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IF you happen to spot a black car with the Google logo cruising past you this week, give a wave. This is the famous Google car, used to capture panoramic images for Google Maps' Street View and, following its mapping of cities around the US and Europe, it has finally arrived on Irish shores. Publication date: 2009-03-19more
Cybercops: Keeping ahead of online criminals
In an anonymous-looking business park just outside Reading town centre is a room where row upon row of specially trained computer analysts sit staring at a bank of screens. Publication date: 2009-03-18more
Cyberclinic: Where can I get affordable insurance for my mobile?
Anyone who has bought a mobile-phone contract over the counter will recall the unrelenting pressure at point of sale to take out insurance. "Nice phone you've got there," the salesman might intone menacingly while chewing a ballpoint pen, "shame if anything happened to it." Publication date: 2009-03-18more
Apple announces new iPhone features
Apple unveiled the third version of the iPhone operating system, adding long-requested features such as a cut-and-paste function and giving software developers new ways to make money on their applications. Publication date: 2009-03-18more
ID theft and data security breaches 'pose threat to business'
IDENTITY theft is rampant and data security breaches pose a serious business threat, according to a report from consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Publication date: 2009-03-16more
Taoiseach to launch global Irish web site in NYC for St Patrick's Day
Taoiseach Brian Cowen will launch the first-ever global Irish website in New York on Sunday, March 15, with a worldwide celebrity crowd of Irish and Irish-Americans in attendance.
Publication date: 2009-03-15more
Cyberclinic: Who are all these people wanting to make friends with me online?
Joining online social networks can be a bit disorientating. Thanks to the media hoo-hah surrounding celebrities using Twitter, millions of people have signed up only to find themselves feeling horribly self-conscious, as if they'd turned up to a socialite's engagement party wearing egg-stained dungarees and sucking their thumb. Publication date: 2009-03-13more
How to make your PC last longer
It costs hundreds of pounds, but your PC may have a suprisingly short life. Fresh out of the box, it runs like a dream, but after only months of use, it can become frustratingly slow. Publication date: 2009-03-13more
The 10 best puzzle games
Pass the time with one of these puzzle games Publication date: 2009-03-12more
Google introduces feature that lets users manage phones online
Google is set to release software that will allow users to manage their phone messages via the Web, similar to the way they handle e-mails or online calendars. Publication date: 2009-03-12more
Innovating in a recession – are we on the right path?
The recession has meant many things for the Irish technology industry. While we watched large firms such as Intel and Dell shedding staff, we are now also looking at a surplus of highly skilled individuals, and the right mix of innovation, entrepreneurship and co-operation from larger corporates could sow the seeds of change. Publication date: 2009-03-12more
Playing to win big on the iTunes App Store
At just 20 years of age, Steven Troughton-Smith is a student of digital-media engineering at Dublin City University, and also a successful developer of iPhone applications for Apple’s iTunes App Store
Publication date: 2009-03-12more
Put to the test: MP3 & MP4 players
Consumer electronics, including MP3 and MP4 players, are constantly evolving. Many now have touch screens and as well as playing music, viewing photos and videos, some allow internet connection. This week, Smart Consumer looks at portable media players. Publication date: 2009-03-12more
‘Internet’s power shifts to Ireland, and Dublin has a key role to play’
Head of Facebook in Dublin: Ireland underestimates its impact on the online economy. Publication date: 2009-03-12more
YouTube blocks music videos in U.K.
YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google Inc., is blocking users’ access to music videos in the U.K. after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with a songwriters’ organization. Publication date: 2009-03-10more
Public Enemy’s Chuck D to promote fan-funded music site in U.S.
SellaBand AG, an Amsterdam-based music Web site where fans can listen to unsigned artists and help pay for recording costs, will be promoted by Public Enemy frontman Chuck D when it brings the service to the U.S. Publication date: 2009-03-10more
YouTube blocks music videos in U.K. over fee dispute
YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google Inc., is blocking users’ access to music videos in the U.K. after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with a songwriters’ organization. Publication date: 2009-03-10more
Google’s Docs software exposes documents on web to other users
Google, owner of the world’s largest Internet search engine, said its Google Docs online software exposed some customers’ files to unapproved users last week. Publication date: 2009-03-09more
YouTube discussing possible music web site with Universal
YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google, is in talks with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group to create an online music Web site, two people familiar with the situation said yesterday. Publication date: 2009-03-05more
Facebook to let users create public versions of pages
Facebook, operator of the world’s largest social-networking site, is redesigning its service to let people create public profile pages and allow celebrities and businesses to reach users more easily. Publication date: 2009-03-05more
Irish IT to save UK city council £500,000 in costs
Together in electric dreams: the Irish automotive industry goes green
Can electric cars and motorbikes power their way to the top of the automobile market? Publication date: 2009-03-05more
Amazon adds program for reading books on iPhone
Amazon.com, seeking to expand sales of electronic publications, is giving it's U.S. customers the option to read books, blogs and newspapers on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. Publication date: 2009-03-04more
Cyberclinic: Why can't I make internet voice calls on my mobile phone?
This might require something of a mental leap if you're not an optician, but imagine for a moment that you're an optician. Business is ticking over nicely, when another optician moves into some unused floorspace on your premises, substantially undercutting you on the price of contact lenses – and owing to a quirk in local byelaws you can't do anything except behave aggressively and try changing the locks. Publication date: 2009-03-04more
The gamer's book of records
The launch of the Guinness World Records 2009: Gamer's Edition last month brought video gaming out into the fresh air and broke a world record into the bargain. A motley crew of gamers, alongside Tomb Raider's Lara Croft (played by model Alison Carroll), hurtled through the cold, crisp air of central London at 57mph on a mobile gaming rig – achieving the fastest recorded speed for someone playing a video game. Publication date: 2009-03-04more
Forget sweets, Church wants you to give up texting for Lent
Gv up txt 4 Lent. Publication date: 2009-03-04more
You’re a PC, not a Mac: Gates bans family from using iPods
Most would expect the children of the world's third richest man to have grown up spoilt by a constant supply of the very latest in cutting-edge gadgets. But yesterday it emerged that the offspring of Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, are forbidden from owning the planet's number one gadget – the iPod. Publication date: 2009-03-04more
Cowen to face online grilling on FF website
IT'S a state of the nation address, but not as we know it.
Publication date: 2009-03-02more
Paddy Power boosted by online growth
Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker, reported a 9.6 percent increase in annual profit as more customers placed bets online, and said it’s "satisfied" with its progress in the first two months of 2009. Publication date: 2009-03-02more
Yahoo spent $79 Million last year for advisers on Microsoft
Yahoo! Inc., owner of the second most used search engine in the U.S., spent $79 million (€62 million) in 2008 for outside advisers related to Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition bid and a failed partnership with Google Inc. Publication date: 2009-03-02more
Electronic Arts to release Wii sports games in June
Electronic Arts Inc., the world’s second-largest video-game publisher, will ship two new sports titles on June 16 for Nintendo Co.’s top-selling Wii console as it tries to attract more casual game players. Publication date: 2009-03-02more
eBay and German police take battle to the counterfeiters
German police used tips from eBay Inc. to score the biggest success in their probe of a counterfeiting ring, snaring 20 tons of knock-off La Martina dress shirts, Ed Hardy tank tops and other brands last month. Publication date: 2009-02-27more
Facebook creates site principles after users complain
Facebook, the most popular site for friends to share messages and photos, is creating a set of "Facebook Principles" after customers complained about how the company planned to use their information. Publication date: 2009-02-27more
Microsoft may ship Windows in September says Compal
Microsoft may begin shipping its Windows 7 operating system as early as the third quarter, months before the software maker’s official prediction, a computer-industry executive said. Publication date: 2009-02-27more
Jobs remains deeply involved in Apple says director
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs remains deeply involved in strategic decisions and the company will disclose more information about his health if warranted, a director said. Publication date: 2009-02-27more
Vodafone set to enter fixed-line business market
Next week, Ireland’s largest mobile player, Vodafone, will enter the business fixed-line telecoms and broadband market. Anne O’Leary is director of business and enterprise at Vodafone
Publication date: 2009-02-26more
We need to nurture the innovation economy, says Microsoft Ireland boss
There are two things occupying the minds of workers in Ireland today: the plight of fellow workers who have lost their jobs, and their own fate in light of the worsening economic situation. Publication date: 2009-02-26more
Is censorship the order of the day in protecting the music industry?
Following the recent High Court decision to implement the ‘three strikes’ rules against Eircom customers found to be illegally downloading or uploading copyright material, a solicitor’s letter from the Irish Recorded Music Association’s (IRMA) legal counsel has thrown up more worrying implications for internet censorship. Publication date: 2009-02-26more
Microsoft to ship Windows 7 in Sept/Oct
Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, will begin shipping its Windows 7 operating system in September or October, a computer executive said. Publication date: 2009-02-25more
Cyberclinic: Is there any point in buying Nintendo's new DSi console?
Gamers would, until fairly recently, have dismissed the mobile phone as suitable only for painstakingly manoeuvring playing cards about, or directing a sluggish snake around in circles. Even phones that tried to muscle in on the gaming world, such as the Nokia N-Gage, were greeted with muffled laughter in some quarters when they were launched. Publication date: 2009-02-25more
Mobiles get the crash test
Tied down with metal clamps on steel benches, ranks of mobile phones are being technologically tortured. If they could cry out, they would – but nobody would hear, because the noise of a hundred steel pistons pummelling their fascias is so loud that people rarely visit this windowless room for more than a few minutes at a time. And, anyway, the walls are soundproofed. "This is what I do," Kevin Smith shouts over the din. "I break mobile phones." Publication date: 2009-02-25more
The ten best pet gadgets
Treat your pet with one of these wonderful pet gadgets. Publication date: 2009-02-24more
Gmail back online again
Google's e-mail service Gmail is back up and running. Publication date: 2009-02-24more
Cyberclinic: Should camera phones really be allowed to take pictures silently?
I have to sheepishly confess that I’ve taken a surruptitious photo using my phone before. A few years back, some guy had spread his legs so wide apart while sitting in a packed train carriage that it prevented anyone from sitting next to him. I snapped him with the intention of shaming him online – but bottled out of uploading it, because he looked a bit dangerous and I feared bloody revenge. Publication date: 2009-02-24more
Keen on New Media: Twitter need only look at Facebook to see its future problems
February 2009 might well go down as the month when Twitter replaced Facebook as the hottest and coolest company in Silicon Valley. Publication date: 2009-02-24more
Steve Jobs won't appear at Apple agm
Apple will hold its annual meeting this week without chief executive officer Steve Jobs, his first absence since he reclaimed leadership of the company more than a decade ago.
Publication date: 2009-02-23more
The world’s most pointless inventions
EVER wore yourself out eating an ice-cream? The constant movement of the wrist to catch melting drops and ensure the ice-cream gets in your mouth and not the floor? Well help is at hand with the first ever motorised ice-cream cone – which has just been judged the most wasteful consumer product made last year. Publication date: 2009-02-23more
Scientists on way to creating 'television wallpaper'
Scientists are embarking on a project that they say could one day lead to our homes being decorated with "television wallpaper". Publication date: 2009-02-23more
Facebook backtracks on data use after raft of complaints
Facebook has withdrawn controversial changes to its terms of service after receiving a storm of complaints from users of the social networking website. Publication date: 2009-02-19more
Ireland’s mini-Silicon Valley provides key blueprint for the next economy
The impact of R&D spin-offs on the south-east could mean 1,000 jobs in next five years Publication date: 2009-02-19more
Google bets on Vodafone’s Magic to break Apple’s spell
Google and Vodafone have teamed up to take on Apple’s iPhone, yesterday unveiling the internet search engine group’s second attempt to make a splash in the European mobile phone market. Publication date: 2009-02-18more
Facebook backs down from rule changes after criticism
Facebook Inc., owner of the world’s largest social-networking site, backed down from revisions made to its online service following complaints that the changes may hurt users’ privacy. Publication date: 2009-02-18more
Are flatscreens really worth buying?
Last Thursday was a difficult day for Susumu Kotani, president of Pioneer Corp. He’d only taken over as president in October. And now he had the unenviable job of announcing that the Japnese electronics giant was pulling out of the flatscreen TV market. Publication date: 2009-02-18more
Google scraps radio advertising business
Internet Google has abandoned its efforts to sell advertising for broadcast radio stations, acknowledging that the three-year project has failed. Publication date: 2009-02-17more
Mobile phone companies take the fight to Apple over new apps
The mobile phone trade show kicked off in Barcelona yesterday but industry insiders believe the economic downturn has taken its toll on the showpiece event of the year. Publication date: 2009-02-17more
Irish firms need to be more proactive about data loss
Apart from individuals losing laptops and data keys, what are the most common mistakes firms are making with their data? Publication date: 2009-02-12more
Dublin or bust: can Ireland prove itself to be a digital media leader?
When we think of movies, we think of Hollywood, and, when we talk of all things digital, our thoughts inevitably turn towards Silicon Valley. Publication date: 2009-02-12more
Survival of the fittest for Ireland’s emerging bioinformatics sector
Charles Darwin, born 200 years ago today on 12 February 1809, revolutionised science and modern thinking with the publication of The Origin of Species. His theories on evolution and natural selection are still hugely influential today. Publication date: 2009-02-12more
The ten best gaming gadgets
Stay ahead of the curve with our guide to the best gaming gadgets. Publication date: 2009-02-11more
Intel to spend $7bn on new plants in US
Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips, with a major plant in Leixlip, is set to spend $7bn on new plants in the US over the next two years in an effort to extend its lead in manufacturing technology. Publication date: 2009-02-11more
Christian Bale: All the rage on the web
Cyberspace is reverberating to the sound of one man swearing. His expletive-per-minute ratio might pale in comparison with Gordon Ramsay delivering a verdict on a sub-standard mushroom risotto. Publication date: 2009-02-09more
Hi-tech visionaries are inventing the coolest stuff in a lab near you
'INNOVATION," said Apple guru Steve Jobs, "distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Increasingly it is viewed as a given that investing in great ideas is how we might reinvent the country's business appeal. Publication date: 2009-02-08more
India's $10 PC could be the future
A NEW $10 laptop launched in India this week could be the future of computer technology in a world grappling with global recession.
