ATI, graphics product group of Advanced Micro Devices, on Friday said it had slashed price of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card and said that at least one online store will have them available for end-users at $199 price-point for 512MB graphics card.
“The price of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 is dropping and we expect that the 512MB and 1GB boards should be available on Newegg today for around $199 and $239 respectively, offering and even more compelling value,” a spokesperson for ATI/AMD said.
At $199 price-point the ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB graphics card becomes the top-performing performance-mainstream option on the market. Earlier AMD sold ATI Radeon HD 4850 at this price-point.
ATI is working hard to capture 50% of the market of standalone desktop graphics adapters. One of the ways to gain market share is to slash prices of final products. In Q3 2009 Nvidia Corp. commanded 60% of shipments with its GeForce chips, whereas ATI Radeon’s share was about 40%, according to market tracker Jon Peddie Research.
It should be noted that sales of ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB for $199 in a single online store in the USA can hardly change the game worldwide and allow ATI to boost its presence on the market considerably. Nevertheless, customers should keep an eye on various deals in other regions as well as ATI has just given a sign that it plans to offer its high-performance products at discount prices in the current environment of the economy on the globe.
Thursday 23 June 2011
Bluetooth 2.2 Coming Our Way Next Year
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is planning to release a new version of Bluetooth in mid-2009. As expected, Bluetooth 2.2 will deliver transfer rates at higher speeds than previous versions.
The idea of the new High Speed Bluetooth specification is to work with WLAN or USB for improved data rates, and will be known as Bluetooth 10x and Bluetooth 100x, respectively. For this to work, a mobile phone will need to be equipped with WLAN or UWB radio. Hence Bluetooth 10x will be used first, since many of the newer handsets already have WiFi capabilities built-in.
The idea of the new High Speed Bluetooth specification is to work with WLAN or USB for improved data rates, and will be known as Bluetooth 10x and Bluetooth 100x, respectively. For this to work, a mobile phone will need to be equipped with WLAN or UWB radio. Hence Bluetooth 10x will be used first, since many of the newer handsets already have WiFi capabilities built-in.
SkyDrive Offers Free 25GB Online Storage Space
Among the many changes announced by Microsoft on its service offering "Live", SkyDrive, the online storage, has already made its start.
Now this virtual hard drive offers 25 GB of storage. A considerable space limited to files with a maximum weight of 50 Mb. The owners of a Windows Live (used especially for Messenger) can already be accessed either directly transferring files from the Web page SkyDrive, or using a utility proposed by the Redmond company which allows drag and drop. Caution, some options, such as downloading this tool are accessible only with Internet Explorer. Linked to Live Photos, obviously SkyDrive allows store his photos but also to launch a slide show. Microsoft also announced the possibility of recovering the files housed in zip format.
Facilitating the sharing, the service allows you to authorize some of his contacts to access files stored online. Sending link directly to a specific file is also possible.
Now this virtual hard drive offers 25 GB of storage. A considerable space limited to files with a maximum weight of 50 Mb. The owners of a Windows Live (used especially for Messenger) can already be accessed either directly transferring files from the Web page SkyDrive, or using a utility proposed by the Redmond company which allows drag and drop. Caution, some options, such as downloading this tool are accessible only with Internet Explorer. Linked to Live Photos, obviously SkyDrive allows store his photos but also to launch a slide show. Microsoft also announced the possibility of recovering the files housed in zip format.
Facilitating the sharing, the service allows you to authorize some of his contacts to access files stored online. Sending link directly to a specific file is also possible.
Wadja brings Google adwords to SMS
Google's model of pimping out words used in searches comes to SMS messaging with a new service from Wadja, one that allows advertisers to sponsor specific words in text messages sent by members.
Billing itself as the most visited, dedicated mobile social network site in Europe, Wadja has built up a significant number of customers with the offer of free texting - a popular if unsustainable way of building up customer numbers. Now it's time to make some money on that membership, with 40-character adverts appended to every text message sent for free.
Advertisers are invited to buy specific words, in the same way that Google manages adwords, though there's no mention of a "related terms" feature that provides Google with such enviable control over revenue generation.
Free text messages have been used by dozens of services to attract customers, but even text-obsessed Twitter has had to pull SMS services from the UK and Canada as the cost becomes unsustainable. Putting adverts at the end of messages is nothing new, but making them context-sensitive could be attractive to advertisers and the social-networking services could certainly do with the income.
Most of the industry still seems blind to the fact that few social networking services have any kind of sustainable business model, companies are building products and services tied into social networks that themselves have no revenue model. Sticking 40 characters on the end of every text message might not pay all the bills, but it's a start.
Billing itself as the most visited, dedicated mobile social network site in Europe, Wadja has built up a significant number of customers with the offer of free texting - a popular if unsustainable way of building up customer numbers. Now it's time to make some money on that membership, with 40-character adverts appended to every text message sent for free.
Advertisers are invited to buy specific words, in the same way that Google manages adwords, though there's no mention of a "related terms" feature that provides Google with such enviable control over revenue generation.
Free text messages have been used by dozens of services to attract customers, but even text-obsessed Twitter has had to pull SMS services from the UK and Canada as the cost becomes unsustainable. Putting adverts at the end of messages is nothing new, but making them context-sensitive could be attractive to advertisers and the social-networking services could certainly do with the income.
Most of the industry still seems blind to the fact that few social networking services have any kind of sustainable business model, companies are building products and services tied into social networks that themselves have no revenue model. Sticking 40 characters on the end of every text message might not pay all the bills, but it's a start.
New Apple MacBook Pro Notebooks Experience
End-users who purchased the recently launched Apple MacBook Pro in unibody cases are reportedly having issues with Nvidia GeForce 9-series graphics processor. According to a media story, customers complain about freezes as well as “wave-like video distortions” while scrolling in Web browsers.
AppleInsider reports that numerous end-users have run into “the black screen of death” issues while playing certain video-games. Apparently, screens of Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT-powered Mac Book Pros’ screens go black after just a few minutes of gaming, while the system locks up and the audio enters into an infinite loop. There is no way to quit the game and a hardware reset is required.
Some end-users claim that special software that can set the fans to spin at higher speed help them to avoid freezes because of overheating of the graphics processing units. Others claim that the hardware-related issues may be corrected with the mainboard replacement.
“Apple are aware of the issue and are investigating,” a customer quotes Apple Support as saying.
There are also reports about “wave-like video distortions” while scrolling in web browsers of viewing HD content. The issues are reportedly present in all MacBook Pro notebooks, which, it is believed, makes them likely to be corrected via software updates. Some customers note that the problem also exists on Nvidia-based iMacs, but does not show up on the MacBook Air with integrated Intel graphics or iMacs with ATI graphics cards. There is a theory that Nvidia graphics card drivers and Apple's Webkit rendering engine is to blame, which would explain why the distortions do not appear under Windows or Mac browsers that do not rely on WebKit, such as Opera.
AppleInsider reports that numerous end-users have run into “the black screen of death” issues while playing certain video-games. Apparently, screens of Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT-powered Mac Book Pros’ screens go black after just a few minutes of gaming, while the system locks up and the audio enters into an infinite loop. There is no way to quit the game and a hardware reset is required.
Some end-users claim that special software that can set the fans to spin at higher speed help them to avoid freezes because of overheating of the graphics processing units. Others claim that the hardware-related issues may be corrected with the mainboard replacement.
“Apple are aware of the issue and are investigating,” a customer quotes Apple Support as saying.
There are also reports about “wave-like video distortions” while scrolling in web browsers of viewing HD content. The issues are reportedly present in all MacBook Pro notebooks, which, it is believed, makes them likely to be corrected via software updates. Some customers note that the problem also exists on Nvidia-based iMacs, but does not show up on the MacBook Air with integrated Intel graphics or iMacs with ATI graphics cards. There is a theory that Nvidia graphics card drivers and Apple's Webkit rendering engine is to blame, which would explain why the distortions do not appear under Windows or Mac browsers that do not rely on WebKit, such as Opera.
BitTorrent wants to replace the UDP TCP
The company BitTorrent, in charge of protocol of the same name, announced a major change in the latter. Indeed, instead of relying on TCP, the next version of the protocol should use the UDP. A major change resulting from ads cataclysm and end of the world.
An article in particular has literally set fire to the powder. Written by Richard Bennett on The Register, he announced that this change in BitTorrent protocol will cause an Internet overload to the point where it could collapse. Why? Because the mass represented by P2P networks represent 50% of the volume of data in transit in the network of networks.
The end of congestion control?
There are fundamental differences between TCP and UDP, although the two are used for data transfers over the Internet. TCP, its name Transfer Control Protocol, which controls the information sent via the Internet Protocol (IP). The User Datagram Protocol meanwhile does not control and is most often used when small amounts of data must be transferred as soon as possible. There is no flow control or no control congestion.
And it is this last point that worries both Richard Bennett. Without any congestion control, the flow will go bitorrent force. In addition, the UDP has a very low tolerance for delays, hence its use in many VoIP solutions. As a result, Bennett described the next version of the protocol as "aggressive" and "uncontrollable".
An article in particular has literally set fire to the powder. Written by Richard Bennett on The Register, he announced that this change in BitTorrent protocol will cause an Internet overload to the point where it could collapse. Why? Because the mass represented by P2P networks represent 50% of the volume of data in transit in the network of networks.
The end of congestion control?
There are fundamental differences between TCP and UDP, although the two are used for data transfers over the Internet. TCP, its name Transfer Control Protocol, which controls the information sent via the Internet Protocol (IP). The User Datagram Protocol meanwhile does not control and is most often used when small amounts of data must be transferred as soon as possible. There is no flow control or no control congestion.
And it is this last point that worries both Richard Bennett. Without any congestion control, the flow will go bitorrent force. In addition, the UDP has a very low tolerance for delays, hence its use in many VoIP solutions. As a result, Bennett described the next version of the protocol as "aggressive" and "uncontrollable".
Top 10 PC Vendors slash orders due to Economic Slump
As a result of the economic clump, several leading edge contract makers of electronics are about to reduced their production.
Several top-ten PC suppliers, such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Asustek Computer are expected to reduce their PC order volumes in the first quarter of 2009 by around 50% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to sources at component makers, reports DigiTimes web-site.
HP is planning to cut orders by around 50%, Dell 50-60%, and Acer and Asustek 40-50% each. Even if PC and notebook orders will see a large drop in the first quarter of 2009, orders for netbooks and LED notebooks are expected to see a surge growth.
Several top-ten PC suppliers, such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Asustek Computer are expected to reduce their PC order volumes in the first quarter of 2009 by around 50% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to sources at component makers, reports DigiTimes web-site.
HP is planning to cut orders by around 50%, Dell 50-60%, and Acer and Asustek 40-50% each. Even if PC and notebook orders will see a large drop in the first quarter of 2009, orders for netbooks and LED notebooks are expected to see a surge growth.
BUFFALO'S Wireless Injunction Stayed
Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions announced that a federal judge has stayed the permanent injunction in the ongoing U.S. patent litigation (Commonwealth Scientific Research and Industrial Organization v. Buffalo Technology USA, Inc. and Buffalo, Inc.) with respect to the offer to sell, use, import or manufacture Buffalo’s IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g standard compliant products.
The Australian science agency CSIRO sued Buffalo Inc. and its US affiliate Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Buffalo’s products infringed its U.S. Patent 5,487,069, which concerns Wi-Fi technology relating to the transmission and modulation of wireless signals. After the district court held that Buffalo’s products infringed certain claims of the patent and that those claims were valid, the district court ordered Buffalo to stop selling its allegedly infringing products in the U.S. Buffalo appealed that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
On September 19, 2008, the Federal Circuit raised the issue of whether CSIRO’s patent is valid and remanded the case back to the district court. The order staying the permanent injunction confirms that Buffalo is free to sell IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States.
Although Buffalo believes that the appellate court implicitly vacated the injunction when it questioned the validity of CSIRO’s patent, Buffalo took the additional step of asking the trial court to stay the injunction to the extent it was still in force. Buffalo expects that the trial court will, in the near future, schedule a trial on whether CSIRO’s asserted patent claims are invalid and is confident that a jury will vindicate its position.
The Australian science agency CSIRO sued Buffalo Inc. and its US affiliate Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Buffalo’s products infringed its U.S. Patent 5,487,069, which concerns Wi-Fi technology relating to the transmission and modulation of wireless signals. After the district court held that Buffalo’s products infringed certain claims of the patent and that those claims were valid, the district court ordered Buffalo to stop selling its allegedly infringing products in the U.S. Buffalo appealed that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
On September 19, 2008, the Federal Circuit raised the issue of whether CSIRO’s patent is valid and remanded the case back to the district court. The order staying the permanent injunction confirms that Buffalo is free to sell IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States.
Although Buffalo believes that the appellate court implicitly vacated the injunction when it questioned the validity of CSIRO’s patent, Buffalo took the additional step of asking the trial court to stay the injunction to the extent it was still in force. Buffalo expects that the trial court will, in the near future, schedule a trial on whether CSIRO’s asserted patent claims are invalid and is confident that a jury will vindicate its position.
