8 February 2006 Technology News

• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:21

  Motorola to make Windows Media phones, keep iTunes
  
  Mobile handset manufacturer Motorola has announced that it is integrating Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) technology into a number of its handsets.
  
  Announced on Monday, the first day of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the deal will see Motorola add support for Windows DRM, Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Audio Professional, and Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) to a range of its handsets.
  
  The companies claim that when the Motorola handsets are released later this year, customers will be able to connect to Windows-based PCs via USB 2.0 and automatically synchronize the music on their computer with their phone using MTP.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:27

  Big ambitions for Nokia's new phones
  
  The world's largest handset maker, Nokia, launched three new phone models Monday, saying it expects the new 6131 camera phone to become one of the best-selling models in the middle price range. Nokia said the 6131 would retail for about 275 euros ($326.90), excluding subsidies and taxes. "We believe this will be one of the most sold midrange phones in the world," Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia's mobile-phones unit, said at the 3GSM World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain.
  3GSM rollouts
  
  Nokia also unveiled the 6136 model, with a camera and technology allowing it to connect to wireless-network hot spots, which Oistamo said would also retail for about 275 euros. The basic model, 6070, would have a retail price of about 135 euros ($160.47), Oistamo said. He added that all three phones would start shipping in the second quarter of the year.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:33

  E-tracking through your cell phone
  
  You may already know this, but your cell phone happens to be a miniature tracking device that can be used to monitor your location from afar.
  
  There are times when knowing your exact location is useful, of course. It would be handy for a phone to help you find a gas station in a pinch, or bleep when you're about to take the wrong highway exit.
  
  But the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have seized on the ability to locate a cellular customer and are using it to track Americans' whereabouts surreptitiously--even when there's no evidence of wrongdoing.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:43

  Nvidia's new graphics chip rings up 'Quake'
  
  Nvidia's latest graphics processor for high-end mobile phones, unveiled Monday, can take 10-megapixel pictures and decode high-resolution video, marking another step toward turning mobile phones into powerful handheld entertainment devices.
  
  The company touted the GoForce 5500 chip at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. Nvidia is best known for its powerful PC graphics processors. But over the last few years, it has taken steps to recreate sharp graphics on mobile phones and handhelds. The company sells standalone graphics chips for mobile phones and licenses its graphics technology for other chipmakers to incorporate into their products, said Derek Perez, a company spokesman.
  
  Handheld-device designers looking to cut costs tend to pick all-in-one chips that can handle basic applications such as processing, graphics and voice calls. Chips like the GoForce 5500 are designed for expensive handsets that let consumers watch movies, play PC-style video games and even pick up digital television.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:48

  RIM unfazed as rivals take aim at BlackBerry
  
  BARCELONA, Spain--Research In Motion's BlackBerry will remain the standard for mobile e-mail in the face of challenges by Microsoft and Nokia, whose rival e-mail systems aren't as cheap or secure as they claim, RIM's CEO said here on Monday.
  
  "(They're) insecure. And Microsoft and Nokia use about five times more of the network than we do. Network capacity is scarce and battery power is scarce. That's why operators can price BlackBerry aggressively," RIM Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview at the fringes of 3GSM, the world's largest wireless trade show.
  
  Initial launches by mobile operators indicate that the offering from Microsoft is indeed priced in line with that of BlackBerry, at around $30 a month, despite Microsoft's initial claims that push, or mobile e-mail, would become virtually free of charge.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:55

  Seagate plans 12GB mini-hard drive
  
  Seagate Technology plans to release a 12GB mini-hard drive that takes up 23 percent less overall space than current mini-drives. The platter in the drive measures 1 inch, but Seagate managed to shrink the package and other components to reduce the size. Hitachi did a similar trick with some of its mini-drives. Seagate currently sells an 8GB mini-drive.
  
  Seagate will aim the drive at 3G, or third-generation, phones, which will need more storage for downloading TV programs, video and music. The drives will come out in the third quarter.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 11:59

  Game industry group emerges after lawsuit
  
  Following a high-profile lawsuit against Electronic Arts, the video game industry's leading recruitment firms have formed a new trade group.
  
  The goal of the new Professional Electronic Entertainment Recruiters (PEER) is to establish and maintain ethical work standards and optimum recruiting services for game industry developers, publishers and related industry companies.
  
  With an aging work force of video game creators, the game industry is going through growing pains similar to what Hollywood once experienced. Today there are more programmers, artists and producers in their 30s, 40s and 50s, many with families, who are looking for better pay, fewer work hours and improved benefits. PEER will focus on representing these experienced programmers.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 13:52

  Google's ad sales tested in court
  
  Another lawsuit is poised to challenge Google's lucrative advertising-based business model by arguing it encourages unlawful use of trademarks as keywords.
  
  The parent company of a payday loan provider called Check 'n Go has sued Google in federal court in Ohio, saying that the search engine permits other payday lenders to purchase ads that appear when the trademarked phrase "check n go" is typed in.
  