Publication date: 2009-02-06more
Alcatel-Lucent cut to 'sell' by Goldman
Alcatel-Lucent, the world’s largest supplier of fixed-line phone networks employing 175 staff in Ireland, has been cut to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs.
Publication date: 2009-02-06more
Yahoo reveals demo of 'searchpad' product
YAHOO is testing a new 'searchpad' to help users automatically save notes and links to sites visited on its search engine.
Publication date: 2009-02-06more
Are buggy smart phones now the reality in our new ‘beta culture’?
With touchscreen smart phones becoming the order of the day, the two biggest mobile phone releases of 2008 were undoubtedly the iPhone 3G from Apple and RIM’s BlackBerry Storm. Publication date: 2009-02-05more
A Lotto reasons why grassroots e-commerce play will keep it local
Ireland’s rural communities are the litmus test for the state of the nation, and that’s why the current economic downturn can be seen as a particularly rural tragedy. Publication date: 2009-02-05more
Is Facebook just a passing fad?
It's a tale of entrepreneurial flair that provokes awe and envy in equal measure. A student at Harvard creates a website for the amusement of his fellow undergraduates so they can exchange notes and keep tabs on upcoming events. Publication date: 2009-02-05more
It's spy as you go, as Google goes too
MILLIONS of people will be able to track each and every move by friends and family through their mobile phones, thanks to a new feature launched by Google yesterday. The new system dubbed "Latitude" uses a digital map to automatically show exactly where a loved one is at any time, pinpointing their location to a few metres. Publication date: 2009-02-05more
Amazon.com offers 600 downloadable video games on it's web site
Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, began offering game downloads, stepping up competition with Yahoo! Inc. and other gaming Web sites. Publication date: 2009-02-04more
Cyberclinic: Should I bother upgrading to Internet Exporer 8?
You'd think that when one of the world's most widely used pieces of software was overhauled and put online for free download, the rush would cause the internet to collapse in on itself like a soufflé made by an unsuccessful contestant on 'Masterchef'. Publication date: 2009-02-04more
Rise of the machines, end of the humans?
So, there are these two scientists researching artificial intelligence. One is Satinder S Baveja, director of the University of Michigan's AI laboratory; the other is Miles Bennett Dyson, director of research at Cyberdyne Systems of California. Both men are asked to reflect on what the ultimate outcome of their work on AI will look like. Might it, for example, get a little bit dystopian out there? Publication date: 2009-02-04more
Is Wikipedia cracking up?
It felt like half a nation was pumping the air and singing along to "Born To Run" as the old rabble-rouser Bruce Springsteen blew through his half-time set at Superbowl XLIII on Sunday night. Publication date: 2009-02-03more
Dell may move into smart-phone market to expand sales
Dell Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of personal computers, may be entering the smart-phone market as soon as next month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the effort. Publication date: 2009-01-30more
What is the funding future for Irish-based start-ups?
In the US, venture-capital funding has fallen by 71pc and the same can be expected here. Fergus Bolster is partner in the corporate and commercial department at Matheson Ormsby Prentice. Publication date: 2009-01-29more
Is the computer industry shooting itself in the foot with the netbook?
Just one year ago, netbooks were still a novel concept – the now legendary minuscule Asus Eee PC was just beginning to generate buzz, while mainstream PC manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer were yet to release their versions. Publication date: 2009-01-29more
Eircom to Stop Illegal Music Downloaders
Eircom said it will disconnect customers if they illegally download music owned by four record labels. Publication date: 2009-01-29more
Apply 21st-century teaching now or risk an under-skilled workforce
It may seem politically impolite – or incorrect – at a time of global recession to be telling a government where its investment priorities lie. Publication date: 2009-01-29more
Premature obituaries may force new Wikipedia rules
Entries on the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia may have to be pre-approved after it wrongly claimed that Senator Edward Kennedy had died. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Cyberclinic: What can I do if someone is impersonating me online?
This is tempting fate, but no one has bothered pretending to be me on the internet. That's probably because there's nothing to be gained from doing so, other than receiving a few press releases about webcams and a truckload of spam. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
The ultimate remote control?
In these days of inflated fuel prices, central heating is both a necessity and a financial headache. If you don't want to leave it on all day, you have to wait for it to come on every time you arrive back from work, and even if it has a timer and you can work out how to set it, it's pointless to do so if you don't know exactly when you'll be back home. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Science solves 'Italian Job' cliffhanger
It was probably the greatest cliff-hanger in cinema history, leaving fans of The Italian Job wondering how the mobster Charlie Croker could have extricated his gang - and the gold bullion - from a bus hanging precariously over the edge of a mountain road. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Why the world is suddenly all a-twitter
IT WAS established as a communication tool for geeks and now counts showbusiness stars and the American President among its users. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Philips slashes 6,000 jobs after loss
Royal Philips Electronics, Europe’s largest maker of televisions, will cut 6,000 jobs and stop buying back shares after reporting its first quarterly loss in almost six years.
Publication date: 2009-01-28more
We will spy on your teen's website for you
Irish parents are the best in Europe at monitoring their kids on the internet. However, their kids are the least likely of all European children to turn to mum or dad for advice when something happens to them online. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
US Defense Department mimics Google, Microsoft in cloud computing
When the US Defense Department’s John Garing met Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. to learn about cloud computing, he liked what he saw. Enough to send him back to Washington ready to change how government technology works. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Paper and pencil rival Nintendo for 'brain training'
A 10c pencil stimulates the memory just as well as a €150 Nintendo DS, according to a study that dismisses the machine's claims to boost the brain. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Irish writers invited to join class action deal with Google
IRISH authors may be entitled to cash windfalls if they are covered by a settlement reached with Google after a class action case taken in the US.
Publication date: 2009-01-28more
From geeky to glamorous: Gadgets for her
Most stylish clutch bags hold a lipstick, credit card and a set of house keys at most. Designer Vivienne Tam's peony-print clutch has a much greater capacity: at least 60 gigabytes. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Premature obituaries may force new Wikipedia rules
Entries on the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia may have to be pre-approved after it wrongly claimed that Senator Edward Kennedy had died. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
Pope channels mass appeal of YouTube
Pope Benedict may well play with light sabres in the privacy of his own bedroom, but don't expect to see evidence of this on YouTube. Publication date: 2009-01-28more
PC owners vulnerable to ID theft
ALMOST half of all computers in the UK and Ireland are vulnerable to identity theft. Publication date: 2008-11-28more
High hopes for Irish cartoon at BAFTAs
SKUNK Fu!, an Irish-produced cartoon, is in the running for a BAFTA in London next Spring. Publication date: 2008-11-28more
Woman found guilty of misdemeanor in MySpace trial
A Missouri woman was found guilty of misdemeanor computer fraud for posing as a teenage boy on News Corp.’s MySpace Web site and acquitted of more serious charges she did so to harm a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself. Publication date: 2008-11-28more
Dell to host event at Future of Computing show
COMPUTER giant Dell will be among the exhibitors showcasing the latest in technology at the upcoming Future of Computing conference, which will be held in the Pavilion at Leopardstown Racecourse on 1st and 2nd December.
Publication date: 2008-11-28more
Divorced - for having an affair in Second Life
AS DIVORCE cases go, it is as explosive and sordid as it gets: a woman catches her husband having sex with a prostitute, forgives him, but finally throws in the towel after discovering he has been unfaithful again. Yet absolutely none of it happened in real life. Publication date: 2008-11-28more
Blog digest: Oxfam Ireland Eyewitness Blogs
Sometimes it can seem hard to understand exactly what happens in countries that organisations such as Oxfam work with, but the Irish segment of the charity has two ‘eyewitness’ blogs written by aid workers stationed in both Uganda and Goma. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Cyberclinic: Why is so much broadband sold as 'unlimited' when it isn't?
If you're lucky enough to be told that you have "unlimited" access to something, you'd be forgiven for assuming that you won't get a slapped wrist when you help yourself to as much as you like. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Ireland must boost tech skills to stay in the game
In May, Texan billionaire Ross Perot’s IT services firm, Perot Systems, acquired Irish software company Original Solutions Consulting for an undisclosed sum. Jim Champy is chairman of Perot Systems
Publication date: 2008-11-27more
How I went on a killing spree
I'm not a violent man. My physical aggression is limited to kicking non-existent objects when my train gets cancelled, or slamming the phone down on British Gas when they cold-call for the third time in a week. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Porn software can detect sex-addicted employees
With Ireland ranking top of the list for searches of the word ‘porn’ on Google, the country’s employers will be interested in newly-developed porn-detecting software. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Irishman launches 'facebook for dogs'
TRUCKER Diarmuid Scullin is usually dog-tired after clocking up an average 1,500 miles behind the wheel of his rig every week. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Finding a business idea by helping lost commuters
When Dave Rooney and his friend Vinny Glennon left college, finding a job was not the biggest challenge – it was finding their way to the interview in the first place via public transport. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Google Ireland nets losses of €12m
Google Ireland swung into the red in 2007 but employee levels at the group increased over 300 this year bringing staff numbers to the 1,500 level, bucking a national and global trend. Publication date: 2008-11-27more
Eircom loses out as 3 Ireland wins €40m contract for high-speed broadband service
The Government is to award 3 Ireland the contract to deploy the long-awaited €40m National Broadband Scheme (NBS) -- shunning the only other remaining bidder, former state-owned telco Eircom. Publication date: 2008-11-26more
Hewlett-Packard sales up 10pc
Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest personal-computer maker, reported a 10 percent increase in PC sales last quarter as demand for laptops held up in the face of a slowing economy. Publication date: 2008-11-25more
Computer-fraud case over MySpace teen’s suicide goes to jury
A federal jury will begin deliberating whether a Missouri woman who used News Corp.’s MySpace social-networking Web site to embarrass a teenager who later committed suicide is guilty of computer fraud. Publication date: 2008-11-25more
Revamped R&D guidelines are designed to keep Intel onside
THE decision by the Government to amend its rules relating to tax credits by including companies using only part of their buildings for research and development (R&D) purposes was made in a bid to retain chip giant Intel at its Kildare base. Intel is currently considering whether to go ahead with an investment in a new line of products at its Leixlip plant. Publication date: 2008-11-21more
Blog digest: Just Routes
Although this is not technically a blog, I must single this website out as an essential Irish site to visit, simply because it lists almost all the bus routes around Dublin City. If you plug in where you are and where you want to get to, you will be given the distance, as well as the most direct bus route. Publication date: 2008-11-20more
How Virgin Galactic will make space tourists of us all
Catching a plane to London, Paris or Rome is effortless, affordable and, more significantly, quite routine, but it is all too easy to forget that commercial flying did not become possible until many years after the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903. Now imagine the task of commercialising space travel. Publication date: 2008-11-20more
First wooden computer in biodegradable breakthrough
THE seeds of a new IT revolution may have been sown, with the world's first biodegradable computer made of wood. Publication date: 2008-11-20more
Internet hero finds web is all a numbers game
This year’s Internet Hero at the Eircom Golden Spider Awards is Aodhan Cullen, chief executive of web analysis firm Statcounter. Cullen, who is now 25, started the company when he was 16.
Publication date: 2008-11-20more
Two Kerrymen walk into an LA bar … and emerge as tech pioneers
Six years ago, in a bar somewhere in LA, Tony McManus from Ballyduff, Co Kerry was winding down after a long day at the office. Publication date: 2008-11-20more
More power in your pocket
In the embryonic days of computers, the world of software was dominated by callow youths in their bedrooms – or in Bill Gates' case, a garage – with some of the greatest names in software starting with little more than a book on coding and a lot of free time. Publication date: 2008-11-20more
Blog digest: Contrast – The Blog
Contrast.ie is a young and talented firm of web designers who really get online branding. Its blog is a great place to dip your toes in if you are an SME looking to establish your visibility and brand on the web, because the way information is presented on your site and how your visitor interacts with the information available is paramount. Publication date: 2008-11-13more
Lean, green firms will survive credit crunch
The current economic climate is the perfect opportunity for firms to get focused on green and lean business principles, says Dave Ferguson, principal consultant with the SAS Institute. Publication date: 2008-11-13more
Attracting C-level management will be key to the future of software start-ups
Today in London, six firms from around the world will take part in the Global Security Challenge at the London Business School. Publication date: 2008-11-13more
Businesses must watch out for gremlins in the machine
With business spending on IT liable to slow as economic conditions remain weak, firms will more than likely try to make do with their existing IT systems. Publication date: 2008-11-13more
As dusk falls over east London, I find myself standing in front of a dingy, seemingly deserted warehouse. Despite feeling nervous, I venture inside. Climbing a set of stairs, I find myself in a dark series of rooms. The reason I'm here isn't because I've taken up cat burglary, but because I've been invited to experience an exciting hybrid of art and hi-tech entertainment. Publication date: 2008-11-12more
Delta Index, the Dublin-based financial spread company, has launched its Contracts for Difference (CFDs) product for investors who want to take long or short positions on the financial markets. Publication date: 2008-11-12more
Don't get out of your facebook
Sometimes it seems as though the internet was invented so that bored office workers can find an enjoyable way of getting through dreary afternoons. Publication date: 2008-11-11more
In brief: First Active tops list of best buys
FIRST Active has moved to the top of the best buys list with a new six month fixed- deposit rate of 6.25pc. Publication date: 2008-11-11more
Desktop giant's profits take tumble
Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's fourth bigest PC maker, posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit and warned of tough conditions as consumers and businesses cut back on technology spending, sending its stock down 20pc. Publication date: 2008-11-08more
Product review: Why you'll want a Flip video camera
Imagine a hand-held video camera that fits in your pocket and allows you to begin recording within just three seconds, it also promises to create small video files that can be easily uploaded to a social networking site or emailed to a friend. Sound too good to be true? Danielle Cahill takes a look at the Flip to see if it lives up to the hype. Publication date: 2008-11-07more
Upwardly mobile Hartnett quits Palm for 'exciting new venture'
John Hartnett (right), one of the top Irish technology executives in Silicon Valley, is stepping down as head of global sales with mobile technology group Palm. Publication date: 2008-11-07more
TVC to sell stake in ChangingWorlds
Investment company TVC Holdings has agreed to sell its interest on ChangingWorlds an internet solutions company. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
In brief: Management fees 'need reform'
Private equity management fees, which allow large funds to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in addition to performance fees must be reformed, said top private equity investor Solomon Owayda. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
Blog digest: Frugal Ireland
We can more or less guarantee that Christmas this year will not be as extravagant as last year’s festive season. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
How a Galway firm secured Hollywood’s digital future
A Galway tech firm which has struck lucrative deals with a number of Hollywood studios, as well as major tech firms like Microsoft, Samsung and Toshiba, has warned that, with private equity drying up, the Irish Government may need to step in to help seed start-ups into the future. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
Meteor storms into mobile broadband
In recent weeks, Meteor went live with the first stage of its 3G network, and by next year plans to be a force in the mobile broadband business. Elaine Robinson is head of product development at Meteor.
