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PDC 2009: What have we learned this week?
There was the freebie that no one will forget, the heebie-jeebies courtesy of Scott Guthrie, and a teensy bit clearer picture of how this cloud thingie should work.
Live report: Will Google Chrome OS change Linux?
The mysteries of just what Chrome OS is, and how much of an operating system it truly is, may be resolved today.
PDC 2009: Microsoft cares about Web browser performance
The effort to give users of the world's dominant Web browser the impression of quality, is a personal one for the man who leads that battle.
Nokia re-affirms its commitment to Symbian, sort of
Maemo won't necessarily be replacing Symbian in the Nokia N-Series, but that's definitely a place where it will be found.
E-book readers will be in short supply this holiday season
E-readers are hot this year, and a lot of compelling new products have been released, but are there enough electrophoretic displays to go around?
Sony looks to finally open a single storefront for downloads
Sony has had many different download portals for movies, music, e-books, and games, and now it's looking to make a single shop for all of it.
Tuning out the tablet: Time to give the endless speculation a rest
Wide Angle Zoom: Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying....won't put an iTablet on the market.
Five improvements for IT managers in 2010
If businesses are to improve their efficiency for next year, they need to stop and reassess the basic tenets of their job.
AOL's spinoff from Time Warner to shed 2,500 jobs
As AOL moves toward become an independent company again, it will cut nearly a third of its workforce.
Gartner: SMS-based money transfer will be bigger than mobile browsing, search
Gartner issues its predictions for the 10 things our phones will be doing in 2012.
Don't forget to upgrade to Firefox 3.6 beta 3 today
Mozilla has released the latest beta its Firefox 3.6 browser software, just over one week after beta 2.
Diebold finally rids itself of electronic voting business
By Nate Mook on September 3, 2009, 3:26 PM
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If you ask Diebold, there is a such thing as bad press. For years, the company has endured brand-eroding criticism about its electronic voting machines, and earlier this year in a hearing, publicly admitted they had serious design flaws.
Now, the company can finally move on from its e-voting debacles, as it sold the business unit to competitor Election Systems & Software, Inc. for a mere $5 million.
Continue reading Diebold finally rids itself of electronic voting business...
Google calls Gmail outage 'minor issue', but thousands beg to differ
By Nate Mook on September 1, 2009, 5:50 PM
74 Comments
Has Google issued an apology about today's Gmail outage, or is the company trying to downplay the issue?
We're not really sure.
Continue reading Google calls Gmail outage 'minor issue', but thousands beg to differ...
Apple increases Time Capsule backup storage to 2TB, releases iDisk iPhone app
By Nate Mook on July 30, 2009, 1:42 PM
1 Comment
After being rumored in April, Apple has taken the wraps off a new version of its Time Capsule with 2 terabytes of integrated storage. The device functions as a router and network storage appliance for automated backups using Mac OS X's Time Machine feature.
The 2TB Time Capsule looks to be the same internally aside from the bigger hard drive, and sells for $499. The 1TB model is priced at $299, while the original 500GB Time Capsule has been discontinued.
Continue reading Apple increases Time Capsule backup storage to 2TB, releases iDisk iPhone app...
Apple using scare tactics to stop iPhone jailbreaking from becoming legal
By Nate Mook on July 30, 2009, 12:30 AM
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In the more than two years since the iPhone has been available, Apple has largely remained quiet about "jailbreaking," in which users modify the device's software to run third-party applications. Now that the EFF is pushing to make this practice officially legal, Apple is finally speaking up, but is it too late?
In a support article published late Wednesday, Apple for the first time discussed jailbreaking, calling it "hacking" in order to make "unauthorized modifications" to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
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Microsoft warns about activation crack, but 'pleased' people want to install Windows 7
By Tim Conneally and Nate Mook on July 29, 2009, 6:20 PM
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As to be expected, Microsoft responded to news today that Windows 7 activation had already been cracked by telling Betanews that customers should not pirate the operating system. But the company also said it was happy to hear that people wanted to install Windows 7.
Following the publication of an activation crack for Windows 7 mere days after it was released to manufacturing, we contacted Microsoft to hear its take on the issue, which appears to be a repeat of the Windows Vista crack from 2006. Windows XP activation was also cracked not long after its launch.
Microsoft and Yahoo search deal: Here's what you need to know
By Nate Mook on July 29, 2009, 11:58 AM
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With the deal signed and ink drying, you may be wondering about the details behind the historic Microsoft and Yahoo search agreement, which may finally begin to put some pressure on Google's dominance in search. We break it down for you.
The Basics
Continue reading Microsoft and Yahoo search deal: Here's what you need to know...
Bezos says Kindle 1984 deletions were 'stupid', doesn't say how Amazon will solve illegal book problem
By Nate Mook on July 23, 2009, 7:15 PM
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Nearly a week after it deleted illegal copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindles without warning, Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos posted a personal apology to the Kindle user forums. Bezos called the company's handling of the decision "stupid," and said it would learn from the mistake. But he didn't say what would change, if anything.