  CNG Financial, a Cincinnati-based company that operates more than 1,300 Check 'n Go stores through its subsidiaries, has asked a federal court to halt the practice.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 13:54

  As Valentine's approaches, Craigslist heats up
  
  Their eyes met across a crowded subway car but she was too shy to respond when he smiled, and they parted without a word.
  
  That would have been the end of the story, if it weren't for a little perseverance and the help of a popular Web site.
  
  After seeing Danny on the L train subway in New York, Rachel posted a message on the "missed connections" section of Craiglist New York City. The Web page offers a way to track down that irresistible person you didn't dare approach the first time round.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 13:59

  Swimsuit downloads for your iPod or phone
  
  This year, fans of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue will have an abundance of choice when it comes to formats for viewing the bikini-clad supermodels.
  
  In addition to the magazine, which appears on newsstands tomorrow, and on the Web site at Sportsillustrated.com, fans will also be able to purchase any of eight specially produced videos from iTunes.com, Apple Computer's online store, for $1.99 each, or download content to a cell phone or to a handheld device, through a partnership Sports Illustrated has made with American Greetings Interactive.
  
  Mark Ford, the president and publisher of Sports Illustrated, estimates that newsstand sales of the issue will be around 1.5 million copies, which, when added to the 3.3 million subscribers, is a paid readership of 4.8 million. Ford said that 60 million people or so would read the issue, however, making it the most widely read single issue of any magazine in the world. The swimsuit issue sells for $5.99, compared with the magazine's regular price of $3.50.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:03

  AOL tests Chinese-American site
  
  America Online on Monday said it has launched a public test of a Chinese-language version of its U.S. Web site to court Chinese Americans, offering features that in some ways are more ambitious than its main U.S. site.
  
  The new site targets an estimated 2.7 million Chinese Americans and offers full-length features and episodes of TV series from China, viewable directly off the site. AOL's main U.S. site plans to offer vintage TV shows but does not offer full-length movies.
  
  Up to 20 hours of video will be available at any time on AOL's Chinese-American Web site.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:06

  Blogs make new sport at Turin Games
  
  The networks know the Olympics are good for business, with viewers glued to their screens for hours, developing a sudden passion for speed skating and slaloms and happily sitting through hours of interspersed adverts.
  
  But at this year's games, the polished performances of seasoned commentators are in competition themselves--against the new media world of blogs.
  
  A quick surf of the Net, and you find online diaries dedicated to individual athletes, random comments from people hanging out in Turin, and thousands of links to news stories and pictures.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:08

  Tech companies brace for showdown over China
  
  Technology companies accused of collaborating with China's Internet censorship regime are bracing for what could be a tough round of questioning from politicians this week.
  
  Executives from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco Systems plan to testify about reports of their cooperation with Chinese requests before a U.S. House of Representatives human rights subcommittee on Wednesday morning.
  
  Citing scheduling conflicts, none of those companies showed up at a briefing earlier this month. Their absence drew criticism from members of the informal congressional caucus that requested--but didn't have the power to compel--their attendance.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:10

  Google beta ditches gmail.com
  
  Google has launched a beta for hosted e-mail accounts that feature the user's domain instead of gmail.com.
  
  The hosted-Gmail beta, which is going head-to-head with a similar beta that Microsoft launched in November, is offering 2GB of storage, e-mail search tools and a control panel to manage user accounts, aliases and mailing lists, as part of its test version.
  
  The beta is open to businesses, organizations and schools, according to Google's blog site. The search giant points to San Jose City College as one school that is testing hosted Gmail, offering its students e-mail accounts with the domain of jaguars.sjcc.edu.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:14

  Like lending to a friend, with interest
  
  The Internet has become a great place to track down friends--or friends of friends--for advice or for a date. Now you can ask them for money, too.
  
  Prosper.com, a start-up based in San Francisco, began operations last week, offering a mixed brew of eBay, Friendster and the local bank.
  
  Prosper's users lend money to and borrow money from other people on the site at what the company says are better interest rates than those available through traditional financial institutions and without some of the risk that comes from typical person-to-person loans.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:18

  How to value ratings with DVR delay?
  
  Would the opening greeting on "Saturday Night Live" sound as compelling if it began "Live plus 24 hours from New York" or "Live plus seven days from New York"?
  
  That is the multibillion-dollar question being asked on Madison Avenue as agencies and advertisers consider the implications of new data from Nielsen Media Research on television viewing in households with TiVos and other types of digital video recorders.
  
  Late in December, Nielsen, part of VNU, started distributing its ratings information in three versions: live, the traditional way television is watched; live plus 24 hours, counting how many people who own DVR's played back shows within a day of recording them; and live plus seven days, counting playback within a week of recording.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:23

  Bill Graham's rock archives stream online
  
  Some of rock's most intriguing content is now in cyberspace via the Wolfgang's Vault Web site. The memorabilia seller offers treasures from the stash of promoter Bill Graham, programmer of San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, who died in 1991.
  
  A 75-song playlist culled from 7,000 to 8,000 vintage audio and video concert recordings made between 1966 and 1999 began streaming on the Wolfgang's Vault Web site Feb. 8, at no cost to consumers. The owner of the Graham archive is optimistic that some of the seminal performances will make it to retailers' shelves as CDs and DVDs by year's end.
  