Publication date: 2008-11-06more
How a business-school thesis became Ireland’s prime competitor to Facebook
As Irish parents wonder what their little darlings are getting up to on the internet, they may be interested to learn that it could no longer be Bebo or Facebook holding their children’s attention online. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
Online fraud danger as research speeds ahead
Market research is seeing big changes and the days of interviewers calling to homes on winter nights armed with a clipboard and pencil are numbered. But while face-to-face interviews are giving way to online studies, researchers must be wary of deception. Publication date: 2008-11-06more
Liverpool man sued for alleged illegal software sales
Business Software Alliance (BSA) has launched legal action against a Liverpool man suspected of selling illegal software over the Internet. John Rothwell of Anfield allegedly sold BSA investigators pirated copies of design and office productivity software with a total retail value of over £2,000 for only £29. Publication date: 2008-11-04more
In brief: O'Brien raises INM stake to 26pc
Telecoms entrepreneur Denis O'Brien has confirmed that he raised his stake in Independent News & Media to more than 26pc. Mr O'Brien's vehicles acquired additional shares in the publisher earlier this week. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
Huge campaign to erase Vista shortcomings with Windows 7
BILL Veghte hesitated when Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer asked him to oversee sales and marketing for Windows. He even went as far as questioning the CEO's commitment to the program. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
Blog Digest: Barack Obama's blog
With only days left before the US presidential election, it is interesting to see the sheer volume of posts going up on both Obama’s and McCain’s blogs. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
Telecoms sector braces itself for the cold winds of change
The telecoms sector in Ireland spends €724m a year on infrastructure, but this rate of investment could be under threat as harsh economic realities emerge. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
High-performance computing puts Ferrari in pole position in Formula One stakes
On a sunny mid-week day in October, the racetrack at the Ferrari headquarters at Maranello in Italy is empty save for the occasional hum of a familiar red sports car being put through its paces. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
'Internet will play major role in rebuilding economy'
The way that businesses harness the internet and apply the solutions it offers to drive productivity, innovation and improved financial performance will determine their longer term success and ultimately the success of the economy a senior Google executive has claimed. Publication date: 2008-10-31more
In brief: Societe Generale shares up 6.4pc
Societe Generale SA, the bank that suffered a record trading loss in January, rose in Paris trading after it stood by its third-quarter profit forecast. The shares climbed as much as 6.4pc and traded up 1pc at €38.38 at 9.35am, valuing the bank at €22.6bn. Publication date: 2008-10-29more
Dell learns Kermit had it easy - he never built PCs from bamboo
Proving Kermit's adage, Dell Inc. spent three years building 25 prototypes before the computer maker found a way to twist bamboo into a natural fiber exterior for its new ''Hybrid'' desktop. Publication date: 2008-10-24more
Obama is game for online campaign
Web-savvy Barack Obama has started advertising his campaign on online video games.
Publication date: 2008-10-24more
Woman arrested for killing online husband
Police have netted their first case involving online murder
Publication date: 2008-10-24more
CVs could be identity fraud targets
Job applicants are being urged to check sites before uploading their details
Publication date: 2008-10-24more
Blog Digest: LouderVoice
This is not a blog but has the essence of one in that it encourages a great community feel and plenty of participation. Anyone who has an opinion can write a review, be it directly on the site, from your own blog, your microblog such as Twitter or even your mobile phone. Publication date: 2008-10-23more
Automattic buy puts Sligo start-up in ‘poll position’
A hot young tech firm from Sligo on Ireland’s west coast, that allows websites to perform polls, has been snapped up by WordPress’s parent company, Automattic. Publication date: 2008-10-23more
Online sales will rise as high-street sales fall this Christmas
The credit crunch and subsequent recession will result in a surge in online spending over high-street retail spending this Christmas, as prudent shoppers will shop early to purchase smaller items. Publication date: 2008-10-23more
The West is awake to Gaeltacht areas becoming digital entertainment hubs
Broadband is the magic ingredient bringing Ireland’s Gaeltachts to Hollywood
Publication date: 2008-10-23more
Broadband 'safe from cutbacks'
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has reassured the Irish telecoms industry that the Government remains committed to rolling out the National Broadband Scheme and continuing investment in broadband infrastructure despite the economic difficulties. Publication date: 2008-10-22more
Picture these
The words "photo album" have changed in their meaning over the past 10 years. Back then, you'd be talking about a leather-bound volume, probably brown, containing slightly faded snaps of tedious family events, hanging at a diagonal because the corner mounts had come unstuck. Publication date: 2008-10-22more
Parents pay firm to 'spy' on kids online
A US firm will monitor your kid's Facebook or MySpace site for a fee
Publication date: 2008-10-20more
New LED cinema display from Apple
The new MacBook's Cinema Display is greener and cleaner than ever before, says Apple Publication date: 2008-10-20more
Apple unveils new family of ‘eco’ MacBooks
Steve Jobs' new babies are smarter and more innovative than their predecessors
Publication date: 2008-10-20more
UK defends plans for 'Big Brother' database
Plans to create a giant database of mobile phone and internet records have been unveiled by the UK government
Publication date: 2008-10-20more
Son's website may help solve Mum's murder
A website set up by a son for his murdered mum may have yielded results
Publication date: 2008-10-20more
SIM cards to protect kids from bullying
REGULATED SIM cards that protect children from unwanted texts and calls on their mobile phones could be available for the Christmas market.
Publication date: 2008-10-20more
Harry Potter's cloak is no longer 'fantasy' as scientist publishes amazing findings
Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Identity theft website closed down
Criminals who were trading credit card details online have been put out of business
Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Mobile users hit by skin rashes
It's official - mobile phones are bad for you. They can cause skin rashes.
Publication date: 2008-10-17more
From mouse to the White House
Kill the pork! Bam! Bam! Bam!" I yell, banging down hard on the spacebar of my laptop. Vegetarians shield your eyes. I'm blasting pigs to oblivion, mercilessly frying them with a deadly laser beam. It's a video game called Pork Invaders, on the website of the US Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
The first YouTube election
American voters go to the polls next month to elect a new president, but a clear winner has already emerged -- the internet. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
When the Net is just too good to be true
Heard the one about the steam-powered android who fought in the trenches during the First World War and later helped explore the Antarctic? Unveiled at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair, Boilerplate the robot was an overnight celebrity: presidents and tycoons clamoured to shake his hand; newspapers chronicled his every endeavour. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
In brief: Jameson's Elite special mention
Pernod Ricard, the co-leader of the global spirits and wine industry, said that the company topped the recently released IWSR 2007 Elite Brands List. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Cyberclinic: How can I avoid message board drivel?
Avoiding outpourings of cretinous ignorance online is like trying to avoid goths at a My Chemical Romance gig. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Google uses UK as gambling guinea pig
GOOGLE has been slammed for lifting its four-year ban on allowing gambling sites and casinos to advertise on its website in Britain. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Smart card firm close to administration
TECHNOLOGY ID Data, the UK company that makes smart card systems, is on the verge of calling in administrators after falling short of raising the cash it needs for short-term funding. Publication date: 2008-10-17more
Blog digest: Rick O’Shea
RTÉ 2FM radio DJ Rick O’Shea is a bit of a pop culture king really, isn’t he? Publication date: 2008-10-16more
Eircom pursues ‘Locle’ approach to social media
Ireland’s incumbent telecoms operator, Eircom, is to launch a new social media application on its website that will enable internet and mobile phone users to discover on a map where friends and colleagues are at any time. Publication date: 2008-10-16more
Storm warning: the next generation of mobile is here
Vodafone Ireland chief executive Charles Butterworth is quite generous in his praise of Apple’s iPhone. Although Vodafone doesn’t sell the device in this country, Butterworth nevertheless gives credit where it’s due. Publication date: 2008-10-16more
Intel boss warns that revenue will decline due to economic climate
The financial crisis will impact corporate computer budgets and will hit Intel's business, the company's global chief executive Paul Otellini has warned. Publication date: 2008-10-16more
US hotel WiFi hack attack could happen here
Global Secure Systems, an IT security consultancy, has warned that insecure WiFi systems installed at hotels could be hacked with embarrassing consequences, as has happened with the high-end Thompson hotel chain in the US. Publication date: 2008-10-13more
Blog Digest: Sarah Palin facts
We all like to take US politics seriously, but when it came to the recent Palin v Biden debate, it seemed as though the media were just as interested in the 44-year-old hockey mom’s choice of shoes (yes, I found one site with about five articles on her shoes), or why she wears glasses with no frames. Publication date: 2008-10-09more
Hit the road, Jack, but not without your IT armoury
In times like these, travel can be seen by many as an unnecessary expense, but when your firm is aiming to hold onto loyal clients and drum up new business, getting out there and pressing the flesh is much more effective than communicating by phone or email alone. Publication date: 2008-10-09more
Tough-talking commissioner drives hard bargain with telcos
She has raised the hackles of European fixed and mobile telecoms operators by forcing them to slash call and message costs, but is the toast of Europe’s 500 million citizens who feel ripped off when they get their post-holiday phone bills or who live in border areas. Publication date: 2008-10-09more
Makers of Norton anti-virus buy rival
Symantec Corp., the world's biggest maker of security software, agreed to buy closely held MessageLabs Ltd. for about $695 million to improve protection for its e-mail programs. Publication date: 2008-10-09more
How pirates hijacked DS
Think of a pirate and it's likely that an image of a bandanna-clad, eye-patch sporting villain springs to mind. But these days, piracy has moved out of the high seas and into our homes. For millions of people, downloading an album for free or buying knock-off DVDs in the pub is a normal part of life, with no yo ho ho-ing required. Publication date: 2008-10-08more
Nokia unveils rival to iPhone
Nokia have unveiled a touch-screen handset with unlimited music downloads, challenging Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iTunes. Publication date: 2008-10-08more
Ireland is not lagging behind in broadband league, says minister
Communications Minister Eamon Ryan rejected data showing Ireland at the bottom of the broadband penetration pile, saying it was out of date and not accurate. Publication date: 2008-10-03more
Facebook chooses Dublin for its HQ
Social networking site Facebook has chosen Dublin as its European Headquarters. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
Facebook chooses Dublin as location for European HQ
The social networking website Facebook has reportedly chosen Dublin as the location for its European headquarters. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
The green web – sowing seeds of change online
Climate change is happening and getting people to think green – whether in business or in the home – has a knack to it. It is quite a social thing because it involves a change in lifestyle, and a rethink of how you view your world and the people around you. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
Asking what people want is the way to bridge the digital divide
All eyes will be on the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD this week as he formulates an early Budget geared at keeping the economic wolves from Ireland’s door. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
Nintendo unveils new DSi
Nintendo have introduced a new model of its best-selling DS handheld game player with camera and music- playing functions to widen its lead over Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable machines. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
No fear of banking crisis in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley lawyer Mark Stevens paused only a moment to check Google's finance site during a client meeting as U.S. lawmakers shot down the $700 billion bank- rescue package. Then he got back to work. Publication date: 2008-10-02more
Sound waves
Man has gone to great lengths to make exercise less mind-numbingly boring. Visitors to gyms have it pretty good - TV screens show music channels, while rowers and runners can compete in virtual races via built-in computers. And outdoors, joggers have the ubiquitous iPod. Publication date: 2008-10-01more
Can Google take a bite of the Apple?
Move over Apple. The Google phone is here. Hoping to take a bite out of iPhone's Christmas market, Google's much-anticipated G1 phone was met with some tepid reviews on its debut this week, with critics pointing to a number of shortcomings. Publication date: 2008-09-27more
How the church is slowly catching up with the internet
Awesome. That was the word employed this week by the Primate of All Ireland, Doctor Sean Brady, to launch the Church's new website, catholicbishops.ie. Addressing the global reach of the internet, the Archbishop described it as "an awesome tool of communication", adding that he regarded it as "the single most revolutionary communications medium of all time". Publication date: 2008-09-27more
Majority of Irish adults now online - JNIR results
The JNIR (Joint National Internet Research) was published today. Its findings reveal that 51% of Irish adults are now online and over half of those have made at least one online purchase in the past month. Publication date: 2008-09-27more
Ireland's talent meltdown
IT has been said to me before that the average schoolchild in nations such as China and India dreams of being a scientist.