OpenSolaris 2008.11 released
Sun has rolled opensolaris 2008.11, loaded with open source applications that are well known to Linux distribution users. The 'What's New' page for opensolaris 2008.11, lists the new features which include GNOME 2.24, Firefox 3, Songbird and OpenOffice.org 3.
On the apps that are more opensolaris specific the Image Packaging System, IPS gets an update but to my naked eye it looks surprisingly like GNOME's Synaptic package manager. Fast boot times (something that Linux distros are working on too) is also a key new feature for the opensolaris release.
OpenSolaris 2008.11 is a single CD combined live/install image: a core operating system, kernel, system libraries, a desktop environment and a package management system.
The contents of the OpenSolaris™ 2008.11 Live Media Image are governed by the Common Development and Distribution License Version 1.0 with the exception of certain portions under other licenses (such as the OpenSolaris Binary License) as provided in the OpenSolaris Live Media License file included with the software and displayed when booting the Live Media Image. The additional software available from the OpenSolaris Package Repository and not included on the Live Media Image is governed by the licenses provided in the OpenSolaris Package Repository License file and/or in the individual software packages. All of these licenses permit use, copying and redistribution of the software.
On the apps that are more opensolaris specific the Image Packaging System, IPS gets an update but to my naked eye it looks surprisingly like GNOME's Synaptic package manager. Fast boot times (something that Linux distros are working on too) is also a key new feature for the opensolaris release.
OpenSolaris 2008.11 is a single CD combined live/install image: a core operating system, kernel, system libraries, a desktop environment and a package management system.
The contents of the OpenSolaris™ 2008.11 Live Media Image are governed by the Common Development and Distribution License Version 1.0 with the exception of certain portions under other licenses (such as the OpenSolaris Binary License) as provided in the OpenSolaris Live Media License file included with the software and displayed when booting the Live Media Image. The additional software available from the OpenSolaris Package Repository and not included on the Live Media Image is governed by the licenses provided in the OpenSolaris Package Repository License file and/or in the individual software packages. All of these licenses permit use, copying and redistribution of the software.
Monday 20 June 2011
Google Video to halt video uploading
According to a 14 january 2009 post on the official google video blog, google will shortly discontinue support for uploads to google video. google says that they are not removing any content already on the service, just disallowing the uploading of any new content.
google says that those who wish to upload content to them, should use youtube or picasa web albums -- although its unclear if youtube's current 10 minute and 1gb time and file size restrictions will be changed. currently, videos uploaded to picasa web albums must be no larger than 100 mb.
UPDATE: according to 'the blog herald:' "blogger video uploads are not affected."
videos uploaded directly to a blogspot post (which are ultimately hosted on google video) are limited to 100mb. it's unknown right now if that file size will be increased.
google says that those who wish to upload content to them, should use youtube or picasa web albums -- although its unclear if youtube's current 10 minute and 1gb time and file size restrictions will be changed. currently, videos uploaded to picasa web albums must be no larger than 100 mb.
UPDATE: according to 'the blog herald:' "blogger video uploads are not affected."
videos uploaded directly to a blogspot post (which are ultimately hosted on google video) are limited to 100mb. it's unknown right now if that file size will be increased.
Technical Communication Suite 2 launched by Adobe
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2, a powerful upgrade of its one-of-a-kind solution for authoring, reviewing, managing, and publishing rich technical information and training content across multiple channels. Using the suite, technical communicators can create powerful documentation, training materials and Web-enabled user assistance containing both traditional text and 3D designs along with rich media, including Adobe Flash® Player compatible video, AVI, MP3 and SW file support.
The enhanced suite includes Adobe FrameMaker® 9 software, the latest version of Adobe's technical authoring and DITA publishing solution, Adobe RoboHelp ® 8 software, a major upgrade to Adobe's help system and knowledge base authoring tool, Adobe Captivate® 4 software, a powerful upgrade to Adobe's popular eLearning authoring tool (see separate press release), and Photoshop® CS4, the industry standard for digital imaging software and a new addition to the suite. The suite also includes such category leading products as Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro Extended and Adobe Presenter 7.
The enhanced suite includes Adobe FrameMaker® 9 software, the latest version of Adobe's technical authoring and DITA publishing solution, Adobe RoboHelp ® 8 software, a major upgrade to Adobe's help system and knowledge base authoring tool, Adobe Captivate® 4 software, a powerful upgrade to Adobe's popular eLearning authoring tool (see separate press release), and Photoshop® CS4, the industry standard for digital imaging software and a new addition to the suite. The suite also includes such category leading products as Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro Extended and Adobe Presenter 7.
iWork '09 infect Macs with Trojan
Intego has discovered a new Trojan horse, OSX.Trojan.iServices.A, which is currently circulating in copies of Apple's iWork 09 found on BitTorrent trackers and other sites containing links to pirated software. The version of iWork 09, Apple's productivity suite, are complete and functional, but the installer contains an additional package called iWorkServices.pkg.
When installing an infected pirated copy of iWork '09, an extra iWorkServices package is installed; this installation begins as soon as the user launches the iWork '09 installer. This package is installed as a system-wide startup item, where it has read-write permissions as root. In other words, this code can do anything to any part of the system, with full authorization.
The malicious software connects to remote servers over the internet, so a malicious remote user will know that the program has been installed. The malicious user will be able to connect to the infected Mac and perform various actions; the Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.
This is not a virus—it cannot spread from one Mac to another on its own. It's also not a remote exploit; the user must download and install a pirated copy of iWork '09 to become infected. To check if you've been infected, look in /System/Library/StartupItems for an item named iWorkServices. If it exists, you've been infected with this Trojan horse.
When installing an infected pirated copy of iWork '09, an extra iWorkServices package is installed; this installation begins as soon as the user launches the iWork '09 installer. This package is installed as a system-wide startup item, where it has read-write permissions as root. In other words, this code can do anything to any part of the system, with full authorization.
The malicious software connects to remote servers over the internet, so a malicious remote user will know that the program has been installed. The malicious user will be able to connect to the infected Mac and perform various actions; the Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.
This is not a virus—it cannot spread from one Mac to another on its own. It's also not a remote exploit; the user must download and install a pirated copy of iWork '09 to become infected. To check if you've been infected, look in /System/Library/StartupItems for an item named iWorkServices. If it exists, you've been infected with this Trojan horse.
Dell launches UltraSharp 22-inch 2209WA
Dell has quickly lived up to leaks on Thursday by formally releasing the UltraSharp 2209WA. The display is one of the few 22-inch LCDs to be truly color-accurate. While not providing specs, Dell points to a technology known as TrueColor that it says delivers better and more uniform color.
SoundClip: Enhances iPhone 3G's audio
The iPhone 3G's speaker works relatively well but, at the highest volume, the sound is often distorted and insufficiently loud.
The SoundClip, introduced in the US this week by Ten One Design, aims to solve that problem. Yes, it's a piece of black plastic, but it amplifies the iPhone 3G's external audio by 10dB between 5kH and 20kH.
The device clips securely into the 30-pin dock connector, guiding the sound from the iPhone 3G's speaker directly towards the user.
During gaming, it also prevents the iPhone 3G's speaker from being blocked by your hand. The only inconvenience is that you need to detach it to charge or sync the phone, and it can't be used with any of the iPhone 3G's extended batteries. Also, it is intended for use with the iPhone 3G only.
The SoundClip, introduced in the US this week by Ten One Design, aims to solve that problem. Yes, it's a piece of black plastic, but it amplifies the iPhone 3G's external audio by 10dB between 5kH and 20kH.
The device clips securely into the 30-pin dock connector, guiding the sound from the iPhone 3G's speaker directly towards the user.
During gaming, it also prevents the iPhone 3G's speaker from being blocked by your hand. The only inconvenience is that you need to detach it to charge or sync the phone, and it can't be used with any of the iPhone 3G's extended batteries. Also, it is intended for use with the iPhone 3G only.
Konami Release Silent Hill on iPhone
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced the release of Silent Hill: The Escape and DanceDanceRevolution S Lite, now available in North America for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Based on top-selling franchises, these titles have been re-designed to take full advantage of the iPhone's capabilities, including the innovative Multi-Touch Interface and accelerometer.
"Konami Mobile is pleased to deliver some of our most beloved franchises to the iPhone while providing a range of gameplay depth that casual and hardcore gamers alike are sure to appreciate," said Anthony Borquez, Vice President of Konami Mobile and Online.
"Whether players are looking for a nail-biting survival horror experience or some music and rhythm, our lineup of iPhone titles promises to appeal to all consumers."
Silent Hill: The Escape
Silent Hill: The Escape features original gameplay, detailed graphics and spine-chilling sound effects created specifically for the iPhone. In this first-person, 3D shooter survival horror game, players navigate through various levels from an abandoned hospital to a cold subway with a dull flashlight while fighting off monsters and faceless nurses.
Based on top-selling franchises, these titles have been re-designed to take full advantage of the iPhone's capabilities, including the innovative Multi-Touch Interface and accelerometer.
"Konami Mobile is pleased to deliver some of our most beloved franchises to the iPhone while providing a range of gameplay depth that casual and hardcore gamers alike are sure to appreciate," said Anthony Borquez, Vice President of Konami Mobile and Online.
"Whether players are looking for a nail-biting survival horror experience or some music and rhythm, our lineup of iPhone titles promises to appeal to all consumers."
Silent Hill: The Escape
Silent Hill: The Escape features original gameplay, detailed graphics and spine-chilling sound effects created specifically for the iPhone. In this first-person, 3D shooter survival horror game, players navigate through various levels from an abandoned hospital to a cold subway with a dull flashlight while fighting off monsters and faceless nurses.
Intel Cuts Quad-core Chip Prices by 40 Percent
Intel on Monday announced price cuts across a wide range of chips used in mobile and desktop PCs, including cuts of up to 40 percent for its quad-core chips.
Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9650 processors are now priced at US$316 (Rs. 15,500), a 40 percent drop from December. Other Core 2 Quad chip prices were cut between 16 percent and 20 percent. The quad-core chips are used in high-end desktops like gaming systems.
Intel's move could be a response to increasing price pressure exerted by rival Advanced Micro Devices, which recently announced the Phenom II quad-core chips for high-end desktops. AMD has priced its Phenom II quad-core chips between $235 (Rs. 11,515) and $275 (Rs. 13,475).
Intel also cut prices of its Xeon chips for servers and Celeron processors for mobile devices by up to 48 percent. The quad-core Xeon 3370 is now priced at $316 (Rs. 15,500), a 40 percent drop from December, while the Celeron 570 chip was cut by 48 percent from $134 (Rs. 6,566) to $70 (Rs. 3,430).
Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9650 processors are now priced at US$316 (Rs. 15,500), a 40 percent drop from December. Other Core 2 Quad chip prices were cut between 16 percent and 20 percent. The quad-core chips are used in high-end desktops like gaming systems.
Intel's move could be a response to increasing price pressure exerted by rival Advanced Micro Devices, which recently announced the Phenom II quad-core chips for high-end desktops. AMD has priced its Phenom II quad-core chips between $235 (Rs. 11,515) and $275 (Rs. 13,475).
Intel also cut prices of its Xeon chips for servers and Celeron processors for mobile devices by up to 48 percent. The quad-core Xeon 3370 is now priced at $316 (Rs. 15,500), a 40 percent drop from December, while the Celeron 570 chip was cut by 48 percent from $134 (Rs. 6,566) to $70 (Rs. 3,430).
Microsoft Invites Windows 7 beta testers on netbooks
Microsoft has been sending out e-mails to certain individuals inviting them to beta test a "specialized" version of Windows 7 on lower-specced PCs, which from their spec sheets, look an awful lot like netbooks, except that they're listed as having DVD drives. The e-mail goes:
Microsoft has gone out and issued a statement saying that this won't be a different version of Windows 7 made specifically for netbooks, but it still hasn't clarified what version it really is. In any case, if it performs well on the PCs specced Microsoft is looking to test, with 1GHz of processing power, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of available disk space and Internet access, then it should be good for existing netbooks and all those to come in the future.
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Affle partners with NDTV Convergence to power
NDTV Convergence, the online arm of NDTV and Affle, India's leading Mobile media company today announced their partnership through which Affle would power advertising on NDTV's mobile portal – NDTV Active.
Featured in Livemint as the top full-service mobile portal, NDTV Active is an early pioneer in mobile web with 3.8 million page views a month in just 6 months of its launch. Given that the mobile internet universe today is estimated to be higher than the PC based internet universe in India, the growing popularity of NDTV Active has ensured that it gives NDTV a tremendous boost by leveraging its extensive programming assets to provide users anytime anywhere access to personalized services, content, and promotions on their mobile phones. This partnership with Affle would now ensure that NDTV Convergence creates significant revenues from monetizing the growing traffic on NDTV Active.