  San Francisco-based Wolfgang's Vault sells authentic Graham concert memorabilia from such acts as Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, the Rolling Stones, U2, Tom Petty, Jimi Hendrix and the Who.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  14 Feb 06, 14:26

  You've got (certified) mail!
  
  Saying they want to cut down on the glut of spam and phishing attacks aimed at their millions of users, America Online and Yahoo are turning to a controversial service offered by a company called Goodmail Systems, which has been likened to an electronic postage stamp provider.
  
  The service gives preferential treatment to companies that pay a fraction of a cent per e-mail to ensure that their messages bypass spam filters and get through to the intended recipients. The companies agree to send e-mail only to recipients who are willing to accept the e-mail.
  
  The business model not only challenges the notion of free flow of information upon which e-mail has thrived for more than a decade, but is prompting criticism from advertisers and antispam groups who say it amounts to extortion and poses a threat to legitimate e-mail messages from senders who don't agree to pay, without really decreasing spam.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 10:37

  HP phases out group for emerging markets
  
  Hewlett-Packard has disbanded a group dedicated to creating technology for emerging nations, though the company says it will continue to develop products for this market.
  
  The Emerging Markets Solutions Group began in 2002, when many multinational companies were beginning to state that their growth in the coming decades would have to come from places like India, China and Africa. In these regions, the penetration of PCs and other IT technologies is low, but the potential demand is high.
  
  Selling technology into these regions, however, remains a challenge because of low per-capita income, comparatively lower education levels and inadequate electrical infrastructure.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 10:44

  Maker of unconventional desktops calls it quits
  
  Orion Multisystems, which marketed workstations with up to 96 processors, has closed its doors.
  
  The company had actually been experiencing increasing sales, according to founder and CEO Colin Hunter in an interview. The company, however, ran out of money. As a result, Orion executed an arrangement, for the benefit of creditors, to sell its intellectual property and assets.
  
  "We hit a tree on takeoff. We didn't plow into the ground," he said.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 10:56

  CSFB invests in Azul, buys Java product
  
  Financial services powerhouse Credit Suisse has invested an undisclosed amount in Azul Systems and purchased its specialized computing systems that create a centralized pool of computing power for Java server software. The Mountain View, Calif.-based start-up, which announced the move Tuesday, sells hardware that unburdens large numbers of systems running Java application server.
  
  "The fact that Credit Suisse led a significant investment round in Azul Systems demonstrates our belief in, and support of, the kinds of solutions that Azul is bringing to Wall Street," said Alan Freudenstein, a Credit Suisse managing director, in a press release.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:05

  Hardware market awaits HP, Dell quarterly earnings
  
  Back-to-back earnings releases from PC industry titans Dell and Hewlett-Packard this week will help provide a clearer picture of the health of the PC and server markets.
  
  The two bitter rivals are on an odd fiscal-year schedule that has them reporting earnings about a month after most other technology companies. On Wednesday, HP plans to report first fiscal quarter 2006 earnings, which are expected to keep Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd's Wall Street honeymoon going for at least another quarter. Dell, on the other hand, needs solid fourth-quarter numbers Thursday to end a pattern of disappointing earnings.
  
  Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expect HP to post revenue of $22.5 billion and earnings per share of 44 cents, up 5 percent and 19 percent respectively from the same period last year. Dell's targets are revenue of $14.8 billion and earnings per share of 41 cents, up 10 percent and 11 percent respectively from last year.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:15

  Open-source chronicles: Oracle buys, Gentoo founder flies
  
  It's a season of comings and goings. Oracle acquires one company and is said to be looking at more; Microsoft loses a Linux luminary but makes a deal with a start-up.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:27

  HP, Novell sign new open-source agreement
  
  Hewlett-Packard penned a new open-source agreement with Novell to offer a Linux package on HP servers. The package includes integrated open-source solutions, technical software and proactive service options that are certified on HP ProLiant servers and BladeSystem technologies, HP said in a statement.
  
  By obtaining the Enterprise Linux 8-License Value Pack, HP becomes the only major hardware vendor to offer the Linux license package for one, two or four-process servers. The offering will lower the cost per central processing unit, the company said.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:31

  BEA open sources Java data-access tool
  
  Infrastructure software provider BEA Systems said Tuesday that it will release a Java data-access development tool it acquired from SolarMetric to an open-source foundation later this year.
  
  SolarMetric, a 13-person company that BEA bought in November of last year, built development tools to make it easier to tap into relational data when writing Java programs. The software, called BEA Kodo, complies with the Enterprise Java Beans 3.0 standard, which is expected to be finalized by midyear. BEA will release a large portion of the Kodo software to a project, to be called Open JPA, under the Apache Software open-source license. BEA has not yet said where the Open JPA project will be, but the company expects to release the code and decide on a place to house the project around the time that the EJB 3.0 standard is finalized, said Neelan Choksi, senior director of product marketing at BEA and former president of SolarMetric.