Publication date: 2008-09-26more
In brief: Energy minister's symposium talk
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan and a host of leading national and international speakers from the worlds of science, academia and industry will address a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Symposium on Science and Engineering underpinning sustainable energy and energy-efficient technologies On October 1. Publication date: 2008-09-25more
Successful classroom tech is about educating the educators
Teachers are becoming bigger proponents of using ICT in classrooms than they are given credit for. That’s according to a company whose spelling software is deployed in 50pc of Irish schools. Publication date: 2008-09-25more
Are new web start-ups more Me 2.0 than Web 2.0, and is this deterring investors?
Watching the nervous entrepreneurs standing in front of the panel on Dragon’s Den can be a nerve-wracking experience – it is not always obvious which ones may succeed and which are destined for the start-up graveyard. Publication date: 2008-09-25more
Ireland’s move to digital audio broadcasting could signal interesting times for radio
It promises more choice and better sound quality, but are we ready for DAB?
Publication date: 2008-09-19more
Irish firms need to innovate to survive these tough times
There is a common DNA strand linking the activities of Apple and home-grown global success stories such as Havok. Publication date: 2008-09-18more
Ireland’s move to digital audio broadcasting could signal interesting times for radio
It promises more choice and better sound quality, but are we ready for DAB?
Publication date: 2008-09-18more
New IBM data hub to give €30m boost
COMPUTER giant IBM is to spend €30m on a new data centre in Dublin. Publication date: 2008-09-18more
E-books don't furnish a room
A generation of electronic book readers, new to the market, promises to 'revolutionise reading'. Katy Guest wonders why
Publication date: 2008-09-15more
Switching it on for the virtual generation
Irish telecoms firms are investing 1700m in upgrading their infrastructure. But to ensure their confidence, Government needs to re-evaluate telecoms regulation, says Tommy McCabe of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF)
Publication date: 2008-09-11more
Guitar heroes identify a niche and strike the right chord
All around the world this weekend, grown men with beer guts will be leaping across their living rooms, bashing out neat riffs as they relive rock and roll dreams from teenage heydays. Publication date: 2008-09-11more
Netbooks versus notebooks – is the PC industry trying to cannibalise itself?
Laptop computers have been with us for over 20 years now and today they are the largest-selling segment of the personal computer (PC) industry. Publication date: 2008-09-11more
Small Scottish enterprise set to launch free music downloads
The brainchild of singer Indiana Gregg and her record producer husband Ian Morrow, Glasgow based company Kerchoonz is about to launch it’s free and legal music download service. Publication date: 2008-09-11more
Green technology 'must be priority'
DEVELOPING green technologies, including wave, wind and solar power, should be a priority for Ireland as it faces into difficult economic times, Environment Minister John Gormley urged yesterday. Publication date: 2008-09-10more
Nifty device tackles energy waste
ECO-aware householders can now measure their energy usage with the launch of an innovative product. Publication date: 2008-09-10more
Jobs defies health rumours with iPod fit for Christmas
It has been the talk of the blogosphere for months. Occasional bursts of speculation even sent Apple's shares plunging. So when Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive and genius-in-residence, strolled on to a San Francisco stage yesterday, a sigh of relief went up around Silicon Valley. Publication date: 2008-09-10more
Colao makes his mark at Vodafone as former rival quits in reorganisation
Vittorio Colao, the new chief executive of Vodafone, has made his first big mark on the business with a package of personnel and organisational changes that include the departure of one of his rivals in the race for the top job. Publication date: 2008-09-10more
Google Chrome is rough but has potential say reviewers
Google Inc.'s new Chrome Web browser, designed to crack Microsoft Corp.'s dominance in Internet-surfing software, is a nimble program whose potential makes up for its lack of polish, reviewers said. Publication date: 2008-09-05more
Google Chrome has security flaws say researchers
Google Inc.'s new Chrome Web browser has two security flaws, including one that could enable hackers to trick users into downloading and running a malicious program, security researchers said. Publication date: 2008-09-05more
Electrifying the picnic: the music festival turns techy
It all began in the Seventies at Glastonbury with free love and lots of mud, but the modern music festival has evolved. From connecting with nature to connecting via Bluetooth, the picnic has been electrified. Publication date: 2008-09-04more
Can Ireland get up to speed on broadband?
Created by former broadcast engineers, AirSpeed has deployed a nationwide wireless network that helps businesses like RTÉ and Dairygold in broadband-poor areas. The company is headed by Liam O’Kelly
Publication date: 2008-09-04more
Inside Intel — how ‘Lean Thinking’ could pave the road for future chip investment
The technology world marches to a single beat known as Moore’s Law, created by Intel founder Gordon Moore, which dictates that the number of transistors on a single microchip doubles every 24 months. Publication date: 2008-09-04more
Ringtones most popular downloads among Irish mobile users
A new survey has found that ringtones are the most popular downloads among Irish mobile phone users. Publication date: 2008-09-04more
Google may face antitrust challenge on Chrome
Microsoft has vowed to fight back against the launch of a new web browser by arch-rival Google, promising new features for its market-leading Internet Explorer and putting itself on alert for a challenge to Google on competition grounds. Publication date: 2008-09-03more
Google launches new web browser
Google Inc., owner of the most popular Internet search engine, plans to introduce a Web browser today to take on industry leader Microsoft Corp. Publication date: 2008-09-02more
Datalex sees reduction in losses
Datalex Plc, a maker of software for the travel industry, said its first-half loss narrowed as online sales increased and the company won new contracts with customers including Saudi Arabian Airlines. Publication date: 2008-08-29more
Disharmony at iTunes
Five billion and counting fast. That is how many songs have been downloaded since Apple's iTunes music store flung open its digital doors in 2003, putting more than 8 million individual tracks within a click and a dollar of anyone with a computer. Publication date: 2008-08-29more
IT veteran achieves perfect Zen through open source
Utah software company Novell employs 150 people in Dublin. The advent of open source software, particularly Linux, gave this long-standing IT giant a new lease of life. Ron Hovsepian is the company’s CEO
Publication date: 2008-08-28more
The long arm of the law has just got longer, says Dublin tech firm
Will BlackBerry boldly beat off ‘killer’ iPhone in competitive business market?
BlackBerry and Palm’s dominance of the business market is to be tested
Publication date: 2008-08-28more
Tomorrow's world today
While scientists continue to pull off extraordinary feats of ingenuity in harnessing our physical world, there are a few technological advances that have, over the years, proved to be stubbornly resistant. Publication date: 2008-08-27more
How Google changed all of our lives
Ten years ago a pair of students at Stanford University tried to sell a new internet search engine they'd developed. American Larry Page and Russian Sergey Brin reckoned that they'd come up with a system that was quicker and more user-friendly than anything available, but when they pitched their invention at AltaVista, Excite, Yahoo! and the other big players of cyberspace, there were no takers. Publication date: 2008-08-23more
Can Jerry Seinfeld make Microsoft cool? $300 million says he can
For two years, Microsoft has been prodded and poked fun of in Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads on both sides of the Atlantic, and the company has finally snapped. Publication date: 2008-08-22more
In brief: Quarter losses down for Trintech
Financial software firm Trintech said yesterday that its second-quarter loss narrowed as revenue rose. Publication date: 2008-08-21more
Ireland needs to do the math for the ICT sector
Ireland’s ICT sector risks being seriously undermined by the continuing maths failure rates at second level and the Goverment needs to act, says Shane Dempsey, director of the Irish Software Association
Publication date: 2008-08-21more
Firms take the hi-tech road in a bid to counter rising fuel bills
A telematics company from Galway has come up with new technology which it estimates can reduce fuel bills by 10-15pc by tapping into a vehicle’s engine and monitoring driver behaviour such as harsh braking and acceleration. Publication date: 2008-08-21more
Social media’s lingua franca is ‘Tweet’-talking its way into business
If ever an emerging technology had its ‘flash in the pan’ moment, it was this week when popular messaging platform Twitter informed the world it was no longer footing the bill for sending SMS messages to its 1.2 million dedicated followers. Publication date: 2008-08-21more
Apple to face music over iPod nano fires
JAPAN’S trade ministry said yesterday that three fires had been caused by overheating Apple iPod nanos, which it said could be due to a battery defect. Publication date: 2008-08-20more
The wolves inside your door
IRELAND has been rocked by revelations of laptops belonging to banks and state agencies, which contained thousands of private citizens’ information, being stolen. In the UK, disks containing data on thousands of welfare recipients got lost by a courier. Publication date: 2008-08-19more
Firms should look closer to home for data loss
The recent loss and theft of laptops belonging to both Bank of Ireland Life and the Irish Blood Transfusion Board attracted headlines. But Michael Conway of Renaissance Software is still not convinced Irish firms know the real dangers
Publication date: 2008-08-14more
Irish academic spin-outs make the leap from research lab to real life
The translation of research outputs into tangible technologies in this country is a slow burn, but we are beginning to see outputs and some spin-out companies have had success, according to Martin Lyes, divisional manager for research and innovation at Enterprise Ireland. Publication date: 2008-08-14more
Femtocell technology: cheaper, faster 3G so then why the hard cell?
Apple’s iPhone may have grabbed this year’s mobile industry hype all for itself but another technology with a much broader reach is on its way. Publication date: 2008-08-14more
Dell to sell business laptop with battery life up to 19 hours
Dell Inc., the second-largest personal-computer maker, introduced business laptops that can run for as long as 19 hours on a single charge. Publication date: 2008-08-13more
Re-using technology to liberate and educate
Former investment banker Cormac Lynch believes education is key to solving Africa’s problems and has persuaded Irish businesses to donate some 7,000 computers for schools and colleges on the troubled continent
Publication date: 2008-08-07more
Are the odds stacked against start-ups in the search engine space?
Faster services and lower prices herald mobile broadband arms race
Does 3G technology offer a viable alternative to fixed-line broadband?
Publication date: 2008-08-07more
11 charged with 'world's biggest ID fraud'
The Justice Department charged 11 people with stealing more than 40 million credit- and debit-card numbers from nine retailers including T.J. Maxx, calling it the largest U.S. identity theft prosecution. Publication date: 2008-08-06more
You won't believe your ears
In a swish recording studio deep within the bowels of the Abbey Road complex in north-west London, the play button is solemnly depressed on a shiny, tiny, all-in-one £70 stereo system. Publication date: 2008-08-06more
No online retail war after tycoon ditches web plan
BUSINESS tycoon Ben Dunne has abandoned plans for an online retail venture just as his former company, Dunnes Stores, seems to be gearing up for its own internet launch. Publication date: 2008-08-06more
Jobs bonanza for tech sector despite worrying economic climate
IRELAND has reaped a fine harvest of new technology jobs despite the nation’s propensity to talk itself into a recession. In the first three weeks of July, some 160 technology jobs were created by four technology and telecoms providers. Publication date: 2008-08-05more
BT says it will 'shake up market' with new broadband
BT has rolled out a new high-speed broadband service ahead of schedule, claiming it will "shake up the market". Publication date: 2008-07-31more
Tech titan: sector will survive crunch
$11.6bn storage technology giant EMC employs 1,600 people in Cork and last week announced 50 new jobs as part of a €20m investment. Joe Tucci is the company’s chief executive Publication date: 2008-07-31more
Sidelining SMS bullies is a numbers game, say tech firms
If emerging Irish technology companies have their way, consumers will soon be able to avoid receiving text messages from bullies and stalkers by blocking their numbers. Publication date: 2008-07-31more
Ignoring website accessibility is not just wrong – it is bad for business
If someone told you that your shop or business property was so badly designed that 10pc of your customers had great difficulty finding your products or services, would you consider a better layout or just watch them leave in frustration? Publication date: 2008-07-31more
iPhone: The new web is born
A quarter of a century ago, Apple sparked a personal computing revolution with the Macintosh 128K Publication date: 2008-07-31more
From zero to hero
Swooping through Gotham with more gadgets than 007 while beating bad guys to a pulp and receiving the adulation of the masses - who wouldn't want to be Batman? Publication date: 2008-07-31more
Cars to run on household rubbish
Fuel made from food scraps rather than crops could be powering vehicles soon
Publication date: 2008-07-28more
Scrabble owners to sue Scrabulous makers
Hasbro Inc., maker of the Scrabble board-game, sued the creators of ''Scrabulous,'' an online version found on Facebook.com, claiming it violates the company's copyrights and trademarks. Publication date: 2008-07-25more
The Celtic Tiger is alive and well - in cyberspace
There was a time when kinky toys and naughty knickers were the only things that red-faced shoppers had smuggled to their doorstep through the secrecy of online shopping. Publication date: 2008-07-25more
Could video really be the saviour of the radio stars?
If someone had to save the music industry from itself, it seems fitting that the city which brought the world U2 and Thin Lizzy is the place to start arresting the steep decline the industry has allowed itself to fall into. Publication date: 2008-07-25more
Online spread betting tipped to even the odds for novice investors
SPREAD betting, a form of gambling that has its origins in the Seventies, is big business in 2008. As markets around the world rise and fall, the genre has been seized by one of Ireland’s largest betting firms as a way to allow punters to gain using the internet, whether stocks rise or fall. Publication date: 2008-07-25more
Mind games: Harnessing the power of your thoughts
The year is 1983 and, in a Tokyo suburb, man (well, one man) is evolving a new use for his opposable thumbs. His tool: a strange lump of plastic attached, via cables and a bigger lump of plastic, to his television. Publication date: 2008-07-24more
Nintendo Wii passes Microsoft Xbox as top console in U.S. homes
Nintendo Co.'s Wii, the machine that plays games by swinging a motion-sensing controller like a bat, overtook Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 as the leading console in U.S. homes among the latest generation of video-game players. Publication date: 2008-07-19more
Time to start getting personal with the PC
The senior vice-president for global marketing with HP’s personal systems group, Satjiv Chahil, discusses how the computer company came to rethink and redesign the personal computer.