Since the launch in India, Affle has built partnerships with most of the leading advertisers and agencies and delivered customized mobile marketing solutions for them. Given that Affle's SMS2.0 has already become one of India's largest mobile media channels, this partnership with NDTV would help it enhance its services to advertisers and also work towards creating a one stop solution for advertisers wanting to leverage multiple mobile advertising platforms.
Featured in Livemint as the top full-service mobile portal, NDTV Active is an early pioneer in mobile web with 3.8 million page views a month in just 6 months of its launch. Given that the mobile internet universe today is estimated to be higher than the PC based internet universe in India, the growing popularity of NDTV Active has ensured that it gives NDTV a tremendous boost by leveraging its extensive programming assets to provide users anytime anywhere access to personalized services, content, and promotions on their mobile phones. This partnership with Affle would now ensure that NDTV Convergence creates significant revenues from monetizing the growing traffic on NDTV Active.
Since the launch in India, Affle has built partnerships with most of the leading advertisers and agencies and delivered customized mobile marketing solutions for them. Given that Affle's SMS2.0 has already become one of India's largest mobile media channels, this partnership with NDTV would help it enhance its services to advertisers and also work towards creating a one stop solution for advertisers wanting to leverage multiple mobile advertising platforms.
Google's wildcard watch
Steve Ballmer, who just announced to the troops that Microsoft was firing 5,000 employees due to the recession, might be excused for wanting to slam his head against the wall at this point.
After reporting quarterly earnings, Google finished Friday up more than $18. So at this point, at least, it's still Google 1, Recession 0. The cool kids have the upper hand--at least for the time being.
I'm the last to suggest that Google is immune to the drag of an economic slowdown. Everyone these days is obviously tightening their belts, and Google is no exception. The company let go of 100 contractors and recently ordered three projects shut down as cost-savings measures. (How long before more money losers get dumped?)
In the meantime, however, Google's advertising business held up remarkably well in the fourth quarter, all things considered. Even though the economy headed south, Google's paid clicks increased 18 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.
After reporting quarterly earnings, Google finished Friday up more than $18. So at this point, at least, it's still Google 1, Recession 0. The cool kids have the upper hand--at least for the time being.
I'm the last to suggest that Google is immune to the drag of an economic slowdown. Everyone these days is obviously tightening their belts, and Google is no exception. The company let go of 100 contractors and recently ordered three projects shut down as cost-savings measures. (How long before more money losers get dumped?)
In the meantime, however, Google's advertising business held up remarkably well in the fourth quarter, all things considered. Even though the economy headed south, Google's paid clicks increased 18 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.
Google Profits increase On Strong Ad Sales
Google's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street forecasts as strong advertising sales on its self-branded websites helped the Internet leader defy the gloom pervading the tech sector.
"Google performed well in the fourth quarter, despite an increasingly difficult economic environment. Search query growth was strong, revenues were up in most verticals, and we successfully contained costs," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. "It's unclear how long the global downturn will last, but our focus remains on the long term, and we'll continue to invest in Google's core search and ads business as well as in strategic growth areas such as display, mobile, and enterprise."
Google also announced today that it is planning to offer employees a voluntary, one-for-one stock option exchange. The program is currently scheduled to begin on January 29, 2009 and end on March 3, 2009, unless Google is required or opts to extend the offer period to a later date.
The company reported revenues of $5.70 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, an increase of 18% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and an increase of 3% compared to the third quarter of 2008.
Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.81 billion, or 67% of total revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2008. This represents a 22% increase over fourth quarter 2007 revenues of $3.12 billion and a 4% increase over third quarter 2008 revenues of $3.67 billion.
"Google performed well in the fourth quarter, despite an increasingly difficult economic environment. Search query growth was strong, revenues were up in most verticals, and we successfully contained costs," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. "It's unclear how long the global downturn will last, but our focus remains on the long term, and we'll continue to invest in Google's core search and ads business as well as in strategic growth areas such as display, mobile, and enterprise."
Google also announced today that it is planning to offer employees a voluntary, one-for-one stock option exchange. The program is currently scheduled to begin on January 29, 2009 and end on March 3, 2009, unless Google is required or opts to extend the offer period to a later date.
The company reported revenues of $5.70 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, an increase of 18% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and an increase of 3% compared to the third quarter of 2008.
Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.81 billion, or 67% of total revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2008. This represents a 22% increase over fourth quarter 2007 revenues of $3.12 billion and a 4% increase over third quarter 2008 revenues of $3.67 billion.
Acer Gateway ZX2300 all in one Desktop
The PCs will take a dig at Eee Tops but with a larger screen sans the touchscreen interface.Gateway's new all-in-one PC is set to hit Taiwan sometime in the near future. The Windows XP Home-based ZX2300 rocks an 18.5-inch screen up front with a 16:9 aspect ration and a 1366 x 768 resolution. Under the hood you can expect to find an AMD Athlon 2650e processor with 1GB memory, 160GB storage, Wi-Fi, webcam, and a Lightscribe DVD burner.
World's smallest working fuel cell
Chemical engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say they've developed a working fuel cell measuring 3 millimeters across. Future versions of the tiny hydrogen-fuelled power pack could replace batteries in portable gadgets.
While batteries are used to do that today, fuel cells are able to store more energy in the same space. Even the most advanced batteries have an energy density an order of magnitude smaller than that of a hydrogen fuel tank.
While batteries are used to do that today, fuel cells are able to store more energy in the same space. Even the most advanced batteries have an energy density an order of magnitude smaller than that of a hydrogen fuel tank.
Windows 7 beta to be available through Feb. 10
Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn't finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.
February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn't finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.
Monster.com Reports Theft of User
Monster.com is advising its users to change their passwords after data including e-mail addresses, names and phone numbers were stolen from its database.
The break-in comes just as the swelling ranks of the unemployed are turning to sites like Monster.com to look for work.
The company disclosed on its Web site that it recently learned its database had been illegally accessed. Monster.com user IDs and passwords were stolen, along with names, e-mail addresses, birth dates, gender, ethnicity, and in some cases, users' states of residence. The information does not include Social Security numbers, which Monster.com said it doesn't collect, or resumes.
Monster.com posted the warning about the breach on Friday morning and does not plan to send e-mails to users about the issue, said Nikki Richardson, a Monster.com spokeswoman. The SANS Internet Storm Center also posted a note about the break-in on Friday.
USAJobs.com, the U.S. government Web site for federal jobs, is hosted by Monster.com and was also subject to the data theft. USAJobs.com also posted a warning about the breach.
The break-in comes just as the swelling ranks of the unemployed are turning to sites like Monster.com to look for work.
The company disclosed on its Web site that it recently learned its database had been illegally accessed. Monster.com user IDs and passwords were stolen, along with names, e-mail addresses, birth dates, gender, ethnicity, and in some cases, users' states of residence. The information does not include Social Security numbers, which Monster.com said it doesn't collect, or resumes.
Monster.com posted the warning about the breach on Friday morning and does not plan to send e-mails to users about the issue, said Nikki Richardson, a Monster.com spokeswoman. The SANS Internet Storm Center also posted a note about the break-in on Friday.
USAJobs.com, the U.S. government Web site for federal jobs, is hosted by Monster.com and was also subject to the data theft. USAJobs.com also posted a warning about the breach.
Adobe Joins Linux Foundation with Focus
The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Adobe Systems Incorporated is joining the Foundation. Adobe is joining the LF to collaborate on the advancement of Linux as a leading platform for rich Internet applications (RIA) and Web 2.0 technologies.
"Adobe's decision to join the LF is a natural extension of its commitment to open standards and open source, which demonstrates its leadership and foresight in the software industry," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "Adobe's membership will contribute to our goal of increasing even more application development on Linux with a specific emphasis on Web 2.0 applications."
"Adobe delivers key RIA technologies for Linux users, such as Adobe® Flash® Player and now Adobe AIR™, to deploy RIAs in the browser and on the desktop," said David McAllister, director of standards and open source at Adobe. "The Linux Foundation is a valuable resource, providing a forum where we can work with the community to ensure Adobe RIA technologies are compatible across the Linux software platform."
Today, application development is increasing on the Internet, where Linux is the platform of choice for Amazon, Facebook, Google, and many others. The Linux development community offers an active, collaborative environment where software developers can increase their innovation related to new web-based technologies and opportunities.
"Adobe's decision to join the LF is a natural extension of its commitment to open standards and open source, which demonstrates its leadership and foresight in the software industry," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "Adobe's membership will contribute to our goal of increasing even more application development on Linux with a specific emphasis on Web 2.0 applications."
"Adobe delivers key RIA technologies for Linux users, such as Adobe® Flash® Player and now Adobe AIR™, to deploy RIAs in the browser and on the desktop," said David McAllister, director of standards and open source at Adobe. "The Linux Foundation is a valuable resource, providing a forum where we can work with the community to ensure Adobe RIA technologies are compatible across the Linux software platform."
Today, application development is increasing on the Internet, where Linux is the platform of choice for Amazon, Facebook, Google, and many others. The Linux development community offers an active, collaborative environment where software developers can increase their innovation related to new web-based technologies and opportunities.
Asia Leads in 3G Adoption
The Asia-Pacific's 3G subscriber base is expected to top 564 million by 2013, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.
This accounts for about 18.2 percent of all mobile users.
The region was home to an estimated 158.4 million 3G subscribers last year and some 121 million the year before.
With 3G subscriber net additions in record numbers year-on-year, mobile operators are eager to monetise 3G external broadband devices, namely dongles and data cards, to complement their mobile broadband offerings.
This accounts for about 18.2 percent of all mobile users.
The region was home to an estimated 158.4 million 3G subscribers last year and some 121 million the year before.
With 3G subscriber net additions in record numbers year-on-year, mobile operators are eager to monetise 3G external broadband devices, namely dongles and data cards, to complement their mobile broadband offerings.
AMD Announces "Let the Games Begin"
AMD today announced the availability of Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games, which helps nonprofit organizations to create social issue games on such topics as the environment, energy consumption, poverty and health. Produced by Games for Change with support from the AMD Foundation's AMD Changing the Game initiative, the toolkit includes examples of successful games with social content as well as in-depth presentations by key game-design experts. The toolkit is free of charge and available at
The mission of AMD Changing the Game is to take gaming beyond entertainment and inspire youth to learn critical education and life skills by equipping them to create digital games with social content. The program focuses on 13 to 18-year-olds and emphasizes enriching the educational experience of disadvantaged youth.
"AMD Changing the Game has created excellent opportunities for students to express their views on the world while learning important life skills through the experience of creating digital games," said Allyson Peerman, president of the AMD Foundation. "The Let The Games Begin toolkit is an important resource to inform and educate organizations that are interested in using games as a medium for communicating about important social issues."
The mission of AMD Changing the Game is to take gaming beyond entertainment and inspire youth to learn critical education and life skills by equipping them to create digital games with social content. The program focuses on 13 to 18-year-olds and emphasizes enriching the educational experience of disadvantaged youth.
"AMD Changing the Game has created excellent opportunities for students to express their views on the world while learning important life skills through the experience of creating digital games," said Allyson Peerman, president of the AMD Foundation. "The Let The Games Begin toolkit is an important resource to inform and educate organizations that are interested in using games as a medium for communicating about important social issues."
Multiple Windows 7 versions
These pictures supposedly come from a new build of the Windows 7 beta, 7025. It goes without saying that while we knew this was a possibility, we've been seriously wishing against it. We hope these are fake (and they very well could be), but seriously Microsoft... don't even think about this.
First Ever iPhone Application for Insurance
2insure4less.com is pleased to unveil a new and easier way to get insurance quotes on the go. Insurance Shopper iPhone application is the first ever mobile phone application of its kind. Now iPhone and iPod Touch owners can receive insurance quotes directly through their mobile device.
This new application for iPhone and iPod Touch helps insurance shoppers in every part of the United States save money and find insurance quotes. Unlike many iPhone applications, Insurance Shopper is completely free. The Insurance Shopper application keeps consumers from having to conduct a time consuming search for affordable insurance quotes. Instead of tediously filling out online forms over and over again, the Insurance Shopper allows the consumer to input their information one time through the secure 2insure4less.com server and acquire the insurance quote they are looking for almost instantly.
This new application for iPhone and iPod Touch helps insurance shoppers in every part of the United States save money and find insurance quotes. Unlike many iPhone applications, Insurance Shopper is completely free. The Insurance Shopper application keeps consumers from having to conduct a time consuming search for affordable insurance quotes. Instead of tediously filling out online forms over and over again, the Insurance Shopper allows the consumer to input their information one time through the secure 2insure4less.com server and acquire the insurance quote they are looking for almost instantly.
AMD low-power chips headed for HP
Advanced Micro Devices on Monday released low-power and high-performance processors that will find their way into servers from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, and Rackable Systems. The new server processors are updated versions of AMD's 45-nanometer Shanghai processor.