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our "solution" to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we've received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.
Media goes crazy over Amazon deleting '1984' from Kindle, but 99-cent ebook was illegal copy
By Nate Mook and Tim Conneally on July 17, 2009, 8:40 PM
57 Comments
UPDATE: Amazon issued a statement Friday night saying, "When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from customers' devices, and refunded customers. We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances." However, the company did not touch on whether it would monitor more closely what books get uploaded as part of its self-serve system for publishers to avoid such circumstances altogether.
The press loves a juicy story, and Amazon served one up on a silver platter this morning by automatically deleting certain copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindles. But many facts were left out of this media frenzy, namely that the ebooks were essentially pirated copies sold for 99-cents by a company that had no rights to the material.
Sprint CSO: Palm Pre data tethering will be possible, iTunes feature may break
By Nate Mook on June 6, 2009, 1:50 AM
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Although the early reviews were out Thursday, we still learned a few things during Sprint's special invite-only launch event for the Palm Pre Friday. We spoke with Sprint Chief Service Officer Bob Johnson about the new phone and the carrier's rollout plans starting Saturday. Here are the takeaways:
-- Johnson said that data tethering is possible with the Palm Pre and said that Sprint -- unlike Verizon and AT&T which charge extra -- will allow customers to connect it to their laptops in order to surf the Web over Sprint's 3G network. However, this information conflicts with what we have heard elsewhere (Engadget was told the opposite), so we are following up. Sprint initially advertised data tethering as a feature of the Pre in February, but soon removed the reference.
Continue reading Sprint CSO: Palm Pre data tethering will be possible, iTunes feature may break...
Palm Pre a hit at special event for top Sprint customers
By Nate Mook on June 6, 2009, 12:41 AM
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The Palm Pre officially goes on sale via Sprint at 8am Saturday morning, but the carrier held special invite-only events in 10 cities Friday evening, giving selected Sprint Premier customers early access to the iPhone rival. Only those eligible to upgrade were invited, with around 120 RSVPs at Sprint's Washington, DC store we visited.
Sprint has prepared all of its nationwide stores for the Palm Pre launch tomorrow, with actual phones available for customers to play with and video screens detailing the features. Through its "Ready Now" program it launched last September, Sprint will make sure all buyers have their phones fully setup by the time they leave the store -- a marked difference from the iPhone launch.
Continue reading Palm Pre a hit at special event for top Sprint customers...
Meet Bing: Microsoft's new search engine in pictures
By Nate Mook on May 28, 2009, 1:04 PM
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Microsoft on Thursday took the wraps off its new Google competitor, a revamped Live Search dubbed "Bing." The site focuses on answering queries without requiring the user to leave the search page. But will it be enough to enable Microsoft to start taking back some search share from Google? Bing officially launches June 3, but we've put together a slideshow to give you a taste of what's to come.
Founders Fund opens nominations for $50,000 TechFellow Awards
By Nate Mook on April 16, 2009, 6:22 PM
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Whether it's a new investment tack or simply goodwill to the technology community in a down economy, early-stage venture capital firm Founders Fund is taking a unique approach to the tired award ceremony with TechFellow. Instead of celebrating a product or company, Founders Fund wants to draw attention to those behind the scenes who actually make the innovation happen.
12 fellows will be selected by a panel of 21 judges, which reads like a who's-who of Silicon Valley, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, Flickr's Caterina Fake, MySpace's Chris DeWolfe, former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, Esther Dyson and Marc Andreesson, among others. Nominations (including self-nominations) will be accepted until May 8, with an awards dinner slated for June.
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Spybot Search & Destroy competitors are trying to force its removal
By Scott M. Fulton, III, Nate Mook and Angela Gunn on April 7, 2009, 12:15 PM
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For years, Spybot Search & Destroy has been one of Fileforum's single most installed pieces of software, with nearly 67 million downloads since 2000 on our sister site alone. It's one of the Web's original anti-spyware packages, independently distributed by Safer Networking Ltd., based in Ireland and developed in Germany.
Despite a user base in the dozens of millions (if not more; Safer Networking doesn't track its users), Spybot S&D hasn't had an easy time establishing itself in the competitive anti-malware field. Because it is freeware (commercial users must purchase licenses), the application is seen as a thorn in the side of larger companies who sell security software with the same functionality.
Continue reading Spybot Search & Destroy competitors are trying to force its removal...
Outcry and complaints come after carriers threaten to block Skype on the iPhone
By Nate Mook on April 3, 2009, 12:41 PM
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Consumer and technology advocacy groups in both the United States and Europe are asking for governmental intervention to stop wireless carriers from selectively blocking applications from running on phones. The moves came after carriers in the US prevented Skype from running on 3G data networks, and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit in Germany said it may even ban Skype usage over Wi-Fi.