Publication date: 2008-07-17more
NUI Maynooth’s road trip to technology success
Last week, while many Irish college students were enjoying their summer holidays and still sleeping in, three National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth lads were zooming towards the Channel Tunnel to Paris, smelling faintly of chip oil with a few hungry seagulls hovering overhead. Publication date: 2008-07-17more
Innovative businesses emerge as true heroes of the Irish internet
Irish firms are more innovative online and one firm has created a ‘Facebook for foodies’
Publication date: 2008-07-17more
Icahn claims Yahoo! 'distorted facts'
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Yahoo! distorted the facts in explaining why directors rejected a proposal for Microsoft to break up the internet company and urged shareholders to help him oust the board. Publication date: 2008-07-17more
Digital Dickens
In a one-bedroom flat above a noisy San Francisco street, Scott Sigler is plotting a revolution in the world of books. Sigler is a science-fiction writer with a host of fans, who are described as "junkies" on his website. His work is gripping, pacy, and often stomach-churningly violent. He tells stories that are, as the saying goes, hard to put down. Publication date: 2008-07-16more
New Wii gadgets go on show
Nintendo Co., maker of the top- selling Wii video-game console, introduced accessories that will enable users to talk to each other during play and simulate musical instruments through its motion-sensitive controller. Publication date: 2008-07-16more
Xbox to focus on social gaming
Microsoft Corp. will add new features to its Xbox Live online network, including games that let users put themselves in cartoon-like videos, in a bid to attract a broader audience. Publication date: 2008-07-16more
A trinity of biotech, nanotech and IT will define 21st century
THE first half of the 21st century will be defined by advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology. And scientists will be pressed into networks of editors responsible for managing vast amounts of knowledge, an acclaimed scholar and economist told siliconrepublic.com. Publication date: 2008-07-11more
Irish firms leave themselves wide open to data thieves
Devices like the new iPhone 3G are being hyped as the business tools of tomorrow. But firms don’t realise that employees are losing devices with valuable information to eagle-eyed, opportunistic thieves.
Publication date: 2008-07-10more
Carphone Warehouse plans some big buys
In recent months, US electronics retailer Best Buy paid $2.5bn for a 50pc stake in Carphone Warehouse. This may result in Ireland’s first 4,000sq m Best Buy store this year, says Stephen Mackarel, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse Ireland
Publication date: 2008-07-10more
Meet the brave new wave of Irish technology start-ups
What makes the current crop of technology start-ups in Ireland so different from their predecessors like Iona? It’s the unusual dichotomy of wisdom and hindsight, mixed with an appetite for somewhat risky business. Publication date: 2008-07-10more
Energy exceeds property costs
Irish data centre energy costs are to exceed property costs by 2010, according to a study carried out by market research firm iReach. Publication date: 2008-07-09more
ISPs key to beating the botnets
DELETING reams of spam from email inboxes is, for many people, as much a part of the daily routine as a morning coffee or chatting by the office water cooler. Despite the industry’s best efforts, the problem hasn’t gone away; if anything, it’s worse. Last month, spam accounted for more than three quarters of all email traffic worldwide, according to MessageLabs. Publication date: 2008-07-07more
Google seeks to keep YouTube user information private in Viacom lawsuit
Google Inc., owner of the YouTube video-sharing Web site, said it's seeking to remove users' login information from a database of all videos viewed on YouTube that it must turn over to Viacom Inc. Publication date: 2008-07-04more
Impact Earth
A century ago this week, an asteroid fireball exploded over Siberia with the power of 185 Hiroshima bombs. Steve Connor asks how we can prevent a similar catastrophe in a major world city
Publication date: 2008-07-03more
Yahoo! goes full circle as shares drop to pre-Microsoft bid levels
SHARES in Yahoo! plunged below the $20 (€12.6) mark earlier this week, coming close to its trading level before Microsoft launched its failed buyout attempt in February. Publication date: 2008-07-03more
Live movie-making takes to the streets as Qik cuts to the chase
Launch of iPhone 3G sets stage for mobile revolution
The iPhone has changed mobile forever, says chief executive of O2 Europe, Matthew Key
Publication date: 2008-07-03more
Digital real estate player is powering up
Backed by a Californian pension fund, Digital Realty Trust has being buying 13 million sq ft of data centres around the world, including two centres in Dublin. Chris Crosby is senior VP of the company.
Publication date: 2008-07-03more
Yahoo! defends strategy to shareholders
Yahoo! Inc., battling billionaire investor Carl Icahn for control of its board, told shareholders that a partnership with Google Inc. was a better choice than a deal with Microsoft Corp. Publication date: 2008-07-01more
New 3G iPhone arrives starting at €45
THE much anticipated, nextgeneration iPhone has been announced by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, with an 11 July release date set for Ireland and the UK. Publication date: 2008-06-30more
Online bingo poised for growth
For most people, bingo brings up images of elderly ladies in smoke-filled halls. But many online gambling executives say it's the next big growth area. Publication date: 2008-06-27more
Fear and loathing online
Every step you take in today’s digital world, every credit card transaction, every email and every phone call reveals something about you. Publication date: 2008-06-27more
Gathering the data to green the machine
Daniel Tinkiel, COO of Data Electronics, talks about his firm’s new data centre in Ballycoolin which is using a combination of green technologies to reduce its carbon footprint Publication date: 2008-06-27more
Planting the seeds for growth on the campus
After a slow start, there are promising signs that efforts to turn ideas from Irish universities into products or companies are having some success. Publication date: 2008-06-27more
The time of sleeping satellites is over
Earth-orbiting satellites may be mankind’s current monument to our state of evolution, but they haven’t always had good press. They’ve been cited as expensive failures, shot out of the sky by ballistic missiles or are simply viewed as an expensive method of communication. Publication date: 2008-06-27more
Product Review: Ultra-light laptop
Pros: Light but sturdy and powerful
Cons: Old-fashioned appearance
Price: From €1,995
Publication date: 2008-06-27more
Facebook turns to Visa
Facebook Inc., the biggest U.S. social-networking site, will host a program run by Visa Inc. to support small businesses and attract more advertising. Publication date: 2008-06-25more
Nokia to buy remainder of Symbian for $410 million
Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, offered to buy the 52 percent of Symbian Ltd. it doesn't own for about 264 million euros ($410 million) to create royalty-free operating systems for handsets. Publication date: 2008-06-25more
Google's reputation ranked highest by consumers
Google Inc. has the best reputation among large corporations in the eyes of U.S. consumers, helped by a perception that it treats employees fairly, a research firm found. Publication date: 2008-06-23more
Yahoo introducing two e-mail domains to lure users
Yahoo Inc., operator of the most popular Web e-mail program the U.S., is introducing two new domains so users can choose names already taken on the main site. Publication date: 2008-06-21more
'Computers and phones can combat climate change'
Telecommunications and computers can be used to help cut carbon-dioxide emissions and save more than $1 trillion worldwide by reducing electricity and fuel use, the Climate Group said. Publication date: 2008-06-21more
Yahoo faces exodus of top managers after ending Microsoft talks
Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang faces an exodus of top managers, challenging his effort to turn around the Internet company. Publication date: 2008-06-21more
Microsoft buys Navic to add television ads to online campaigns
Microsoft Corp., the third-largest seller of Internet ad space in the U.S., will add television spots to its advertising system by acquiring Navic Networks, stepping up competition with market leader Google Inc. Publication date: 2008-06-19more
The geek's guide to netiquette
Social networking is a minefield for manners - should you poke your boss? Can you have too many friends? Rhodri Marsden shares his golden rules
Publication date: 2008-06-19more
Ireland is facing the threat of a data tsunami
Currently the amount of data worldwide is doubling every 11 months – but by 2010 it will double every 11 hours. Publication date: 2008-06-19more
Viewers will call the shots in TV revolution
Ireland is emerging as a force in the evolution of home entertainment, where viewers can be their own producers
Publication date: 2008-06-19more
Product Review: HP personal digital assistant
Pros: Google Maps and GPS nav combo is pretty cool
Cons: Screen is far too small
Price: From €399
Publication date: 2008-06-19more
Interview: Supply and demand for the internet economy
Google’s Dublin base, which employs over 1,300 people from 40 nations, has a unique role in the search giant’s operations. Nelson Mattos is vice-president of engineering for Google EMEA.
Publication date: 2008-06-19more
Spy satellite will monitor illegal logging across six African countries
A spy satellite is to be trained on the vast rainforests of central Africa as part of a British project designed to protect them from illegal logging under plans to be unveiled today. Publication date: 2008-06-17more
Hewlett-Packard repackages high-powered server in blade format
Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest maker of server computers, cut the price of its most powerful model and changed the design to deliver twice as much performance in half the space. Publication date: 2008-06-16more
Yahoo shares drop after Yang's new deal
Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang's five-month conflict with Microsoft ended at the wekkend, but the outcome may not be good for him or for the internet company's investors. Publication date: 2008-06-16more
Grief of the gadget geeks
Yes, that strange noise you heard this week, a cross between cursing and crying, came from the people who bought the first iPhones. Ed Power reports Publication date: 2008-06-15more
Google admits it still can't make money from YouTube
Almost two years after it paid $1.65bn (£848m) for the YouTube video-sharing site, Google still has not worked out how to make money from the business, its chairman and chief executive conceded, even though hundreds of millions of people visit it every day. Publication date: 2008-06-13more
Yahoo 'damaged goods' after Yang fails to revive Microsoft deal
Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang's five-month conflict with Microsoft Corp. ended yesterday. The outcome may not be good for him or the Internet company's investors. Publication date: 2008-06-13more
Crisis? What crisis? Flower power to fuel students' continental trip
As truck drivers consider plans to mount blockades in protest at soaring fuel costs, three intrepid university students are planning to drive to Paris powered by rape seed oil. Publication date: 2008-06-13more
Keeping IT directors at the boardroom table
$400m-a-year business software player ASG employs 20 people in Belfast and plans to create 10 new jobs in Dublin. Tulin Pledger is director of marketing, EMEA.
Publication date: 2008-06-12more
Tourism sector needs to go site seeing
Ireland’s hospitality sector spends just 1pc of its marketing budget online and is now falling behind global standards. Publication date: 2008-06-12more
Product Review: TomTom GPS navigator
As someone who spends too much time in his car due to Ireland’s notoriously clogged-up road networks, a device that helps navigate around traffic jams ought to be a godsend. Publication date: 2008-06-12more
Internet ads account for just 2-3pc of total ad spend
After petering out during the last dotcom bust, as well as struggling to get accurate figures on online ad spend in 2003, the Irish branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has re-emerged and has already received the support of 60 media bodies and ad agencies in Ireland. Publication date: 2008-06-12more
Does the new iPhone satisfy expectations?
Even if you're an Apple devotee, you still might not know that the new iPhone - announced a couple of days ago - will have a minuscule power adapter, will come in white as well as black, and its headphone jack will no longer be slightly recessed. Publication date: 2008-06-12more
Apple's jobs may unveil faster iPhone to lure business users
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may unveil an iPhone that works with faster wireless networks in a bid to lure business users from the BlackBerry and reach more international customers.
Publication date: 2008-06-07more
Are you all stuffed up?
It's that time of the year again. Aaaaacccchhhhoooo!
Publication date: 2008-06-05more
Yahoo lines up a date in August for showdown with Carl Icahn
Yahoo! has set August 1 as the date for its shareholder meeting, starting the countdown to an epic battle with billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Publication date: 2008-06-05more
A registrar who reigns as king of his domain
In recent weeks, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) passed the 100,000 mark in the number of .ie domains registered. David Curtin is chief executive of the IEDR.
Publication date: 2008-06-05more
Irritated consumers could turn the air blue
Ads via Bluetooth herald a new era in mobile marketing. But will consumers be up in arms over its intrusive nature?
Publication date: 2008-06-05more
Product Review: Touch-sensitive mobile phone
It’s all about touch these days, isn’t it? The very stylish Samsung Soul mobile phone makes a good compromise with two screens: a large upper screen and a smaller, touch-sensitive one called the ‘Magic Touch’. Publication date: 2008-06-05more
Silicon Valley Insider
Growing up in Silicon Valley, Robert Scoble has circuitry in his veins and the credentials to carry on the legacy.
Publication date: 2008-06-05more
Meet mobile’s maker
From a fledgling start-up in 1996, Oliver Coughlan transformed O2 from a voice and text network to a full broadband provider
Publication date: 2008-05-30more
Product Review: Nintendo Wii Fit
Pros: Gives a surprisingly solid workout
Cons: Set-up is really time-consuming
Price: €80 from PC World Publication date: 2008-05-30more
Setting the security trend
Dave Rand, chief technology officer for Trend Micro, talks about the scale of security threats and what can be done to stop them. Publication date: 2008-05-30more
Perception gap fuels skills shortage
Ireland’s IT sector has many well-paid job opportunities for skilled graduates – so why are they going unfilled? Publication date: 2008-05-30more
Blog Digest
The FaithArts Blog: THERE are a few things one must not bring up at a dinner party: the dinner itself, politics and religion. Assuming you have managed to keep the dinner down, I find discussing taboo topics to be an effective if somewhat fiery digestive. Publication date: 2008-05-30more
My new dream
Chad Hurley has been called the world's greatest cyber-nerd — but that's an underestimation of the man. Publication date: 2008-05-26more
Capcom is in talks with studios on movie investments
Capcom Co., publisher of the ``Resident Evil'' video-game series, is in talks with Hollywood studios to jointly produce movies based on its software, President Haruhiro Tsujimoto said.