"When we first came to market, we brought out the standard-power (Shanghai processors) because that's where the bulk of our market is," John Fruehe, the director of business development for server and workstation products at AMD, said in an interview. "As always, we follow(ed) up fairly quickly with the HE, which are the energy-efficient models, and the SE, which are the high-performance models."
The five new low-power 45-nanometer quad-core AMD Opteron HE processors operate at 55-watt ACP, or Average CPU Power (PDF). This standard differs from Intel's Thermal Design Power, or TDP, rating.
"TDP is much more conservative," Fruehe said. "The TDP on those (HE) processors is 79 watts," he said. But the "average customer is going to see them running in the mid-40s (ACP) range," Fruehe added.
Low-power HE processors, with speeds ranging from 2.1G
"When we first came to market, we brought out the standard-power (Shanghai processors) because that's where the bulk of our market is," John Fruehe, the director of business development for server and workstation products at AMD, said in an interview. "As always, we follow(ed) up fairly quickly with the HE, which are the energy-efficient models, and the SE, which are the high-performance models."
The five new low-power 45-nanometer quad-core AMD Opteron HE processors operate at 55-watt ACP, or Average CPU Power (PDF). This standard differs from Intel's Thermal Design Power, or TDP, rating.
"TDP is much more conservative," Fruehe said. "The TDP on those (HE) processors is 79 watts," he said. But the "average customer is going to see them running in the mid-40s (ACP) range," Fruehe added.
Low-power HE processors, with speeds ranging from 2.1G
GT627 Gaming Notebook by MSI
MSI has exclusively launch Turbo Drive Engine Technology, while the GT627 is in AC mode, just touch the turbo button above the keyboard and you can increase the speed of your CPU.
GT627 provides with the enormous 15.4" LCD monitor for your viewing pleasure, and achieves the ultimate realism experience whether you are playing games or watching a DVD.
Equipped with the best NVIDIA Geforce 9800M GS 3D graphic card (Build-in DDR3 1GB VRAM) and exclusive MSI vivid image enhancement technology, GT627 can create the most astonishingly realistic audio and visual effects. With 7.1 channel output, the GT627 presents rich sound effects ideal for multimedia applications.
GT627 provides with the enormous 15.4" LCD monitor for your viewing pleasure, and achieves the ultimate realism experience whether you are playing games or watching a DVD.
Equipped with the best NVIDIA Geforce 9800M GS 3D graphic card (Build-in DDR3 1GB VRAM) and exclusive MSI vivid image enhancement technology, GT627 can create the most astonishingly realistic audio and visual effects. With 7.1 channel output, the GT627 presents rich sound effects ideal for multimedia applications.
Mac Trojan horse in pirated Photoshop
A good method of deterrence in the fight against piracy? The security firm Intego, which warned last January 22 in the presence of a Trojan horse in iWork 09 versions circulating on P2P networks, has recently launched a new alert, this time on a variation of this threat, this time associated software Photoshop CS4 for Mac OS X.
Alongside OSX. Trojan.iServices.A, which would be placed in the heart of the operating system when installing iWork, there are now on BitTorrent OSX.Trojan.iServices.B located according to Intego within the crack accompanying the pirate version of software from Adobe.
Alongside OSX. Trojan.iServices.A, which would be placed in the heart of the operating system when installing iWork, there are now on BitTorrent OSX.Trojan.iServices.B located according to Intego within the crack accompanying the pirate version of software from Adobe.
Short-lived stealthy attacks
AVG Technologies, a leading developer of Internet security software, has released statistics that paint a scary picture of the way web-borne threats are developing. Unlike viruses, which make a point of being obvious and staying around for as long as they can, the primary characteristics of web infections today are stealth and transience – meaning they are secretive, short-lived, and fast-moving.
Today's online threats frequently appear briefly on an otherwise legitimate site, moving on to other sites before they can be identified and blocked. In other instances, the criminal element behind these threats simply sets up hundreds of seemingly-legitimate web sites with embedded infections, promotes them for a day or two, and then shuts them down, never to be seen again. The rate of appearance of these 'here today, gone tomorrow sites' is increasing - in just the past three months, AVG researchers have seen the average number of unique new infective sites appearing growing from 100,000-200,000 a day to 200,000-300,000 a day, a pattern that looks set to continue.
One example of a transient threat is malicious advertising – known as 'malverts'. Online criminals simply create and submit a 'malvert' to an advertising network, which then unwittingly distributes the malicious advert to hundreds of sites. Computer users clicking on these ads, or even simply exposed to them accidentally, can become infected with data-stealing spyware.
Today's online threats frequently appear briefly on an otherwise legitimate site, moving on to other sites before they can be identified and blocked. In other instances, the criminal element behind these threats simply sets up hundreds of seemingly-legitimate web sites with embedded infections, promotes them for a day or two, and then shuts them down, never to be seen again. The rate of appearance of these 'here today, gone tomorrow sites' is increasing - in just the past three months, AVG researchers have seen the average number of unique new infective sites appearing growing from 100,000-200,000 a day to 200,000-300,000 a day, a pattern that looks set to continue.
One example of a transient threat is malicious advertising – known as 'malverts'. Online criminals simply create and submit a 'malvert' to an advertising network, which then unwittingly distributes the malicious advert to hundreds of sites. Computer users clicking on these ads, or even simply exposed to them accidentally, can become infected with data-stealing spyware.
Apple Awarded Patent on Palm
Apple (AAPL) really does have a patent on multi-touch. And that could potentially be bad news for Palm (PALM), which is trying to reinvent itself with a multi-touch smartphone platform.
Specifically, the U.S. Patent Office approved Apple's patent number 7,479,949 on Jan. 20, which seems to include many of the multi-touch controls present in Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. (More details at Apple Insider.)
This explains Apple COO Tim Cook's comments on the company's earnings call the next night: "...We will not stand for having our IP ripped off. And we will use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal. I don't know that I can be any more clear than that."
"Apple interim chief executive Tim Cook recently promised to aggressively pursue any company or person who 'rips off' Apple's intellectual property, and this patent affords the Cupertino-based iPhone maker the footing it would need to mount any such defense," Spear reports. "Along with covering the iPhone, the patent filing is notable for referencing 40 other existing patents, and for naming Jobs first among its inventors."
The potential problem for Palm: Some of the text in Apple's patent sounds a lot like what Palm is building into its new WebOS platform and Palm Pre smartphone. Especially, as a commenter notes, a clause about a "touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output" -- sort of like the Palm Pre's "gesture area."
Specifically, the U.S. Patent Office approved Apple's patent number 7,479,949 on Jan. 20, which seems to include many of the multi-touch controls present in Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. (More details at Apple Insider.)
This explains Apple COO Tim Cook's comments on the company's earnings call the next night: "...We will not stand for having our IP ripped off. And we will use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal. I don't know that I can be any more clear than that."
"Apple interim chief executive Tim Cook recently promised to aggressively pursue any company or person who 'rips off' Apple's intellectual property, and this patent affords the Cupertino-based iPhone maker the footing it would need to mount any such defense," Spear reports. "Along with covering the iPhone, the patent filing is notable for referencing 40 other existing patents, and for naming Jobs first among its inventors."
The potential problem for Palm: Some of the text in Apple's patent sounds a lot like what Palm is building into its new WebOS platform and Palm Pre smartphone. Especially, as a commenter notes, a clause about a "touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output" -- sort of like the Palm Pre's "gesture area."
Microsoft Global High-Tech Summit
Media Alert: Microsoft Global High-Tech Summit Highlights How Manufacturers Can Survive and Thrive in a Challenging Economy
Industry summit brings together luminaries from every segment of the ecosystem to speak about business value realized from innovative IT solutions.
One-day summit is Microsoft Corp.'s premier high-tech manufacturing event for business and IT executives featuring keynote addresses from industry leaders and breakout sessions. Participants will learn how integrating new networks of partners, customers and end users can help them thrive in a time of digital convergence, sustainability demands and economic uncertainty. Session topics include the following:
- Leveraging Social Computing to Build Customer and Partner Networks
- Orchestrating the Transparent Supply Network
- Building and Managing an Innovation Network
By following members:
- Michael McNamara, CEO, Flextronics International
- Brian Tobey, corporate vice president of Manufacturing and Operations for Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft
- Clayton Christensen, best-selling author of "The Innovator's Dilemma" and professor of business administration at Harvard Business School
Sun Microsystems Unveils Latest in Line
Responding to market demand for more energy-efficient datacenters, Sun Microsystems, Inc., today announced the completion of its new Broomfield, Colo. datacenter. The largest datacenter consolidation project undertaken in the company's history, the Broomfield facility incorporates the latest in Sun's portfolio of energy-efficient systems and expertise, including breakthroughs in innovative datacenter design and power and cooling technologies. With this project, Sun estimates it will save more than $1 million in electricity costs and 11,000 metric tons of CO2 per year in Broomfield and will help Sun reduce its carbon footprint by 6 percent in the U.S. Sun also announced the availability of new datacenter efficiency services to help customers retrofit and build more efficient datacenters like Sun's Broomfield and Santa Clara datacenters. For more information on today's event, including photos and a video tour of the new datacenter.
The new Broomfield datacenter follows similar Sun projects completed in Blackwater, UK, Santa Clara, Calif. and Bangalore, India in August 2007. It builds on designs used in Sun's Santa Clara datacenter and features water savings, chemical reduction, free air cooling and flywheel uninterruptible power supply (UPS). As in Santa Clara, the Broomfield datacenter is based on Sun's Pod Architecture, which delivers dramatic footprint compression while still providing capacity for future growth. A full complement of Sun's high-performance, energy-efficient SPARC and x64 servers, Open Storage and tape products and the OpenSolaris Operating System are at the heart of the Broomfield datacenter. Specifics products include the Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440 and M5000 servers, as well as the SunStorageTek SL8500 modular library system, the Sun Fire X4500 storage server and Sun Storage 7000 Unified Storage Systems. These systems are part of a major hardware replacement program that led to a 66 percent space compression. In one example, Sun consolidated 63 servers and 30 direct attached storage devices to two Sun servers.
The new Broomfield datacenter follows similar Sun projects completed in Blackwater, UK, Santa Clara, Calif. and Bangalore, India in August 2007. It builds on designs used in Sun's Santa Clara datacenter and features water savings, chemical reduction, free air cooling and flywheel uninterruptible power supply (UPS). As in Santa Clara, the Broomfield datacenter is based on Sun's Pod Architecture, which delivers dramatic footprint compression while still providing capacity for future growth. A full complement of Sun's high-performance, energy-efficient SPARC and x64 servers, Open Storage and tape products and the OpenSolaris Operating System are at the heart of the Broomfield datacenter. Specifics products include the Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440 and M5000 servers, as well as the SunStorageTek SL8500 modular library system, the Sun Fire X4500 storage server and Sun Storage 7000 Unified Storage Systems. These systems are part of a major hardware replacement program that led to a 66 percent space compression. In one example, Sun consolidated 63 servers and 30 direct attached storage devices to two Sun servers.
HP Makes Professional Marketing Services
HP today announced the availability of MarketSplash by HP, a one-stop, web-based shop that provides small businesses some of the industry's lowest prices and fastest delivery times for brand marketing services such as professional-quality design and print fulfillment.
The launch of MarketSplash by HP follows a successful beta test with Nestlé Confections & Snacks, which recently used MarketSplash offerings to create new packaging designs for its classic brands GOOBERS®, SNO-CAPS® and OH HENRY!®. America can now vote for its favorite new designs via "A Delicious Dilemma," an online sweepstakes.
HP also introduced convenient same-day pickup at Copy and Print centers in Staples stores(1) and a free business card offer. HP is licensing the MarketSplash platform and application to retailers for co-branding.
"MarketSplash helps small businesses create the high impact look of a big company without requiring the resources of one," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "As part of our Print 2.0 strategy, MarketSplash helps customers easily and affordably access professional design services from the web and print how, where and when they want."
The launch of MarketSplash by HP follows a successful beta test with Nestlé Confections & Snacks, which recently used MarketSplash offerings to create new packaging designs for its classic brands GOOBERS®, SNO-CAPS® and OH HENRY!®. America can now vote for its favorite new designs via "A Delicious Dilemma," an online sweepstakes.
HP also introduced convenient same-day pickup at Copy and Print centers in Staples stores(1) and a free business card offer. HP is licensing the MarketSplash platform and application to retailers for co-branding.
"MarketSplash helps small businesses create the high impact look of a big company without requiring the resources of one," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "As part of our Print 2.0 strategy, MarketSplash helps customers easily and affordably access professional design services from the web and print how, where and when they want."
Hi-gain Compact dongle Wireless-n Usb Adapter
Hawking Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of innovative wired and Hi-Gain wireless networking solutions for home, workgroup, and corporate users, announced that it has begun shipping their Mac and PC compatible Hi-Gain compact Wireless-N WiFi USB networking adapter with a removable antenna for easy antenna upgrading.
