel displays for displaying digital images - received over the holidays attempted to install malicious code on their computer systems, according to the Internet Storm Center, a network-threat monitoring group. Each case involved the same product and the same chain of stores, suggesting that the electronic systems were infected at the factory or somewhere during shipping, said Marcus Sachs, who volunteers as the director of the Internet Storm Center. "When (the first incident) pops up, we thought it might be someone that was infected and blamed it on the digital picture frame," Sachs said. "But this is malware - and malware that does not seem to be very well detected. You could plug in a device and infect yourself with something that you would never know you had." The incidents underscore that the proliferation of electronic devices with onboard memory means that consumers have to increasingly be aware of the danger of unwanted code hitching a ride. While many consumers are already wary of certain devices, such as digital music players, USB memory sticks and external hard drives, that include onboard memory, other types of electronics have largely escaped scrutiny. In the past, consumer devices infected with malicious code have generally been the result of manufacturing mishaps. In October 2007, for example, hard-disk drive maker Seagate acknowledged that a password-stealing Trojan horse program had infected a number of its disk drives shipped from a factory in China after a computer at the manufacturing facility was infected. The Trojan horse would infect systems and attempt to steal the account credentials to Chinese online games as well as the popular World of Warcraft. In another incident, a Windows computer virus snuck onto the hard drives of a limited number of Apple's iPods during manufacturing in 2006. Going forward, infections may no longer always be accidental, said Sachs, who is also the executive director of government affairs at telecommunications provider Verizon. "I think that supply-side attacks are going to go from zero to some small percentage," he said. "It is obviously not going to be as dangerous as mass mailing email infections, but you could have some really clever targeted attacks." In the latest incidents, three photo frames made by Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based Advanced Design Systems, and bought from different Sam's Club stores, each contained a Trojan horse, according to reports to the SANS Internet Storm Center. The malicious code appears to act like a rootkit, hiding itself and disabling access to antivirus resources. "It propagates to any connected device by copying a script, a com file and an a