Publication date: 2008-05-23more
Orange to pilot world's first e-newspaper next week
The world's first entirely electronic newspapers will go on trial in France next week, offering not only morning headlines but automatic updates every hour throughout the day. Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Picture is rosy for Andor as profits soar
Pre-tax profits at Belfast- based digital camera firm Andor Technology climbed 22pc to £800,000 for the six months to the end of March. Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Product Review: Canon digital camera
When I was a child, I would crawl around my parents’ garden in search of insects, spiders, ladybirds and any interesting plants and weeds that caught my attention, examining them intently for hours and pretending they were a part of my imaginary zoo. Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Turn on, tune in, brownout
Chief technology officer for Nortel EMEA, Dave Quane (pictured), talks about the increase in high-definition video on the web and whether this demand will kill the network.
Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Ireland sits on a wireless gold mine
As it’s an island nation, has low population density and is not a military power, in comparison to its European neighbours, Ireland is sitting on an abundance of wireless spectrum that could be worth a fortune to the economy in the years ahead. Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Irish gamers go pro
For many people, shooting aliens, playing virtual golf or driving cars on their PC is strictly recreation, but for a select few, computer gaming offers rewards of a more tangible kind. Publication date: 2008-05-22more
Microsoft's gaze turns to Yahoo! partnership
Microsoft, the software maker which scrapped a $47.5bn bid for Yahoo! this month, may forge a partnership with the internet company on search advertising to challenge Google. Publication date: 2008-05-20more
Microsoft revives talks with Yahoo and proposes new deal
Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, revived the possibility of a deal with Yahoo! Inc. to challenge Google Inc. after failing to agree on a merger. Publication date: 2008-05-20more
Tullow executives strike it rich
While most Irish stocks have been taking a long and cold bath, Aidan Heavey's Tullow Oil has been soaring up towards the sun. For a company that once upon a time couldn't find its way out of a paper bag, Tullow now seems to be hitting gushers with every drill bit. Publication date: 2008-05-18more
Don't be caught in Aer Lingus tale spin
ON the surface Aer Lingus has enjoyed a better week. It eyeballed Siptu. And Siptu blinked. So it's back to work as normal. Well, as normal as it gets at Aer Lingus. Publication date: 2008-05-18more
Taxman's on-trust expenses
WITH businesses across the country having to account for every last cent ahead of spiralling numbers of Revenue audits, it has emerged that Revenue Commissioners staff are entitled to expenses without having to show receipts. Publication date: 2008-05-18more
Icahn pressures Yahoo! over talks
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn threatened to seek control of the Yahoo! board if the internet company doesn't revive takeover talks with Microsoft over its failed $47.5bn bid. Publication date: 2008-05-16more
Microsoft to put Windows on non-profit group's laptops
Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, agreed to make its Windows operating system available on computers bound for poor children in developing countries, part of a test with the One Laptop per Child group. Publication date: 2008-05-16more
Powering consumer electronics
Intel wants to do to home entertainment what the Pentium processor did to the PC business over the past 30 years
Publication date: 2008-05-15more
Framing the future of digital cameras
General manager of Canon Consumer Imaging Ireland, Philip Brady, discusses how the mobile phone and picture sharing sites like Flickr have impacted on the digital camera market
Publication date: 2008-05-15more
Game Review: Grand Theft Auto IV
There aren’t many games that let you steal cars, get involved in a cop chase and punch passing pedestrians, all in between picking out a spiffy new shirt and bringing your date to the local bowling alley. Publication date: 2008-05-15more
Avoiding business blogging blunders
Establishing a successful business presence on the web can be tricky but if you fake it, the online community is unforgiving
Publication date: 2008-05-15more
Jobs screams, sows terror to make Apple magic
Steve Jobs is a narcissistic perfectionist with a volcanic temper who considers most people to be ``bozos.'' Apple Inc.'s chief executive officer is also among the greatest business leaders of all time. Publication date: 2008-05-14more
Accused spammers ordered to pay MySpace $236.8 million judgment
Sanford Wallace, known as the King of Spam in the 1990s, and another man accused of sending unsolicited e-mails to MySpace users must pay News Corp.'s social-networking Web site $236.8 million in damages. Publication date: 2008-05-14more
IBM uses PlayStation 3 chips to build business supercomputers
International Business Machines Corp., the largest computer-services provider, is making lower-cost supercomputers for Wall Street firms and movie studios using chips designed for video-game consoles. Publication date: 2008-05-13more
ITunes starts selling `Sopranos,' `Sex and the City'
Apple Inc.'s iTunes started selling ``The Sopranos'' and ``Sex and the City'' from Time Warner Inc.'s HBO, helping the pay-television network reach fans of the shows outside its subscriber base. Publication date: 2008-05-13more
Research in Motion unveils speedier BlackBerry, beating IPhone
Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled a BlackBerry phone with quicker Web browsing and more room for songs and videos, getting a jump on a faster iPhone that analysts expect next month. Publication date: 2008-05-12more
News: Keyboard nasties
UK researchers have discovered that computer keyboards can carry more harmful bacteria than the average toilet seat. Publication date: 2008-05-10more
Keyboard nasties
UK researchers have discovered that computer keyboards can carry more harmful bacteria than the average toilet seat. Publication date: 2008-05-08more
Irishman spearheads invasion of Mars
Until recently, Limerick man Mike Hinchey was director of NASA’s software engineering lab. He has been appointed as professor of software engineering at University of Limerick (UL) and will co-direct the nationwide Lero project
Publication date: 2008-05-08more
Getting business out of social connections
Social networking can be used by companies to bring their relationships with consumers to the next level
Publication date: 2008-05-08more
Film studios awarded $110.9 million in piracy case against TorrentSpy
Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures and other studios were awarded $110.9 million by a U.S. judge in a case over pirated films distributed through the Dutch file- sharing Web site TorrentSpy.com. Publication date: 2008-05-08more
McAfee says malicious code outbreak biggest in years
McAfee Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of security software, said it uncovered the most widespread infection in three years by ``Trojan horse'' programs that get into computers and steal personal information. Publication date: 2008-05-08more
Gates says Microsoft to pursue `independent strategy'
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said the world's biggest software company will pursue an ``independent strategy'' after Yahoo! Inc. rejected its $47.5 billion takeover bid.
Publication date: 2008-05-07more
Product Review: Nokia music phone
Pros: Looks great, sounds great
Cons: Inscrutably short earphones
Price: Available from Vodafone for €199
Publication date: 2008-05-06more
Firms learn that nothing ventured, nothing gained
Tech start-ups are examining alternative routes to raising cash and are by-passing venture capital
Publication date: 2008-05-06more
Sage advice on the shifting business landscape
From eight people in 1999, through a strategy of acquisition, Sage has grown to employ 300 people in Ireland with revenues of 433m per annum. Liam Mullaney (pictured) is managing director.
Publication date: 2008-05-06more
Game, set and ? sell!
In-game advertising represents an exciting new frontier for the online advertising world. But is anyone ready?
Publication date: 2008-05-06more
Yahoo! stock plunges after Microsoft about-turn
Yahoo! fell the most in almost two years on the Nasdaq yesterday after Microsoft abandoned its $44.6bn takeover of the internet search company because executives couldn't agree on a price. Publication date: 2008-05-06more
Apple sells online movies on same day as DVD release
Apple Inc., maker of the iPod media player, will sell movies through its iTunes online store the same day they are released on DVD, building on its success as a music retailer. Publication date: 2008-05-03more
Musk makes rockets for stars as Tesla taunts Ferrari on Earth
Elon Musk, co-founder of payment giant PayPal Inc., was flying back empty handed from Moscow for a third time in November 2001, when the idea for his new company hit him. Publication date: 2008-05-03more
Microsoft may be running out of time on Yahoo deal
Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer may be running out of time to clinch his proposed purchase of Yahoo! Inc. as the Internet company forges tighter ties with Google Inc. Publication date: 2008-05-02more
Microsoft fails to reach decision on Yahoo takeover
Microsoft Corp. directors failed to decide on the next step in the pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. yesterday, leaving open the debate over whether to walk away from the $44.6 billion bid or fight to replace the Internet company's board. Publication date: 2008-05-01more
Wii: More than just a game
Believe it or not, a Wii handset can help with everything from making music to cleaning the house Publication date: 2008-05-01more
Take-Two's 'Grand Theft Auto' may break game records
``Grand Theft Auto IV,'' the latest version of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s top-selling video game, is forecast to break industry sales records after it arrives in U.S. stores today. Publication date: 2008-04-29more
Nokia readies its iPhone killer
THE N95 may have been touted as a clear competitor to Apple’s web-friendly, bigscreen iPhone but Nokia has this month confirmed it is working on a direct rival with similar functionality and design: the Nokia Tube. Publication date: 2008-04-28more
Microsoft's shares fall by 6pc as Windows sales slump
Microsoft Corp, whose Windows software dominates the personal-computer market, fell as much as 6.4pc in Nasdaq trading after sales slumped, casting doubt on whether PC demand can hold up in a slowing economy. Publication date: 2008-04-26more
It's time to face the music
The entertainment nirvana that is digital life in 2008 seemed impossible just a few years ago. Today, thanks to broadband entertainment, consumers can view trailers, cartoons and music videos on YouTube, play the latest blockbuster games on their Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and buy and download entire albums and movies on sites like iTunes. Sounds perfect? Well, not quite. Publication date: 2008-04-25more
Irish firms to benefit as satellite project takes off
The EU has finally given the green light to the over-budget and behind-schedule Galileo satellite navigation project. Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Google bounce back to answer their critics
Last week Google announced financial results that, for the time being at least, have put critics back in their boxes. Publication date: 2008-04-24more
News to you: Dublin HQ to deliver worldwide
Google's European HQ in Dublin has begun a project to localise the search engine's popular online news service for a number of different countries as it seeks to expand it throughout the globe. Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Techsploitation
Cyber bullies and sex predators are not the only web worries as advertisers charm money away from children
Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Product Review: Sony Blu-ray player
If anyone remembers the old battle between the video standards VHS and Betamax, they will recall that when the porn industry rowed in on the side of VHS, the prime backer of the Betamax standard, Sony, was vanquished.
Publication date: 2008-04-24more
The number’s up for mobile market movers
Samsung has supplanted Motorola at the No 2 spot in the global mobile market and is making strides in the consumer electronics space. Gary Twohig is the new country manager at Samsung
Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Technology to help public services perform better
Like business, Government should publish an annual report to show its stakeholders – ie citizens – the progress being made
Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Nintendo forecasts profit will rise 26% this year
Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game players, forecast profit will rise 26 percent this year as its Wii console outsells rival machines. Publication date: 2008-04-24more
Microsoft tests product that lets different devices share files
Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software developer, will begin testing a program that lets users share computer files from different locations and devices using the Web. Publication date: 2008-04-24more
A matter of education
Education is the aim of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project but will infighting and competition muddy the waters?
Publication date: 2008-04-19more
Product Review: Samsung laser printer
In the gadget family, printers are seen as the boring uncle who talks in a monotonous voice about how Tayto cost 2p when he was a lad. So it’s inevitable that buying a new one to meet your business needs can seem like an unsavoury task – but what if your office printer looked like it had been designed by Darth Vader from Star Wars? Publication date: 2008-04-19more
Living on the ledge delivers just rewards
BalconyTV.com, a daily internet music show broadcasting from a balcony high above Dublin’s Dame Street, has just been nominated for a Webby Award. Stephen O’Regan is one of its three founders
Publication date: 2008-04-19more
Keep on workin’ in the free world
The net is the new workplace and tools can be downloaded in seconds. Is this the beginning or the end of software?
Publication date: 2008-04-19more
Google soars after profit blows past estimates
Google Inc. surged as much as 18 percent in European trading after profit trounced analysts' estimates, spurred by overseas growth and a bigger-than-predicted jump in the number of users clicking on text advertisements. Publication date: 2008-04-19more
The 'Net Prophet
As you walk through MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, there is a yellow hazard sign erected by students at an intersection of walkways. 'Nerds x-ing' it warns, under a stick man with glasses, rucksack and satchel. Publication date: 2008-04-19more
Irish internet start-up touted as serious threat to Google
A start-up company founded by Louth man Tom Costello, which is being already being touted as a serious contender to Google, has received €25m in equity financing from an American private equity house. Publication date: 2008-04-16more
Workers flout rules over internet usage
Three-quarters of employees with internet access flout company rules by surfing the web for personal use. A new survey reveals that
workers are spending as much as an hour a day online at their jobs taking care of personal business. Publication date: 2008-04-16more
Million-song MP3 players on way
A NEW generation of MP3 players could provide music lovers with millions of songs at their fingertips. Publication date: 2008-04-16more
Eircom seeks 'sweetener' to fast-track broadband
Eircom has told the Government it can provide 50pc-55pc of the Irish population with broadband which is as fast or faster than what is available anywhere else in Europe. Publication date: 2008-04-15more
JNIR research
The JNIR (Joint National Internet Research) was published on 9th April. The objective of the JNIR survey is to provide reliable estimates of audiences to Ireland’s key Internet sites, search engines and email providers as a basis for the planning of advertising schedules. Publication date: 2008-04-15more
The Blog Digest
Welcome to the Blog Digest where we take a weekly look at the best of the blogosphere
Publication date: 2008-04-10more
Knocking hot spots off mobile broadband
Alex French, author of Irish internet guide DOT ie and chief operating officer of Wi-Fi network provider BitBuzz, talks about the Irish, the iPhone and the internet.
Publication date: 2008-04-10more
Product Review: Dell Laptop
These days technology is as much about lifestyle and self-expression as it is about functionality and nowhere is this more apparent than in Dell’s latest TV advertisement for its range of Inspiron Colours laptops. Publication date: 2008-04-10more
Getting Irish firms to the top of the pods
Podcasting is an easy way for Irish firms to broadcast online and as a result influence their market and drum up sales
Publication date: 2008-04-10more
Yahoo, fighting Microsoft, agrees to test Google ads
Yahoo! Inc., seeking to scuttle Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion acquisition bid, plans to run some Internet search advertisements from Google Inc. as a way to resuscitate revenue growth.