"The HWUN3 is the most versatile Hi-Gain network adapter on the market. Using the latest in 802.11n technology, the HWUN3 is capable of delivering fast wireless data transfers from a small form factor. This speed and size combined with upgradable antennas, allows users to customize the adapter to solve any WiFi range issue they have. Whether it's a user in a RV park trying to boost a connection to the park's WiFi hotspot or a home owner that wants to connect a user to the backhouse, the HWUN3 is versatile enough to meet the demands of most WiFi trouble spot scenarios by allowing the user to choose from our wide range of Hi-Gain WiFi Range Extending solutions and small enough for anyone to travel with. In addition the HWUN3 supports both Mac and PC users." says Jason Owen, Marketing Manager at Hawking Technologies.
The HWUN3 connects to your notebook or desktop computer using a USB 2.0 connection and features a removable Hi-Gain Wi-Fi Antenna for strong out of the box performance. Hawking Technologies offers a wide range of Hi-Gain™ indoor antennas and Hi-Gain™ outdoor antennas that are compatible with the HWUN3 and can boost a wireless connection up to 600%.
The Hi-Gain™ compact Wireless-N USB Adapter features a small "dongle" form factor for mobility and versatility. Advanced Security features and support for WPA and WPA2 ensure that all data is well encrypted and secure. The combination of the latest security, speed and range options make the HWUN3 the most versatile compact Wireless-N network adapter on the market.
"The HWUN3 is the most versatile Hi-Gain network adapter on the market. Using the latest in 802.11n technology, the HWUN3 is capable of delivering fast wireless data transfers from a small form factor. This speed and size combined with upgradable antennas, allows users to customize the adapter to solve any WiFi range issue they have. Whether it's a user in a RV park trying to boost a connection to the park's WiFi hotspot or a home owner that wants to connect a user to the backhouse, the HWUN3 is versatile enough to meet the demands of most WiFi trouble spot scenarios by allowing the user to choose from our wide range of Hi-Gain WiFi Range Extending solutions and small enough for anyone to travel with. In addition the HWUN3 supports both Mac and PC users." says Jason Owen, Marketing Manager at Hawking Technologies.
The HWUN3 connects to your notebook or desktop computer using a USB 2.0 connection and features a removable Hi-Gain Wi-Fi Antenna for strong out of the box performance. Hawking Technologies offers a wide range of Hi-Gain™ indoor antennas and Hi-Gain™ outdoor antennas that are compatible with the HWUN3 and can boost a wireless connection up to 600%.
The Hi-Gain™ compact Wireless-N USB Adapter features a small "dongle" form factor for mobility and versatility. Advanced Security features and support for WPA and WPA2 ensure that all data is well encrypted and secure. The combination of the latest security, speed and range options make the HWUN3 the most versatile compact Wireless-N network adapter on the market.
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Dell launches XP Mini 10 netbook
Dell's new Inspiron Mini 10 netbook is pre-orderable from the QVC
consumer shopping site about a week before Dell starts taking advance
orders on its own Web site.
consumer shopping site about a week before Dell starts taking advance
orders on its own Web site.
Initially sold preloaded with Windows XP, with Vista and Ubuntu Linux
editions to follow, the 2.86-pound Mini 10 features a 10.1-inch
widescreen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio; a multi-touch gestures
touchpad; a 160 GB hard drive; 1 GB of RAM standard; internal Wi-Fi;
and a built-in webcam.
Other features include HDMI output; Dell Remote Access, for linking
home-based digital materials with Web-connected devices; and online
cloud-based file storage, ranging from a free basic plan with 2 GB of
storage space to 100 GB.
Microsoft made the promo for Snow
Microsoft, which the United States illustrates every day the front
page of its search engine a different illustration, chose Thursday to
use as a background image . a photo of a snow leopard, snow leopard or
in English, a term which is the code name of the future version of the
operating system from Apple!
page of its search engine a different illustration, chose Thursday to
use as a background image . a photo of a snow leopard, snow leopard or
in English, a term which is the code name of the future version of the
operating system from Apple!
What fly has stung Microsoft? The reference to Mac OS X is likely to
have escaped to the employee in charge of the selection of these
images, but the geeks, they have not gone along. Very quickly,
screenshots and comments circulated fun blogs and forums to major U.S.
media, all of which were echoed in this story.
Others try to make sense of what probably did not. A fertile
imagination and suppose that this illustration is that the signs of a
rapprochement between Microsoft and Apple, so Live Search is
implemented as default search engine in Snow Leopard.
__________________
Microsoft.com, Live, MSN incompatible
One of the main criticisms of Internet Explorer browser - except that
it is distributed directly with Windows - is support for web standards
regulated by the W3C.
it is distributed directly with Windows - is support for web standards
regulated by the W3C.
The development team of Internet Explorer 8 has repeatedly stated that
the rendering engine embedded in the browser has been redesigned from
the ground up to meet this demand. However, since many sites have been
coded with the concern to be compatible with older versions of the
browser, the Redmond company has made available a feature called
Compatibility View that uses the engine of Internet Explorer 7. The
user can enable this option when surfing a website with errors
display.
The Compatibility View option is combined with an XML file,
referencing 2400 to date websites that problems arise with the new
rendering engine of Internet Explorer 8. Among them we find, among
others, Google.com, Yahoo.com, Amazon.com, ebay.com, but also
Apple.com Live.com, MSN.com and Microsoft.com same. Last month, the
publication of the Release Candidate of Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft
has proposed to download a list of sites in question for users of
Windows XP and Windows Vista.
For several months, Microsoft invites web developers to revise the
code of their websites or to add a tag that will add to the list of
sites listed as not compatible. Some advocates of web standards
criticize this practice and believe that if some sites were poorly
coded, it is precisely because previous versions of Internet Explorer.
For now, it appears that Microsoft has decided not to activate the
compatibility mode by default, or embed the list of sites not
identified by the testers. Here is the official description of the
list:
Microsoft Visual Studio to boost
Developers building solutions based on Microsoft's SharePoint
collaboration and business process platform will gain expanded support
in the planned Visual Studio 2010 development environment, which will
feature templates and an extensibility API, a Microsoft official said
in a blog on Thursday.
collaboration and business process platform will gain expanded support
in the planned Visual Studio 2010 development environment, which will
feature templates and an extensibility API, a Microsoft official said
in a blog on Thursday.
Currently, developers can use Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 to develop
for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint
Services 3.0, said S. "Soma" Somaseger, senior vice president of the
Microsoft developer division, in his blog. Developers also can use
Visual Studio for Windows SharePoint Services or third-party tools, he
said.
"In Visual Studio 2010, we?re going to expand SharePoint support in
two key areas. First, Visual Studio 2010 will deliver a broad set of
project templates, designers, and deployment infrastructure that will
make any .Net developer instantly more productive on the SharePoint
platform," Somasegar said. "Second, we are exposing an extensibility
API that will continue to foster the ecosystem of third-party
developers who create development tools and technologies."
Visual Studio 2010, Somasegar said, will boost developers via project
and items templates. "You'll be able to use these to quickly create or
update SharePoint elements, such as list definitions, list instances,
site definitions, workflows, event receivers, Business Data Catalog
models, and content types," he said.
AVG’s Internet Security SBS Edition Recognized
AVG Technologies, a global anti-virus and Internet security software
provider, announced that AVG Internet Security SBS Edition was
selected as a finalist for Best SME Security Solution by SC Magazine
UK. SC Magazine and a panel of security experts reviewed security
products in over a dozen categories for SC Magazine Awards Europe
2009.
provider, announced that AVG Internet Security SBS Edition was
selected as a finalist for Best SME Security Solution by SC Magazine
UK. SC Magazine and a panel of security experts reviewed security
products in over a dozen categories for SC Magazine Awards Europe
2009.
SC Magazine Awards Europe 2009 will reward excellence and innovation
within IT security. Winners will be announced and the presentation
will take place on Tuesday 28 April at the Hurlingham Club, Ranelagh
Gardens, in the UK. AVG Internet Security SBS Edition delivers
easy-to-use protection for Microsoft Windows Small Business Server
networks. It allows small businesses to focus on their business while
minimizing IT requirements. The combination of AVG's new intelligent
real-time scanner technology, comprehensive web shield, and high-speed
automatic updates ensures that protection occurs around the clock.
Benefits include:
Easy to use and manage
Protection against viruses, spyware, adware, hackers and spam
Protection for workstations, file servers and e-mail servers
Centralized installation and configuration
Free support and service around the clock and across the globe
Specially-designed for Microsoft Windows Small Business Servers
AVG Internet Security SBS Edition is a global product, supporting 15
different languages. "We're honored that SC Magazine has named AVG
Internet Security SBS Edition a finalist for Best SME Security
Solution," said Karel Obluk, CTO of AVG Technologies. "AVG Internet
Security SBS provides outstanding business protection for small
businesses. We have also recently received award recognition for AVG
Enterprise Security Network Edition. These demonstrate that we are
more than just a consumer security company. We provide multiple layers
of superior protection for both business and consumers."
IBM "Serious Game" Provides Training
IBM today announced INNOV8 v.2, a new version of its "serious game"
that helps students and professionals hone their business and
technology skills in a compelling, familiar video game format.
that helps students and professionals hone their business and
technology skills in a compelling, familiar video game format.
Serious games are at the cusp of widespread adoption within all
sectors of business and government, from military flight simulators to
corporate training. According to The Apply Group, by 2012, between 100
and 135 of the Global Fortune 500 will have adopted gaming for
learning, with the United States, United Kingdom and Germany leading
the way.
Building on the success of the original INNOV8 in the academic
community, INNOV8 v.2 will be available at no cost to businesses and
academic institutions for simulations and training. The new version
features puzzles and tasks that challenge players to tackle real-world
challenges. INNOV8 v.2 delivers a complete redesign of the game, with
a new global collaboration feature for players to work with virtual
teammates to progress to the next level of the game. In addition,
three new game scenarios reflect a new level of intelligence required
for future, high-value job opportunities:
"Business simulations allow companies t
Sunday 12 June 2011
Digital Chocolate Finds Eager New Game
Record-setting performance by five new Digital Chocolate games is
establishing an original kind of "impulse" game that is reaching a
vast new audience on platforms like the iPhone, Digital Chocolate, a
quality leader in mobile gaming, announced today.
establishing an original kind of "impulse" game that is reaching a
vast new audience on platforms like the iPhone, Digital Chocolate, a
quality leader in mobile gaming, announced today.
Three consecutive game releases -- Crazy Penguin Catapult, Tower
Bloxx, and Brick Breaker Revolution -- have attracted a new category
of gamers whose enthusiasm for these new kinds of games has propelled
each of the Digital Chocolate offerings to the number one overall app
download rank on the Apple App Store since January. And, despite being
live on the App Store for less than 100 days, Digital Chocolate's five
games - available in both free and premium versions - have been
downloaded more than 8,000,000 times.
Samsung launches movies to mobiles service
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd launched a service allowing its customers
to buy or rent movies and TV series to download to their mobile
phones.
to buy or rent movies and TV series to download to their mobile
phones.
The breadth of Samsung's offering, which includes over 500
blockbusters from top studios Warner Bros MTWX.N, Paramount and
Universal, makes it competitive with other mobile media offerings from
Apple Inc and Nokia Oyj.
Samsung Movies, a dedicated virtual store for Samsung customers,
launches initially in Britain and Germany and will extend to other key
European markets later in the year, Samsung said in a statement.
The service will be compatible only with video-enabled Samsung phones,
such as its new Tocco Ultra Edition. But Samsung plans to expand the
service to notebooks, MP3 and MP4 portable music players, and Samsung
TVs.
Samsung Movies will use technology from privately owned digital movie
retailer Acetrax, which holds agreements with film studios and music
labels.Samsung said it would double its titles to 1,000 by the end of
the first quarter and again to 2,000 movies and TV shows by the end of
June.UK-based research firm CCS Insight said in a note: "The move is
tangible progress in (Samsung's) convergence strategy and a first step
in delivering consumer services to rival those from the likes of Nokia
and Sony Ericsson.
Internet Explorer 8 soon distributed via Windows
Yesterday, Microsoft made available for download the new version of
Internet Explorer for Windows XP and Vista. Besides improvements in
the stability and security, the browser has a new rendering engine
friendly web standards.
Internet Explorer for Windows XP and Vista. Besides improvements in
the stability and security, the browser has a new rendering engine
friendly web standards.
Internet Explorer 8 should be available via Windows Update update
priority from 23 March to testers and from April 13 for all Internet
users. Thereafter, the software will be distributed by Automatic
Update on 27 April.
On receiving the new version, many users are likely to be surprised by
the engine of Internet Explorer when it will go on sites optimized for
previous versions of the browser. Remains whether this will affect the
market share of Internet Explorer, will slow the adoption of the final
draft or a movement to help standardize the websites.