T-Mobile claims that allowing consumers to make voice over IP calls would lead to high bandwidth usage and slow down the network, an assertion that many reject.
Continue reading Outcry and complaints come after carriers threaten to block Skype on the iPhone...
France gets closer to banning accused downloaders from accessing the Internet
By Nate Mook on April 2, 2009, 7:02 PM
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It's not law yet, but the French Parliament has moved one step closer to adopting harsh penalties for those caught downloading pirated content more than twice. Lawmakers voted Thursday on a provision that would essentially give citizens of France three strikes before their Internet access is cut off entirely for up to one year.
Once the rest of the "Creation and Internet Law" is approved, it will go to the National Assembly for a final vote. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy came out in support of the bill, and it's likely no coincidence that his wife, Carla Bruni, released her third album last year.
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Tesla rakes in over $2.6 million from Model S reservations
By Nate Mook on April 2, 2009, 3:56 PM
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In a slight modification to the old mantra, "If you promise to build it, they will come" seems to be the order of the day at Tesla Motors, which has become a darling of Silicon Valley with its $100,000 electric roadster built atop the Lotus Elise platform.
The company announced Wednesday that it has taken over 520 pre-orders for its recently-unveiled fully-electric Model S Sedan, which is expected to cost $50,000 after a $7,000 federal tax credit. Tesla doesn't actually take orders, since the vehicles won't enter production until late 2011 at the earliest, but is instead selling "reservations" for $5,000 each. And some buyers surely plopped down $40,000 to reserve the first editions of the car to roll off the line.
Continue reading Tesla rakes in over $2.6 million from Model S reservations...
Want to watch Slingbox on your iPhone? You may need to buy a new device
By Nate Mook on April 2, 2009, 12:48 PM
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In a move seen by many as a tactic to drive more sales, Sling Media has decided not to support older versions of its hardware in the forthcoming SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone. That means customers who own a classic Slingbox, Slingbox AV or Slingbox Tuner won't be able to take advantage of the company's most highly-anticipated software release.
SlingPlayer Mobile enables users to connect with their Slingbox and stream television to their phones. Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian and Palm OS based phones are currently supported, but the holy grail for the company has been the iPhone, with its large vibrant screen and powerful processing capabilities.
Continue reading Want to watch Slingbox on your iPhone? You may need to buy a new device...
Netflix hits 2 billion shipped milestone with a Blu-ray disc
By Nate Mook on April 2, 2009, 11:18 AM
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It took Netflix over 7 years to ship 1 billion DVDs to subscribers. It has now doubled that milestone in another two. The company announced Thursday that a Blu-ray disc of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist was its 2 billionth delivery, and to celebrate, subscriber Clay Shannon will receive a free lifetime subscription to Netflix.
Netflix ships two million movies each day from its 58 distribution centers. Its library has grown from 2,000 titles in 1999 to over 10,000 -- 1,300 of which are on Blu-ray, leading the company to hike fees for the high-definition format. The delivery figures do not include the number of movies Netflix has streamed through its Instant-On feature, which may prove the significance of Blu-ray simply a blip in the company's timeline by the time its 3 billion milestone arrives.
Netflix raises Blu-ray surcharge by 300% to $4 per month
By Nate Mook on March 30, 2009, 2:48 PM
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Although it's been over a year since Blu-ray won the format war against HD DVD and almost all new movies are simultaneously released in the high-definition format, prices have not fallen, with Blu-ray discs still costing up to 3 times more than DVDs. In turn, Netflix has begun informing subscribers that it is raising the cost of those who receive movies on Blu-ray from $1 to $4 per month.
Netflix is attributing the 400% fee increase to the cost of the company having to stock more films in Blu-ray. "As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs," the company said in an e-mail to subscribers.
Continue reading Netflix raises Blu-ray surcharge by 300% to $4 per month...
Microsoft ODM tells Bloomberg: Windows 7 coming as soon as September
By Nate Mook on February 25, 2009, 6:34 PM
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While Microsoft continues to maintain that Windows 7 will launch "3 years from Vista," or early 2010, a Microsoft ODM partner says otherwise. The president of Compal, a Taiwanese manufacturer that builds laptops for HP and Acer, told Bloomberg that Microsoft may begin shipping Windows 7 in late September or early October of this year.
Ray Chen made the statement at an investors' conference in Taipei on Wednesday, adding that he hoped Windows 7 would help boost sagging PC sales due to the global economic crisis. Microsoft, for its part, didn't say Chen was incorrect, but repeated its January 2010 timeframe to Bloomberg. Who to believe? It's hard to say, although some signs have pointed to Microsoft fast-forwarding its release roadmap.
Continue reading Microsoft ODM tells Bloomberg: Windows 7 coming as soon as September...