Publication date: 2008-04-10more
Carbon trading can raise billions of dollars to save forests
Using carbon trading to help save trees could generate billions of dollars a year for tropical forest conservation, said Johannes Ebeling, a senior consultant with emissions-credit developer EcoSecurities Group Plc. Publication date: 2008-04-08more
888 net falls 54% after U.S. online-gaming crackdown
888 Holdings Plc, the second-largest U.K. online gambling company, said profit fell 54 percent in 2007 after a crackdown on Web gaming forced the company out of the U.S. Publication date: 2008-04-08more
Bridging the digital divide no easy task
THE prospect of a deepening digital divide isn't just a preoccupation in Ireland. Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Slowly getting up to speed
In a country that pitched itself as a European technology hub, Ireland's broadband infrastructure has been akin to the dotty family relative that shouldn't really be mentioned at the dinner table. Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Change is the only constant for Dell man
Computer giant Dell is transitioning from being a direct PC seller and is now including retail. Dermot O’Connell is the new country manager driving this change in Ireland
Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Product Review: MP3 player
You know the score: you’re listening to a great song on your MP3 player, tapping your feet and bopping your head. Then, your friend or partner asks if they can listen in too, resulting in one pair of earphones stretched between two people and literal head-banging. Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Virtualisation means no more bare metal cheek
Employing 80 people in Dublin, Citrix’s $607m acquisition of XenSource is key to it becoming a $5bn-a-year IT giant. John Glendenning is European server virtualisation vice-president at Citrix.
Publication date: 2008-04-05more
How Irish firms are winning the tech war
Military and peacekeeping forces alike have technology requirements and many Irish firms are filling this niche
Publication date: 2008-04-05more
U.K. to pass e-mail addresses of paedophiles to Facebook, Bebo
The U.K. government plans to pass the e-mail addresses of people convicted of sex-related offenses to social-networking Web sites as a way of protecting children from paedophiles, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said. Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Apple tops Wal-Mart as leading music retailer in U.S.
Apple Inc., the maker of the iPod media player, said its iTunes online store has surpassed Wal- Mart Stores Inc. as the biggest music retailer in the U.S. Publication date: 2008-04-05more
Ubisoft shares jump as video-game sales beat forecast
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Europe's second-largest video-game maker, jumped as much as 10 percent in Paris trading after saying fiscal 2008 sales and profit beat previous forecasts on games including ``Assassin's Creed.'' Publication date: 2008-04-01more
Google lets YouTube video creators track popularity of clips
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc.'s YouTube, the biggest video Web site, added a feature that lets users and advertisers track viewers, part of an effort to attract more ad spending. Publication date: 2008-03-31more
Google's clicks on sponsored links slow as economy deteriorates
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., the most-popular Internet search engine, saw slower growth in the number of clicks on text advertisements, adding to concern that a sputtering economy is hurting sales.
Publication date: 2008-03-31more
Google search might lead to fewer ads, less profit: David Pauly
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Do a thorough job of googling Google Inc. and you discover its business is advertising -- hardly an endeavor to justify the lofty stock prices the company has enjoyed since it went public in 2004. Publication date: 2008-03-31more
Last-minute festive tech toys
Gaming: This year has been the year of the gamer. No longer the domain of teenage boys, now toddlers, grandparents and everyone in between have been joining in on the casual gaming craze. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Crowning Ireland’s queen of the internet
Now in its 11th year, the Irish Internet Association (IIA) has grown to 900 organisations — from SMEs to public-sector bodies. Maeve Kneafsey is the new chair of the IIA Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Local heroes become video game All-Stars
In the past, kids dreamed of being rock or movie stars and lately perhaps celebrities famous for nothing more than being famous. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Research and riches are a two-way street
In 1999, before the term ‘knowledge economy’ became an abused form of political rhetoric of present-day Ireland, Dr Kevin McDonnell of University College Dublin (UCD) was working on a project for the Department of Agriculture. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Can Magnet man make opposites attract?
Broadband provider Magnet has a €70m capital expenditure plan for Ireland and last week unveiled a 12Mbps business service. Mark Kellett is the company’s new CEO Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Mobile Skype phone
Voice over IP technology’s ability to make cheap or free phone calls to anywhere in the world presents the classic opportunity/threat dilemma for mobile operators. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Is VOD the tonic for Irish viewers?
My first taste of video on demand (VOD) was back in 1997 when I ordered a movie from the TV in my hotel room Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Stay in tune with the latest must-have music players
Come Christmas time, buying an mp3 player for a loved one used to be such a cinch. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Irish broadband users rise by 8pc this year
The number of broadband users in Ireland rose by approximately 8pc in the last quarter to more than 705,000, according to figures released yesterday by telecoms regulator Comreg. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Liquidations soar in Q4
The number of liquidations of Irish companies hiked significantly in the last quarter of 2007 -- the first time ever this trend has been recorded at the end of the year. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Not just any old web trader
New research from Webtrade shows that 65pc of Irish firms view the internet as important to their business. Patrick Bates is Webtrade’s managing director Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Is business finding the value in Vista?
It was supposed to be Microsoft’s latest and best operating system, rich with the promise of more productive workers, less stressed IT managers and, by extension, better performing businesses.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Sony Ericsson P1i
It seems like a long time since Sony Ericsson has brought out a business smart phone device. Everything else has been for the consumer market and despite its edge with a 3.2-megapixel camera – and lately a five-megapixel camera phone – it’s about time it got back into this market. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Star trekking and the next generation
Not content with having been a Topgun fighter pilot, part of the US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme, or an astronaut with NASA, Joe F Edwards Jr is using his retirement to tour the world. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Crowley sees FL pullout kill off €20m windfall
Irish technology entrepreneur Norman Crowley has seen a potential €20m windfall evaporate after Icelandic private equity firm FL Group officially shelved takeover plans for British-based Inspired Gaming. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Irish firm wins Emmy award for gaming effects
AN Irish software firm has won a prestigious award in the United States for its work in making computer games more realistic. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Manufacturers still drive a hard bargain
Laptop prices are coming down, but you should still expect to pay over €500 for even the most basic model from each manufacturer. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Hanafin scorns 'laptops for all' schools plan
Fine Gael's plans for solving the maths and science problem in Irish schools just don't add up, it was claimed last night. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Sony Walkman NWZ-A816
Sometimes simplicity is the top priority when looking for a new gadget and as a digital media player the 4GB Sony Walkman NWZ-A816 couldn’t be easier to use. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Struggling with New Year broadband blues
Are Irish firms paying too much for broadband services that are too slow? Seen through the lens of experiences in other European countries, the answer unfortunately is yes. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
What is Nokia playing at?
This year represents a shift in focus for Nokia, first with the introduction of ‘Comes with Music’, a new subscription service offering unlimited music downloads and now with N-Gage, which launches officially in early 2008. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Keeping the identity thieves at bay
Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes on the internet. Tom Ilube is CEO of Garlik, a new consumer company helping people to protect their online identities
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Apple walking on air with world's thinnest laptop
The US computer company Apple has announced it is to launch "the world's thinnest" laptop. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Now you can download the movie at home
THE days of leaving the house to rent a video could soon be over after Apple announced a new online rental service with the backing of all six of Hollywood’s "major" studios. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Tech stocks enter rough waters
Intel Corporation dropped the most in more than five years in Nasdaq trading after forecasting sales that fell short of analysts' estimates, heightening concern that earnings from technology companies will disappoint investors. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Facebook in talks to set up Irish base
SOCIAL Networking website Facebook is in talks to set up its European base in Ireland. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Online gaming section in €1m Lotto overhaul
THE National Lottery has awarded a €1m contract to an interactive agency to transform their website to include such new features as online gaming. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
UK police are given a get-out-of-jail card
Dublin firm Saadian has given 18 UK police forces a prisoner intelligence system and has generated €1m in revenue. Cliodhna McGurk is founder and CEO. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Mobile software stars on top of their game
With €180m in turnover in 2007 and 70 indigenous companies, the mobile telecoms sector in Ireland is healthy to say the least but more than that, a certain few are beginning to emerge as global leaders in the area.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Lenovo desktop tower PC and monitor
Is it my imagination or is it that as notebook computers become slimmer and lighter and less business-like, their desk-bound brethern are getting larger, more serious, even menacing. Lenovo describes its M57p ThinkCentre Tower as a "workhorse". Just don't go dragging this workhorse to water or you'll do your back in.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Balancing the books on e-government
Three weeks ago I paid for my motor tax over the internet on the www.motortax.ie website. Three days later I received my tax disc in the post and no longer had to fear the long arm of the law. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Multimedia to inform, educate and empower
Technology to equip would-be volunteers for the developing world will be the centrepiece of the new €2.2m Irish Aid Volunteering & Information Centre, which will open on Dublin’s O’Connell Street this week. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Xbox queen says it’s ‘game on’ for a nation of gamers
Xbox Live is set to increase the number of movies Irish people can download from 40 to 400. Orla Sheridan is country manager at Microsoft Ireland's entertainment and devices division. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Can Steve Jobs keep walking on Air?
Under the watchful eye of CEO Steve Jobs, Apple Inc manages to be an industry powerhouse pulling in annual revenue of US$240.1bn, yet commanding consumer respect and cult status with iconic products like the iPod.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: Sony Ericsson multimedia phone
For a mobile phone to be ultimately successful in the mass market, there are three things which need to be achieved. First, good, attractive, design – it must have the wow factor. Secondly, the device must have an operating system people will find easy to use. And thirdly, it must sport nifty technology that sets it apart from the pack.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Computer giant's frustration at rival's dominance behind the audacious offer
THE call came on Thursday afternoon. From his office in Seattle, Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, picked up his phone to tell Jerry Yang -- the head of Yahoo! based further down the US west coast in Sunnyvale, California -- that he had just launched a $45bn hostile takeover bid for the search engine. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Microsoft targets Google with $45bn bid for Yahoo!
MICROSOFT, the computer giant founded by Bill Gates, has launched an audacious bid to buy the online search engine Yahoo!. The multi-billion dollar deal could challenge Google's dominance of the internet. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Google could rise or fall as Microsoft eyes Yahoo
IF you'd bought shares in internet firm Google when it went public in 2004, there's a chance you might have been planning an early retirement, or at least making a down payment on an old Tuscan farmhouse. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Shaking up the Airwaves
The champagne will start flowing at 11 o'clock this morning, figuratively speaking at least. One hour before their first broadcast, team iradio are hosting a glitzy launch of the classic media variety. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Does Facebook hold up to EU privacy laws?
200,000 Irish people are members of popular social networking site Facebook. But are we really sure what Facebook is planning to do with our personal data?
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: USB broadband modem
Pros: Very solid, resilient connection
Cons: Speeds seem standard
Price: €149
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
How Irish technology built Hollywood
Meet the former RTÉ technician who has shaped the global video entertainment industry as we know it
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
On the lookout for the next big thing
With a fund of €100,000, Eircom is hoping to attract the tech world’s bright young things, perhaps cultivating an Irish Google or Facebook. Dervilla Mullan is head of online at Eircom.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
'Poison pill' may not prevent Microsoft takeover of Yahoo
Yahoo, the internet company which rejected a $44.6bn bid from Microsoft, may find a so-called 'poison pill' in its bylaws isn't enough to defend against a hostile takeover. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Ringing up a storm on phone lines
At 11.00 yesterday morning two Australians and a Frenchman walked into finance minister Brian Cowen's Merrion Street offices. The delegation represented Eircom and Babcock & Brown Capital, the Australian venture capitalist which controls Ireland's largest telephone company. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum
After 10 years, John Breslin’s online forum on everything from personal relationships to motors and mustard, Boards.ie, is still blazing a trail
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: MacBook Air
My mother always told me it’s the little things in life that count. She probably didn’t mean to extend this to one of the lightest and slimmest laptops on the market but when I set eyes on the MacBook Air I knew she was right. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
On the hunt for this year’s killer app
Few technologies bar email and mobiles have changed the workplace. What new killer apps are on the horizon?
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Local firms need to grow up and act global
Irish software firms employ 16,000 people and are responsible for annual revenues of €1.4bn. Shane Dempsey is the new director of the Irish Software Association.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Computers 'to match human brains by 2030'
Computer power will match the intelligence of human beings within the next 20 years because of the accelerating speed at which technology is advancing, according to a leading scientific "futurologist". Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Toshiba to pull plug and admit defeat in battle with Blu-ray
Sony is to declare victory in the bitter war for the next generation of DVDs, as talk intensifies that Toshiba is preparing to pull the plug on its rival format. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Even better than the real thing?
With the release of U2’s new 3D movie, Hollywood studios are now showing greater interest in 3D technology than at any other time since the Fifties
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: AeroGarden
The further technologically advanced we become the more we can feel that we are moving away from nature but sometimes a gadget can bring Mother Earth, or in this case a selection of her herbs, right into our lives. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Counting the cost of IT failure
A ‘culture of chaos’ around business and IT needs means only 10pc of private and public sector IT projects succeed
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Setting the standard for the mobile web
Dublin-based DotMobi has sold over 800,000 mobile domains to brands that include Rolls Royce and Hilton Hotels. Norbert Grey is vice-president of finance
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Pure genius: The inventors' hall of fame
This spring, America's National Inventors' Hall of Fame will confer its greatest honour on the men and women whose ingenuity has changed our lives. The creations may be familiar, but how much do we know about the people who gave them to us? Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Ryanair appeals for patience as new site fails to take off
Ryanair last night appealed for passengers' "patience" as the airline's newly revamped website continues to endure "bedding-down problems" in the coming days. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Microsoft fined €899m for ignoring EU ruling on 'abuse' of dominance
Microsoft was fined a record €899m by the European Commission yesterday as it received its third financial penalty for failing to comply with a landmark antitrust ruling issued four years ago. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Sound Wikinomic theory?