__________________
Windows Internet Explorer 8 Brings New Opportunities
At MIX09, Microsoft Corp.'s Web designer and developer conference,
Microsoft announced the global availability of Windows Internet
Explorer 8, providing better performance, easier Web development tools
for enhanced browser experiences and improved security and
reliability. In Thursday's keynote address, Dean Hachamovitch, general
manager of the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft, showcased
solutions from industry partners such as ESPN, eBay Inc., Digg Inc.,
Facebook and OneRiot that create new value for their customers.
Microsoft announced the global availability of Windows Internet
Explorer 8, providing better performance, easier Web development tools
for enhanced browser experiences and improved security and
reliability. In Thursday's keynote address, Dean Hachamovitch, general
manager of the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft, showcased
solutions from industry partners such as ESPN, eBay Inc., Digg Inc.,
Facebook and OneRiot that create new value for their customers.
"With the Internet Explorer 8 platform, Microsoft creates
opportunities for Web sites to engage customers in new ways and drive
not only more traffic, but also more value in the online experience,"
Hachamovitch said.
New Opportunities for Developers
Developers will benefit from performance features that enable Web
sites to allow customers to engage more deeply with their site
content. Accelerators and Web Slices make it easier for developers to
reach beyond the page and provide new ways for people to stay
connected to the content and services of their choice. Internet
Explorer 8 has enhanced search features and capabilities to provide
more interesting and relevant content, increased speed, and enhanced
security, and offers greater performance and reliability.
"Internet Explorer 8 is the perfect platform to consume search results
from the real-time social Web," said Tobias Peggs, general manager,
OneRiot. "We have developed new search services and Web Slices for
Internet Explorer 8 that enable our users to easily find the news,
stories and videos that people are buzzing about right now. We have
found that Web Slices help bring users to our site 18 percent more per
day than average."
"The new features in Internet Explorer 8 allow fans convenient
one-click access to the latest ESPN video and sports headlines," said
Jason Guenther, vice president, technology and product development,
ESPN Digital Media. "With Web Slices available on many pages of our
site, including team Clubhouse pages and select sport pages, we can
add to the easy ways fans can connect with sports news and their
favorite games and teams."
Prime XBox 360 units in Jasper trade
"The site XBox-scene came into possession of an XBox 360 type Jasper.
It reveals some details. "
It reveals some details. "
They had to be launched last August, but obviously there was a delay
in production. There is talk of the XBox 360 of the Jasper family,
symbol that identifies the latest evolutionary step in Microsoft's
console. Jasper introduce the new GPU mainly carried out with
constructive process to 65 nanometers (in earlier XBox 360 is 90
nanometers).
According to the site XBox-scene, Microsoft had thought of a new power
supply units, power slightly lower than the previous year. It would
have fallen, in fact, from 175 to 150 W. The cable connection of power
would be different than the previous year, in order to avoid
installing new PSU in the old console.
The reduction of power was allowed by the hardware more efficiently
due to the improved process of construction. Microsoft has thought to
introduce a higher amount of flash memory on board the XBox 360
Arcade: If these previously had 16 MB, now have 256 MB. This was
necessary because of the introduction of new dashboard that is part of
XBox New Experience, more demanding in terms of the previous data to
be stored.
XBox always second-scenes distribution of RAM on the motherboard of
the console Jasper would be two different types. In some console two
RAM chips would be at the top of the motherboard and another two at
the bottom. In other consoles, however, the four chips would be near
the top of the motherboard and chip would be high density.
The production of the console XBox 360 Jasper began last May.
Microsoft does not officially announced in the dates of distribution
of the new evolutionary step of the console, but according to rumors
on the market debut of Jasper was to take place during August.
XBox-scene, however, suggests that the first units Jasper are
available to users for a short time.
STMicroelectronics Introduces Single-Chip Set-Top
STMicroelectronics, the world's leading supplier of silicon chips for
set-top boxes (STBs), has introduced two new single-chip STB ICs that
enable manufacturers to increase product performance and implement
added-value features using fewer components. The STi5197 for cable
STBs and STi5189 for satellite STBs share a common architecture and
are software compatible, enabling efficient development and fast
time-to-market for products such as basic zappers, interactive and
DVR-capable STBs, and hybrid STBs.
set-top boxes (STBs), has introduced two new single-chip STB ICs that
enable manufacturers to increase product performance and implement
added-value features using fewer components. The STi5197 for cable
STBs and STi5189 for satellite STBs share a common architecture and
are software compatible, enabling efficient development and fast
time-to-market for products such as basic zappers, interactive and
DVR-capable STBs, and hybrid STBs.
The STi5197 includes a QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)
demodulator and the STi5189 includes a QPSK (quadrature phase-shift
keying) demodulator, and both products have a common architecture for
MPEG-2 audio/video-decoding and application-processing functions. The
common architecture saves product development time, lowers
bill-of-material costs, and simplifies pc-board design to deliver
highly price-competitive products into global markets. Each device
supports relevant cable or satellite broadcast standards. The STi5197
supports DVB-C including ITU-T J83 Annexes A/B/C, and TSMF (Transport
Stream Multiplex Frame). The STi5189 supports DVB-S for satellite. All
industry-standard middleware and browsers are also supported.
Both ICs support all major conditional-access security schemes, with
integrated DVB, DES (Data Encryption Standard), Multi2 and ICAM
(Integrated Conditional Access Module) descramblers as well as a
built-in smart-card interface, which will help to broaden markets for
pay-TV services.
"The STi5197 sets a new industry standard for secure, mass-market
set-top boxes, reinforcing the outstanding success of the ST's OMEGA
family of MPEG2 decoders," said Philippe Lambinet Executive VP of Home
Entertainment and Display group. "It will bring further cost
reductions for manufacturers while giving viewers the advanced
connectivity features they now expect as standard, while respecting
low power requirements."
Additional features common to both devices include an interface to
off-chip Flash memory, enabling support for a PVR-type time-shift
feature without requiring a hard disk drive. The USB interface
provided is ideal for general connectivity including implementing
DVR-enabled STBs. An Ethernet interface is also integrated enabling
manufacturers to build hybrid STBs on the same platform. There is also
an integrated audio subsystem providing digital and analog outputs and
supporting MP3 and Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding.
Bank information in Google's cache
In Australia, the seller of a store has discovered a security bug in
the search engine Google. The vulnerability in question allows to
reveal bank information passing through a payment gateway.
the search engine Google. The vulnerability in question allows to
reveal bank information passing through a payment gateway.
The information was laid bare via Google's cache. Besides the number
of credit cards can be accessed at its expiry date and the name and
address of the owner. In all 000 are 22 cards that have been
identified (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Solo, Switch, Delta
and Maestro / Cirrus), most of which belong to customers in the U.S.
and British or Australian.
"I received a notification Google for an article," says the employee
who discovered the problem, then adds: "After having visited the page
I found myself in a virtual directory with many files. It seems that
the site was a payment gateway managing the financial transactions of
various online shops."
This is not the first time Google is accused in a case of safety.
Indeed, in May 2007, it was revealed that a small script to search
credit cards directly within the engine.
An investigation was opened by the police.
New companies to hit market despite Economy
With many established businesses just trying to survive, you might not
think it's a good time to start a company, let alone ask anyone for
money to help get it rolling. But if a series of presentations from
fledgling Silicon Valley startups is any indication, innovation is not
braking for the recession.
think it's a good time to start a company, let alone ask anyone for
money to help get it rolling. But if a series of presentations from
fledgling Silicon Valley startups is any indication, innovation is not
braking for the recession.
Over three hours Wednesday, more than a dozen startup founders — most
of them in their 20s — gave rapid-fire talks to a group of peers,
journalists and potential investors about their companies.
Many of these startups are just a few months old, and some have not
yet launched. Those on display ranged from an online marketplace
selling gourmet treats to a company offering Web-based voice
conferencing. Another is developing dating applications for the
iPhone.
The presentations comprised "Demo Day," an event held twice a year by
Mountain View-based Y Combinator, which provides startups with small
amounts of initial funding (usually $5,000, plus $5,000 per founder)
in exchange for small ownership stakes. Since its inception in 2005, Y
Combinator has funded about 40 startups each year; it hopes to use a
recent $2 million infusion from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital
and other investments to bump the number up to 60 per year.
The startups on display, all of which were funded by Y Combinator in
January, had the same goals: Show people what you've been working on,
and possibly get some money from an angel investor or venture capital
firm to take your idea to the next level.
Safari hacked in seconds; IE8 & Firefox fall
Security researcher Charlie Miller has shown how he can hack into a
MacBook notebook in a matter of seconds, via a Safari exploit that
currently remains unaddressed. The demonstration was part of Pwn2Own
2009, a competition in which hackers attempt to break various
platforms in the fastest time possible, taking away both a prize fund
(in Miller's case $10,000) and the machine they hacked.
MacBook notebook in a matter of seconds, via a Safari exploit that
currently remains unaddressed. The demonstration was part of Pwn2Own
2009, a competition in which hackers attempt to break various
platforms in the fastest time possible, taking away both a prize fund
(in Miller's case $10,000) and the machine they hacked.
PWN2OWN is a live hacking contest at which many of the best security
researchers in the world attempt to crack the products you run every
day live for cash prizes. Actually, in this case some of the versions
of products are a little ahead of what you run, just to make it as
challenging as possible.
On a Sony Vaio running Windows 7 the following browsers will be
attacked: IE8, Firefox, Chrome, followed by the Safari and Firefox
browser running on a Mac.
On day 1 of the contest, hackers must attack a default installation
with no added plugins. On day 2 Flash, Java, .Net, and QuickTime are
added and the "attack surface" is much greater. On day 3 popular apps
such as Acrobat Reader are added. For these browser tests, success
means code execution within context of the application.
Success is defined as either "loss of information (user data)" or
"incur financial cost".For his exploits Nils won a cash prize and the
Sony Vaio used in the contest.
Google Street View images removed after privacy
US software giant Google said Friday it had removed several images
from its Street View software, which allows web surfers to view parts
of 25 British cities, after users raised privacy concerns.
from its Street View software, which allows web surfers to view parts
of 25 British cities, after users raised privacy concerns.
Street View displays 360-degree ground-level images captured by
roaming cars using digital photography equipment.
The cars began taking images last summer, and continue to capture
images across the country, allowing the service to expand after its
launch here on Thursday.
Just 24 hours after its release in Britain, however, Google said it
had removed several pictures, including ones that users found
embarrassing, such as one of a man leaving a sex shop in central
London's Soho neighbourhood, or another one of a man vomiting outside
a pub in the east of the British capital.
A spokeswoman for the American Internet company declined to confirm
the precise number of photos that were removed, but said it had been
"less than expected."
Google says it has developed sophisticated software that ensures that
individual's faces and vehicle license plates are blurred.
Penn National Gaming Provides Update on Empress
Penn National Gaming, Inc. reported today that its Empress Casino in
Joliet, Illinois has been temporarily closed following a fire that
started earlier this morning in the land-based pavilion at the
facility that includes the employee offices. The fire began in an area
of the property that was undergoing construction as part of a million
renovation at the property, which included upgrades to certain food
and beverage offerings, and was contained on the land-side of the
property before it could spread to the adjacent casino barge.
Joliet, Illinois has been temporarily closed following a fire that
started earlier this morning in the land-based pavilion at the
facility that includes the employee offices. The fire began in an area
of the property that was undergoing construction as part of a million
renovation at the property, which included upgrades to certain food
and beverage offerings, and was contained on the land-side of the
property before it could spread to the adjacent casino barge.
Penn National continues to assess the damage caused by the fire and
plans to have a team comprised of operational and construction
personnel review the property as quickly as possible following
clearance from local fire and public safety officials. A command
center has been established on site at the property's hotel. The
Company is currently unable to provide an estimate on a re-opening
date for the property
Livedrive Launches Unlimited Online Storage
Livedrive has today announced the launch of its revolutionary online
storage service.
storage service.
Livedrive allows customers to store all their files - including office
documents, photos, videos and any other type of file online instead of
on their computer's hard disk. Andrew Michael, CEO, commented:
"60% of people now have more than one computer. With a growing number
of people having more than one device - such as a desktop computer, a
netbook and PDA - it no longer makes sense to store files individually
on each device. People want all their files together in one place that
is accessible from any device."
Online storage is an industry forecast to grow 500% by 2012 (source:
Gartner). Livedrive acquired over 1 million users during the public
beta programme and offers many benefits over traditional storage:
Access files from anywhere, on any device - no more e-mailing
files to yourself or using USB sticks;
Data is stored in carrier grade data centres and backup up - if you
lose your computer you don't lose your files;
Work online - Livedrive provides a web portal where users can
open,view and edit most common files, including Microsoft Office
documents, from any computer with an Internet connection; and
Unlimited storage - Livedrive is the only company offering
unlimited storage, meaning customers will never run out of space.
Unlike other online storage providers, which are purely web-based,
Livedrive offers customers a unique software application that can be
installed on any computer, allowing them to access their Livedrive
storage as a normal drive -just like a USB stick or external hard
drive. Andrew Michael commented:
"If people are going to use online storage, they need to be able to
view their files, create files and save files on their computer, just
like they do with their normal hard drive. We are first to market with
a working service that allows people to do this. Our customers get an
'L:' drive where they can access all their online files directly.
Google have been rumoured to be working on a product called Gdrive for
years that does this - our product is available today."
Nintendo DSI encourages developers to create
Nintendo, on the Nintendo Developer Conference encouraged developers
have not only games for the new DSI, but also other applications. That
would be sold through the online DSI Shop.
have not only games for the new DSI, but also other applications. That
would be sold through the online DSI Shop.
Visitors to the Nintendo Developer Conference, recently held in London
was, according to Develop Nintendo told that more applications for the
new DSI is needed. The conference, which is only accessible to
developers, Nintendo would not just more games for the new handheld
asked: Nintendo hopes that developers other applications for the DSI
will build.
Games and other applications can be sold via the DSI Shop, on April 3
- together with the European launch of the DSI - is put online.
Nintendo seems to follow the example of Apple, via the App Store
applications for the iPhone sells . The Japanese version of the DSI
Shop is already online. The only real example of such a third-party
application, Namco Bandai's Mojipittan Shiritori Clock, which was
recently released in Japan. In theory, developers would be able to use
the DSi's microphone, camera and multimedia capabilities to create
these bite-sized and relatively cheap apps.
Nvidia pulls plug from Hybrid Power technology
Nvidia gives future desktop video cards no longer support Hybrid
Power. According to the manufacturer, the energy-saving technology has
little value because the new cards are already efficient.
Power. According to the manufacturer, the energy-saving technology has
little value because the new cards are already efficient.
Hybrid Power is part of Hybrid SLI, the technology that Nvidia
introduced in January last year to the IGP of certain Nvidia chipsets
with a Geforce card to combine. Besides better performance Hybrid SLI
for a reduction of energy consumption thanks to Hybrid Power is the
graphics card off if there is no 3d-intensive tasks need to be.
The last January launched Geforce GTX285 and GTX295 support not Hybrid
Power. Other cards that Nvidia has in the pipeline are, must do
without the energy-saving functionality. "We have Hybrid Power for the
desktop, since the user experience is no longer substantially improved
thanks to the improved idle consumption of Nvidia's latest graphics
cards," says Nvidia-Marketing Sean Cleveland. Is also possible that
Microsoft has stated that support for the current hybrid GPU
technologies in Windows 7 is still not stable, while the Nvidia
partners are not happy with the extra costs for Hybrid SLI. Nvidia
remains notebook GPUs support for Hybrid Power show.
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VirtualBox 2.2 Beta 1 for Linux Guests add
Sun released the day before yesterday at the open source virtual
machine software VirtualBox 2.2 Beta 1 for testing of its users. As a
major update, the version for the U.S. brought some exciting new
features, including the long-awaited Linux guests in support of the
OpenGL 3d accelerated.
machine software VirtualBox 2.2 Beta 1 for testing of its users. As a
major update, the version for the U.S. brought some exciting new
features, including the long-awaited Linux guests in support of the
OpenGL 3d accelerated.
VirtualBox 2.2 Beta 1 at adding new features include:
Supported import / export OVF (Open Virtualization Format) appliance
Host-only network model
Optimize Hypervisor
The newly created virtual machine is enabled by default when
VT-x/AMD-V and USB (OHCI & EHCI) (Qt GUI only)
OpenSolaris hosts for experimental USB support
For Solaris and OpenSolaris guests shared folder support
For Linux guests in support of the OpenGL 3d accelerated
For OS X 10.6 hosts running on 64-bit and 32-bit kernel support
for the experimental
Furthermore, VirtualBox 2.2 Beta 1 also fixes a lot of bug.
Recession casts shadow over video game
The video game industry is holding up, but the gloom of the recession
will be on the minds of thousands of people at this week's Game
Developers Conference in San Francisco, a key event for video game
insiders looking to learn new skills, showcase innovations and if
they're lucky enough, find work.
will be on the minds of thousands of people at this week's Game
Developers Conference in San Francisco, a key event for video game
insiders looking to learn new skills, showcase innovations and if
they're lucky enough, find work.
Bolstered by an ever-expanding audience that is turning to games for
cheaper entertainment, video games are benefiting in some ways from
the economic turmoil. Yet the industry is not completely immune, with
layoffs and closings of studios that produce games. Electronic Arts
Inc., the game publisher behind the "Madden" football series, is
cutting 1,000 jobs, most by the end of this month.
Meggan Scavio, the Game Developers Conference's event director,
expects attendance to be slightly down this year from last year's
18,000 people. When game studios cut back, she noted, travel and
training budgets are among the first to go. She also expects fewer,
more informal parties.
"It's kind of like let's celebrate, but do it quietly," she said.
Even amid the recession's pall, this is a fertile time for video
games. Blockbuster games with intricate story lines and movie-quality
graphics have become popular entertainment for millions. Technological
advancements like digital distribution are making it easier for new
developers to get their games into players' hands. People are playing
games on more platforms than ever — on their mobile phones and
handheld systems, on social networks like Facebook and on consoles not
just in their living rooms but in bars and retirement homes.
Australian Internet 'blacklist' prompts
A whistle-blower organization claims a secret list of Web sites that
Australian authorities are proposing to ban includes such innocuous
destinations as a dentist's office.
Australian authorities are proposing to ban includes such innocuous
destinations as a dentist's office.
Australia's government denied that the list — published by renegade
Web site Wikileaks.org — was the same as a blacklist run by the
Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA. However, a
manager at the dentist's office said the ACMA had confirmed her site's
inclusion on the ban list.
Wikileaks' publication of the list this week reignited a debate over
whether a government proposal to impose an Internet filter for all
Australians could have unintended consequences for innocent
businesses.
The list in question is provided to the creators of Internet filtering
software that people can opt to install on their computers. But
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has proposed mandating that
Australian Internet service providers implement the list, which would
make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among
democratic countries. Several Internet providers are conducting trials
of the filter through June.
The authority says the list largely contains the addresses of Web
sites promoting child pornography and sexual violence, but it has
refused to release its contents publicly.
The proposal has prompted protests across the country, with critics
slamming it as censorship. Internet providers argued that a filter
could slow browsing speeds, and pointed out that illegal material such
as child pornography can be traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats,
which would not be covered by the filter.
On its site, Wikileaks accused Australia of "acting like a democratic
backwater," and said "Australian democracy must not be permitted to
sleep with this loaded gun." The site — which casts itself as an
outlet for "untraceable mass document leaking and analysis," with a
focus on exposing oppressive regimes and unethical behavior — did not
explain how it obtained the purported blacklist.
Broadcom Announces Industry’s First Cable
Broadcom Corporation ,a global leader in semiconductors for wired and
wireless communications, today announced two new cable set-top box
(STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that address the growing demand
for digital cable services in China.
wireless communications, today announced two new cable set-top box
(STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that address the growing demand
for digital cable services in China.
These cable STB solutions feature the industry's first integrated high
performance DVB-C cable tuner developed in 65 nanometer (nm)
technology, and with integrated advanced security and sophisticated
power management, enable manufacturers to develop next generation,
cost effective and power efficient STBs. For interactive applications,
one solution - the BCM7003 - includes a 10/100 Fast Ethernet media
access controller (MAC) that enables two-way interactive services such
as video-on-demand (VoD), digital video recorder (DVR) functionality
and Internet browsing. Broadcom's new STB SoC solutions will be
demonstrated at this week's China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN)
Conference in Broadcom's booth #3501.
According to In-Stat market research, the transition to digital cable
TV in China entered its fifth phase in mid-2008 and continues to
rapidly proceed in virtually all areas of the country. More than 37
million people subscribe to digital cable in China and more than 70
municipalities have completed their upgrade to digital services. With
phenomenal growth (total STB shipments reached 11 million units by
mid-2008 doubling 2007 shipments), new STB technology continues to be
required for Chinese cable operators as they continue to upgrade their
networks for two-way operation to enable the deployment of advanced
services such as VoD, DVR and Internet browsing.
"With more than 150 cities throughout China working toward two-way
network upgrades, the market potential is enormous for interactive
services over cable," said Michael Zhang, Analyst for In-Stat. "The
number of Chinese digital cable subscribers is projected to reach 135
million by 2013 with set-top box revenue in China expected to peak at
$1.3 billion (USD) in 2011."
To meet this burgeoning market opportunity, the company announces the
Broadcom(R) BCM7003 interactive two-way standard definition (SD) cable
solution (with 10/100 Ethernet and USB 2.0 DVR functionality) and the
Broadcom BCM7004 SD basic cable solution. Both single-chip solutions
are targeted for the digital cable TV market in China, as well as
supporting worldwide cable standards for the world's set-top box
markets including India, Europe, Latin America, South America and
Asia. Both solutions include the industry's first 65nm enhanced
performance DVB-C tuner with a 64-1024 QAM demodulator, advanced
security transport processor and MPEG-2 A/V decoder and graphics
engine.
Both the BCM7003 and BCM7004 include proven advanced security
capabilities and feature a toolkit of security components to meet a
wide range of smart card-based and card-less conditional access system
requirements. The chip solutions are permanently factory-programmed
with a unique identification and security configuration where they can
be managed and utilized as part of advanced security policies.
ARM Outlines Vision for Next Generation
ARM , a company already synonymous with excellence in CPU design,
continues to show success in delivering highest performance ARM Mali
graphics processing unit (GPU) technology and today outlined its
vision for the next generation of graphics processing and mobile
gaming against the backdrop of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in
San Francisco.
continues to show success in delivering highest performance ARM Mali
graphics processing unit (GPU) technology and today outlined its
vision for the next generation of graphics processing and mobile
gaming against the backdrop of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in
San Francisco.
ARM's collaborative approach to graphics acceleration solutions,
combining the strength of the Mali complete graphics stack with the
reach of ARM's Partner ecosystem, has led to widespread adoption of
Mali technology by 27 licensees to date. The company continues to
build on its success, delivering a wide range of powerful, easily
configurable Mali graphics IP and working with leading silicon
Partners, device manufacturers and content providers in gaming and
graphics to bring a proliferation of Mali GPU-enabled mobile phones
and consumer devices to market, with immediately available
console-quality mobile gaming content, stunning user interfaces,
advanced navigation applications and Web browsing.
"Gaming strategy and visually compelling applications are becoming
increasingly important now that mobile handheld devices are so
prolific, and the time has come to create innovative new gaming
concepts," said Borgar Ljosland, director of advanced product
marketing for ARM's Media Processing Division. "Today's consumer
devices are based on yesterday's platforms, and there is a tremendous
opportunity for a revolution in the gaming market that hinges on the
collaborative efforts of IP providers, foundries and OEMs alike.
Thanks to the strength of Mali in the GPU space, we are well poised to
lead the charge to this next level and fully expect the vast majority
of tomorrow's consumer devices will be based on Mali technology."
The Mali GPU family scales from Mali-55, the world's smallest GPU, to
Mali-400 MP, the highest-performance embedded multicore GPU IP on the
market which supports complex gaming applications at up to 1080p
high-definition resolution. This diverse offering addresses the widest
range of performance points for all embedded graphics needs and
enables ARM to lead in conformance to numerous open standards.
"ARM brought its first Mali GPUs to market in 2006 and combined this
with an integrated graphics software stack, expanding its capabilities
and broadening its total solution offerings for licensees," said Dr.
Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. "This has posed serious
competition to other GPU IP suppliers, and with ongoing product
investment and Partner collaboration, ARM is primed to lead the next
era of mobile gaming - an important task, considering that the
quality, complexity and variety of games available for the broadening
range of handheld devices is set to soar in the next couple of years."
Blizzard introduces new Battle.net Account
Blizzard, his portal Battle.net renew. Who will a Blizzard game to
play, a Battle.net account. This applies not only for future games
such as Starcraft II and Diablo III, but also for the popular World of
Warcraft.
play, a Battle.net account. This applies not only for future games
such as Starcraft II and Diablo III, but also for the popular World of
Warcraft.
The U.S. developer Blizzard Entertainment Battle.net would revitalize.
The portal is now used for online play old games like Blizzard
Warcraft III, Diablo II and Starcraft. Blizzard wants the potential of
the portal, however, expand and make mandatory registration to
Battle.net to anyone having a game of the developer plays. This
obligation applies not only to all future games from the studio, but
also to the MMO World of Warcraft, the current draw of the developer.
The new options that will provide Battle.net Blizzard would not
release too much. But the company says that the communication between
account holders will be improved, even if they play different games.
How this work will, however, is unknown.
The Battle.net account data will in future serve as login information
for all Blizzard games. Even World of Warcraft players, who now have
nothing to do with Battle.net, will therefore in future have to create
an account to the MMO to login. Who various WoW accounts, they must
combine in a single Battle.net account. After logging can be set with
any WoW account is played.
It is striking that the existing Blizzard Battle.net players of
Warcraft III, Diablo II and Starcraft in its present form late
survival. Who only plays these old games, then the transition to the
new version is not it. Who both old and new games to play the old
games will be a separate account for the classic version of the site
continue. In this version of Battle.net, players can organize matches
against each other and the ranking of players kept.
Yahoo! Appoints Elisa Steele as Chief Marketing
Yahoo! Inc. announced that Elisa Steele has joined the company as
chief marketing officer, effective today. Steele is responsible for
Yahoo!'s brand, its global marketing strategy and its marketing
functions including brand marketing, audience marketing, corporate
communications, insights, policy and privacy, community affairs, and
related central teams. She reports to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz.
chief marketing officer, effective today. Steele is responsible for
Yahoo!'s brand, its global marketing strategy and its marketing
functions including brand marketing, audience marketing, corporate
communications, insights, policy and privacy, community affairs, and
related central teams. She reports to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz.
"The Yahoo! brand is one of our most valuable and strategic assets,
and Elisa is charged with unlocking its potential globally. Elisa has
an outstanding track record in leading global marketing, branding, and
communications teams, and we're excited to welcome her to Yahoo!'s
executive staff," said Bartz. "Yahoo!'s marketing strategy and teams
have become decentralized over time – hiring Elisa in the CMO role
will quickly mobilize our plan to integrate the function globally and
more effectively represent the Yahoo! brand."
Prior to joining Yahoo!, Steele was senior vice president of corporate
marketing at NetApp, where she led the company's global brand strategy
including global communications, corporate relations, and integrated
marketing functions. Her work at NetApp included strategically
repositioning the brand in the category and a major global relaunch.
Before NetApp, Steele led Sun's integrated marketing and merchandising
organization, where she was responsible for global go-to-market
initiatives, campaign execution, events, online marketing, and
installed base marketing. Steele also led several other marketing
functions at Sun. Her professional experience also includes management
positions at iPlanet eCommerce Solutions, JavaSoft, and AT&T.
"I'm excited to join the team and help unleash the incredible power of
the Yahoo! brand," said Steele. "I look forward to working closely
with Carol and the entire organization to help renew the company's
focus on its customers and to reassert the brand's relevance around
the world."
Steele holds a master of business administration degree from San
Francisco State University and a bachelor of business administration
degree from the University of New Hampshire.
Nokia drops N73 model from gaming service
Nokia has dropped plans to add its gaming service to the older, but
very successful N73 model, a spokesman for the top cellphone maker
said on Monday.
very successful N73 model, a spokesman for the top cellphone maker
said on Monday.
Nokia promised last year to "soon" add the gaming service to the
world's most sold smartphone, but has now decided not to because of
the phone's limited computing power. Nokia has sold about 20 million
N73s.
Nokia's mobile gaming push has encountered major challenges over the
years, with consumers shunning its dedicated gaming phones, and with
its new online gaming service, opened last year, yet to move beyond a
niche audience.
Social Web sites face transparency questions.
Yelp.com prides itself on being a site where people can write reviews
about pretty much anything and connect with similarly critical peers.
Yet as the site grows, some of the businesses scrutinized on Yelp are
turning the tables and griping about the company itself.
about pretty much anything and connect with similarly critical peers.
Yet as the site grows, some of the businesses scrutinized on Yelp are
turning the tables and griping about the company itself.
Properly balancing the interests of various constituencies — and
retaining their loyalty, perhaps through improved channels of
communications — will prove key to whether the sites can grow into
vibrant, moneymaking operations for years to come.
Many sites have expanded so fast that explanations about what they are
doing often come late — after their users have had plenty of time to
air complaints. Facebook has felt such growing pains, and now Yelp is,
too.
One big gripe from businesses that get reviewed on Yelp is that they
don't quite get how it works.
For instance, some wonder why users' reviews can seemingly
mysteriously disappear from Yelp's pages about a business.
This irks Leslie Tagorda, owner of a San Francisco-based Web design
company, Flair-Designs. She has noticed reviews vanish from the
Flair-Designs page on Yelp over the past two years. This worries her
because the more reviews she has, the more calls she gets from
potential clients, she said.
When she first noticed reviews disappearing, Tagorda contacted clients
who had written the comments, to see whether they had deleted them.
They said they had not.
She e-mailed Yelp and was directed to the business owners' section of
the site. Not satisfied, she aired her issues by writing a review of
Yelp itself on Yelp's business page, giving the site two out of a
possible five stars.
She wrote that although she likes using Yelp as a consumer, as a
business owner "Yelp just about `sucks it.'"
At last she got a more personal message from Yelp's chief executive
and co-founder, Jeremy Stoppelman. He explained that consumer reviews
may be removed by an automated program that is designed to filter out
reviews the site considers untrustworthy, such as sniping that a
pizzeria owner might write about a competitor.
Tagorda was satisfied with Stoppelman's response but still wanted people to
XFX introduces first Radeon HD-Powered 4000
Following its recent collaboration with AMD, XFX introduced its first
Radeon™ HD-powered 4000 series cards in India. XFX Radeon™ HD-powered
4000 series includes HD 4870, 4850, 4650 and 4350 graphic cards,
adding to its impressive line of extreme performance graphics cards.
Radeon™ HD-powered 4000 series cards in India. XFX Radeon™ HD-powered
4000 series includes HD 4870, 4850, 4650 and 4350 graphic cards,
adding to its impressive line of extreme performance graphics cards.
"Multimedia enthusiasts and gamers in India, crave for the best
graphics performance for a realistic experience. At AMD, we strive to
bring the best graphics performance and thus a thrilling experience to
gamers and multimedia enthusiasts through the ATI graphics technology.
We are very excited that XFX has decided to bring ATI Radeon™ 4000
series based graphic cards." said Mr. Patric Wong, Director of
Graphics business, Asia-pacific region, AMD.
Introducing the latest series Mr. Sunny Narain, VP - Regional Sales,
Asia Pacific, XFX said, "XFX is a major player in the Graphics
Industry and is known as a Graphics Master. Earlier this year, lets
just say - The Graphics Master had acquired a new skill 'ATI'. And
ever since our worldwide launch earlier this year, we have been
noticing an ongoing demand from our partners in India for XFX ATI
series. In order to fulfill this demand and to provide a complete
solution, we are going to offer ATI's award winning ATI Radeon™ HD
4000 series in India."
Excited about this new series, Mr. Sunny Narain further added, "XFX
fans in India can expect to have a range available from us, starting
from the mainstream 4350 all the way to the very new and upcoming
4890. This series will be equipped with features like Unified Video
Decoder 2 for Blu-ray™ and HD Video, DX10.1 support, ATI Stream
Technology and lots more. Undoubtedly, these will be offered with all
the features that XFX is known for".
Viasat Selects NDS Progressive Download
The leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today
announced that Viasat, a leading digital satellite pay-TV operator
serving Scandinavia and the Baltic region, has extended its
long-standing relationship with NDS with the addition of NDS'
Progressive Download (PDL) technology to the ViasatPlusHD hybrid DVR.
announced that Viasat, a leading digital satellite pay-TV operator
serving Scandinavia and the Baltic region, has extended its
long-standing relationship with NDS with the addition of NDS'
Progressive Download (PDL) technology to the ViasatPlusHD hybrid DVR.
The ViasatOnDemand HD service, represents another successful
deployment of NDS' PDL technology. This premium service offers
ViasatPlusHD subscribers the ability to download a movie or series via
their broadband internet connection to watch immediately or store to
view later. NDS PDL technology delivers uninterrupted viewing by
removing the buffering problems associated with slow broadband
download speeds.
NDS PDL technology offers service providers a cost-effective way to
deliver IP content over lower bandwidth connections while maintaining
a quality of service matching that of traditional VOD. It uses the
available bandwidth to download content to the DVR's hard drive; once
enough content is cached, then the viewer can start playback without
interruption, and any remaining content is downloaded in background
mode. Progressive Download also reduces the need for service providers
to deploy expensive VOD servers and the high specification networks
normally required for HD content delivery.
Viasat already relies on NDS VideoGuard conditional access (CA),
MediaHighway middleware, XTV DVR technology, and a customised
electronic programme guide (EPG) which supports nine languages to
secure and power its HD pay-TV service. Viasat Broadcasting is the
largest business within Modern Times Group (MTG AB), an international
media group based in Sweden.
Dell will not enter into the smartphone market
As announced some time ago, Dell had intention to enter the smartphone
market, and various rumors, that they wanted the first smartphone was
released in September 2009 but now everything seems smooth.
market, and various rumors, that they wanted the first smartphone was
released in September 2009 but now everything seems smooth.
Indeed, Shaw Wu, of Kaufman Bros. analyst said that Dell has produced
two devices with Android, and the other one with Windows Mobile to
different mobile operators, but have not shown an interest in the
products.
The reason, again according to the explanations of Wu, is the great
gap between the proposed devices and smartphones offered by
competitors such as HTC, Samsung, Nokia, etc. But despite this, Dell
will continue to work to enter the mobile market.
More precisely, we assumed that the Texan firm hand to put the
portfolio and buy some company that already has experience in the
field.
Croma Computer Store in Mumbai - India
Infiniti Retail has come out and launched India's first 'only'
consumer electronic store. Infiniti retail is a subsidary of one of
the biggest company in India, TATA Sons. The store 'Croma' is located
at Juhu, which is a suburb of Mumbai.
consumer electronic store. Infiniti retail is a subsidary of one of
the biggest company in India, TATA Sons. The store 'Croma' is located
at Juhu, which is a suburb of Mumbai.
The store has tons of various electronics, gadgets, computers and you
name it and its there. Racks and racks of CDRs, DVDrs and more. The
store is one of the biggest we have seen at 20,000 sq feet. Lets see
if this one is followed by other companies opening such store in the
country. Croma has taken retail electronics to another level in India
and is now a benchmark for others to follow.
HP Wins $50 Million Information Technology Leasing
HP announced that it has signed a contract with Korea's Shinhan Bank
valued at up to $50 million for a technology solution to help the bank
improve its return on investment, enhance its business efficiency and
expand its operations.
valued at up to $50 million for a technology solution to help the bank
improve its return on investment, enhance its business efficiency and
expand its operations.
Central to the contract is the sale-leaseback of Shinhan's information
technology assets, which will be financed by HP Financial Services,
the company's leasing and lifecycle asset management services
subsidiary. HP will partner with Shinhan to deploy new technology that
supports the bank's business plan to manage the disposition of old
assets in an environmentally responsible manner, simplifying the
technology lifecycle management process.
Previously, Shinhan Bank reduced operational costs and increased
system flexibility by migrating from mainframes to HP Integrity
systems to maintain a large core banking system. The successful
transformation paved the way for a new trend of mainframe downsizing
in Korea's banking industry.
"We're delighted to expand our relationship with a valued client and
help Shinhan Bank derive maximum value from its business technology
investment," said Tony O'Connor, vice president and managing director,
HP Financial Services. "In these difficult economic times, far-sighted
enterprises that intelligently invest in their IT infrastructures will
be well-positioned when the economic turnaround arrives."
HP Financial Services helps customers change the economics of IT by
delivering a full range of leasing, financing and lifecycle asset
management services. It enables customers to easily and economically
deploy world-class technology in ways that meet their business needs,
while managing the risks of dealing with older or surplus IT
equipment.
An HP white paper released this month shows how chief information
officers can help chief financial officers ease the pain of a tough
economy by choosing advanced strategies such as technology lifecycle
management through leasing.
Nokia says gaming service is growing
The take-up of Nokia's N-Gage gaming service has accelerated since the
top cell phone maker has started to pre-install it in new mid- and
higher-end phone models, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
top cell phone maker has started to pre-install it in new mid- and
higher-end phone models, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Nokia's mobile gaming push has encountered major challenges over the
years, with consumers shunning its dedicated gaming phones, and with
its new online gaming service, opened last year, yet to move beyond a
niche audience.
Nokia has not unveiled user numbers for its gaming service, but the
spokesman said almost 1 million players have created personal profiles
on the N-Gage community pages.
In late-October Nokia said players had created 400,000 personal profiles.
Consumers initially had to download the service themselves, limiting
the take-up to dedicated gamers, but over the year it has started to
sell many new models with pre-installed gaming service.
Nokia aims eventually to sell all digital content through its new
online Ovi store but will keep a separate N-Gage gaming service, at
least for now, a Nokia executive told Reuters in an interview earlier
this month.
Mail for only 10 Minutes
Lots of it happens, many users need a Email id just for a moment, like
to validate an Email address or may be any one asking for your Id and
you dont want to give them your real id and end up on a bunch of spam
lists.
to validate an Email address or may be any one asking for your Id and
you dont want to give them your real id and end up on a bunch of spam
lists.
Weel for such users, here is an solution which provides you an Email
id just for 10 Minutes. Its 10 Minute Mail. By clicking on the link,
you will be given a temporary e-mail address. Any e-mails sent to that
address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them,
click on links, and even reply to them. The e-mail address will expire
after 10 minutes.
This is nice and disposable. And it's free. Enjoy!
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