Mass collaboration using blogs and wikis could result in the greatest change in the architecture of business since the industrial revolution
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: Wi-Fi media player
My apartment complex has a ‘no pets’ rule so I viewed the Nabaztag as an opportunity to own an electronic pet that not only happily eschews the usual pet habits of eating and excreting but can connect to the internet and do useful things like read me my email. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
The man who wove the web
Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the world wide web, believes today’s internet needs to get smarter and more social.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
A shop window into the world of science
Trinity College Dublin recently opened its new Science Gallery, which is the first of its kind in the world. Dr Michael John Gorman is the gallery’s director.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
In a state of surveillance
By the end of March 2008, the Irish Government will begin mass digital surveillance, noting when we log on and log off the internet, as well as every email we send and who we send it to. We have entered into a new democratic state where our entire digital footprint is recorded and stored for up to two years by our internet service providers (ISPs). Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Google currently recruiting 200 jobs in Dublin
Search giant Google is in the process of recruiting 200 new workers at its Dublin European headquarters, where it already employs 1,500 people, siliconrepublic. com has learned. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
€500m boost for Irish R&D
Three years into the Government’s strategy for Science , Innovation and Technology (2006-2013), a new scheme has begun which will pour e500m into R&D through Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and various job creation agencies over the next six years. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
PeopleSoft founder buys Cape Clear
Workday Inc, the new venture of billionaire founder of PeopleSoft, David Duffield, has acquired Irish web services technology company Cape Clear for an undisclosed sum. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
26 tech jobs as Kerry web firm raises 1.2m
Some 26 new technology jobs are due to be created at a Tralee-headquartered technology company after it emerged it has attracted e1.2m in seed funding from Enterprise Ireland and the AIB Seed Capital Fund. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Why don’t we do digital dinner?
Some may ask that if male bias is a problem in the tech sector, why widen the chasm by creating a girls-only club? Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: Touchscreen phone
Your mobile phone says a lot about you; in fact it is viewed by some as a status symbol akin to what car you drive or where you holiday. The LG Prada phone is for those who want to discreetly say: I have money and style. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Closing the gates on a man named Bill
Halfway through a concert, Irish rock star Bono goes backstage to take a call from one of the world’s most powerful individuals. He mutters the F-word before whining: "We’re full up in the band. We can’t just replace Edge because you got a high score on Guitar Hero, Bill." Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Intelligent firms know ‘who dares sells’
Business intelligence (BI) gives MDs a digital dashboard on every aspect of their firm’s performance. SAS Group client director John Farrelly is spearheading this trend in Ireland.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
The perfect storm
When notice of a new malware threat surfaced on 17 January last year, few outside the IT security community paid it much heed and few within could have guessed its impact. Like many attacks before it, this piece of code tried to trick people into clicking on an email attachment containing code designed to hijack their computer. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
How dream of reading someone's mind may soon become a reality
The ability to read someone's mind and even to visualise their dreams has come a step closer with a study showing that it is possible to predict accurately what someone is seeing by analysing their brain activity with a medical scanner. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Murdoch has no plans to compete for Yahoo
News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch said he isn't going to challenge Microsoft's attempt to buy Yahoo, narrowing options for the second-largest internet search engine. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
And your host for the internet is …
Home-grown data centre firm Hosting 365 is to create 20 new jobs as part of a €2m expansion. Stephen McCarron is the company’s chief executive.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Holy smokes, it’s the silver surfers!
In their rush to be all things cool and trendy, mobile networks and broadband providers are overlooking an important market, the over-55s, with the result that a digital divide continues to widen across sectors of our society.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Tablet PC
It occurred to me when the PC industry came out with a new type of computer that it was no small irony it had been called the ‘tablet’. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Pleased to meet you, virtually
Recently, 240 employees of the Revenue Commissioners from 11 regional offices attended a seminar on VAT. In the past, this would have involved a mass exodus of staff to a central location such as Dublin, an administrative hassle trying to accommodate the numbers in one room and thousands of man-hours lost as workers made the journey.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
AOL to buy Bebo networking site for $850m
Internet group AOL has agreed to buy Bebo for $850m, in the latest in a string of multi-million deals designed to tap into the boom in popularity of social networking sites. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
iCaramba!
It's not every day that I'm the subject of admiring glances from four attractive women. I'm sitting on my own in a bar, waiting for my friend to arrive, and the girls to the left are getting increasingly excitable. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Nintendo's Wii holds lead in U.S video-game consoles
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. kept the lead in U.S. video-game console sales with 432,000 Wii players purchased in stores last month, according to NPD Group Inc. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
New iPhone fails to create buzz at launch in capital
THEY sparked scenes of mayhem when they were launched in the US and the UK. But the debut of the Apple iPhone on the market was something of a damp squib in Dublin today. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Google loses bid for EU-wide trademark protection on Gmail name
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet search engine, lost its bid to get European Union-wide trademark protection for ``Gmail,'' the name of its Web-based e-mail service. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Ireland's broadband rate rises to meet EU average
Ireland's broadband penetration rate increased to just over 20pc at the end of the last quarter, putting the country just in line with the EU average, but still behind other member states such as France, Belgium, the UK, Estonia and Sweden. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Customers hit by 300 phishing attacks a day
CUSTOMERS of Irish banks are being hit by up to 300 phishing attacks a day, where crooks try to trick people into giving them their online bank security codes so they can steal from their accounts. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Toshiba cuts profit target 31% on chip prices, HD DVD
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp., Japan's largest chipmaker, cut its full-year profit forecast by 31 percent because of falling prices for flash memory and costs to withdraw from the HD DVD business.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Sony Ericsson earnings hurt by lower phone sales
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd., the smallest of the world's four main mobile-phone makers, said first-quarter earnings and revenue will fall on slower handset sales, higher research costs and a component shortage. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Innovation for a new world order
In 16th-century Italy, the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli wrote: "I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it."
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product review: Apple iPhone
Several friends (and taxi drivers who were listening in on our heated conversations) have dismissed the iPhone as a glorified iPod ‘with a phone bit stuck on’, which made me wonder if it really is the revolutionary communications device it has been touted as. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Firms need to open up to laptop theft
Laptop loss or theft is greater than firms admit. With the consumer losing out, is mandatory reporting the answer?
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Digital Renaissance man to bridge research gap
The Government’s €25m National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) replaces the failed Media Lab Europe and recently put out a €7m call for proposals. Ben Hurley is the centre’s director.
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Only printing can save banks
THE near-collapse and bail-out of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns raises fundamental questions about the value of bank shares. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Life is tweet for connected professionals
A new messaging craze that combines the best elements of online communications is sweeping the professional world, even the politicians are in on it
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Product Review: 3G broadband stick
Let me start by saying that mobile broadband, when it is working, is a wonderful thing. Enjoying a sturdy internet connection no matter where you are, be it in your home, on a train or while out and about, is becoming almost indispensable for the modern worker. Publication date: 2008-03-27more
You can always count on the web for answers
Young tech entrepreneur Aodhan Cullen talks about the growth of his global web analytics firm StatCounter and how the iPhone is faring as a web browser
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Health concerns over takeover trend
Amid market turmoil local IT stars Iona and Horizon are about to be acquired. Is this bad news for the Irish IT sector?
Publication date: 2008-03-27more
Google Sees Rise in Mobile Internet Use
Google has reported an acceleration of Internet activity among cell phone users since introducing faster Web services on some phones, fueling confidence that the mobile Internet era is at hand.
Early evidence showing sharp increases in Internet use on phones, not just computers, has emerged from services that Google began offering in recent months on the Blackberry, the iPhone and Nokia devices for business professionals and creators of multimedia pictures and videos, Google said Tuesday.
"We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet usage," Matt Waddell, a product manager for Google Mobile, said in an interview. "We are seeing that mobile Internet use is in fact accelerating.
The growing availability of flat-rate data plans from phone carriers instead of per-minute charges that previously discouraged Internet use, along with improved Web browsers on cell phones and better-designed services from companies like Google, are fueling the growth, Waddell said.
Google announced the findings as it introduced a software download for cell phones running Microsoft Windows Mobile software that conveniently positions a Google Web search window on the home screen of such phones.
Similar versions of the search software, which Google introduced for Blackberry users in December and certain Nokia phones in February, have sped up the time users take to perform Web searches by 40 percent and, in turn, driven usage.
The software shortcuts the time it takes for people to perform Web searches on Google by eliminating initial search steps of finding a Web browser on the phone, opening the browser, waiting for network access, and getting to Google.com. By making a Google search box more convenient, cell phone users have begun using the Internet more, the company said.
"We are actually seeing a 20 percent increase in the number of searches by people," Waddell said.
Google's mobile plug-in software lets users... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Dell Plans New PCs for China, India
Dell Inc., the world's No. 2 PC maker, is developing new models aimed at Chinese and Indian consumers to drive sales in fast-growing Asian markets, CEO Michael Dell said Thursday.
Personal computer makers increasingly are designing products with Chinese buyers in mind. Both Dell and China's Lenovo Group unveiled low-cost PCs last year for rural and novice users.
"This year, we plan to introduce 50 percent more notebook platforms than we introduced last year, including exciting new products aimed exactly at Chinese customer needs," Dell said at a news conference.
New models are meant to meet "specifically the requirements that we see in countries like China and India," he said.
Dell says its consumer sales in China grew by 54 percent last year, more than three times the industry average of 17 percent.
"When we look at the potential for expansion, we do see enormous opportunity ahead," Dell said. "As far as the U.S. goes, I think the U.S. will be OK, but not the fastest-growing. We expect more growth in Asia."
The company last month reported its fourth-quarter profit fell 6.4 percent and cautioned that more cautious spending by U.S. customers could hurt its business.
Dell says it has about 18 percent of China's market by revenue and 10 percent by number of units sold. Worldwide, it has a 16.1 percent market share, according to consulting firm Gartner Group.
In a bid for a bigger share of China's market, Dell broke with its Internet sales model and struck a deal in September to sell PCs through the country's biggest electronics retailer, Gome Group.
Dell's retail presence in China will expand to 1,200 cities by the end of this year, up from just 45 in 2007, said Amid Midha, Dell Greater China president, who appeared with Dell.
"By this summer, we will have more unique products coming to China," Midha... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Hackers Send Thousands of Fake Calls to Deaf People
A Utah company whose videoconferencing technology is used by tens of thousands of deaf people to communicate is trying to figure out who would be base enough to hack into their system and flood tens of thousands of deaf customers with fake conference calls.
Officials with Sorenson Communications say since October they have dealt with a plague of prank calls to its point-to-point video calling service. The company provides videoconferencing calls to the deaf free of charge to allow deaf people to communicate via sign language to others.
Sorenson public relations director Ann Bardsley said on one day, tens of thousands of false calls were sent to Sorenson videophones. On the user end, deaf customers think they have missed a call and that their unit is somehow malfunctioning.
The unknown hackers have affected some 30,000 videophones installed in the homes and workplaces of deaf customers across the United States, according to the company.
Ron Burdett, vice president of community relations for Sorenson Communications, said deaf customers who use sign language rely on his company's service for daily communications. Such interruptions he called "inconvenient and distressing."
Company officials say they do not know what is motivating the unknown group of hackers but they do figure it is a malicious reason.
Mitch Moyers is the technical program director for the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville. He said the center, which provides training and acts as a social hub, has several Sorenson video relay phones that people can use for free.
"I'm disappointed. I feel like this is a great use for technology and to have people like that make life difficult for other people, that's disappointing," Moyers said.
Moyers said the system allows the deaf to use their "natural language" of signing without having to use a slow and sometimes inaccurate... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Review: Internet Explorer 8 Eases Web Sharing
Many people now create and share content on the Internet or blend services from various sites in their daily tasks, reflecting the medium's clear evolution from a place for simply consuming Web sites.
The upcoming version of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, version 8, embraces those trends by adding an "Activities" feature that makes all that easier for PC users. Although it's still in a "beta" test mode meant mostly for Web designers to try out, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
Internet Explorer's main competitor among browsers for PCs, Firefox, also has been testing an update, although the most promising features await implementation by Web sites. More on that later.
With Activities, one of several new Internet Explorer features, Web services like Facebook, eBay and Yahoo can write tools that users can install with just two clicks.
For example, Microsoft links a slew of Activities to its e-mail, blogging and news services, among others. Yahoo Inc. has one for maps, and auction site eBay Inc. has one to search its listings. The online hangout Facebook, of which Microsoft owns 1.6 percent, offers tools for finding friends or sharing content on its site.
Say you are reading a news article you'd like to e-mail to friends. Simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Hotmail, and the e-mail service opens in a new browser tab with that item already added to the subject line and message body. If you'd rather blog about the item, simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Live Spaces.
Mapping is initially the only service where there is choice of providers: Yahoo or Microsoft. In either case, you also get a thumbnail image of the map if you select an address and right-click. You can expand the map in a new tab with another click.
Other uses for Activities include looking up definitions of selected words or translating... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
U.S.-Swedish Carrier Spat 'Breaks' Net
President Bush famously spoke of "the Internets" in 2004. Well, they're here.
Since March 13, customers of two large Internet providers, Cogent Communications Group Inc. and TeliaSonera AB are unable to contact each other through the Internet, unless they have backup connections from other companies.
This means, for instance, that some U.S. Web sites hosted by Cogent customers are inaccessible to surfers in the Nordic countries, where Sweden-based TeliaSonera is the largest telecommunications operator. It's like Cogent and TeliaSonera customers are on different Internets.
"Basically, parts of the Internet can't talk to each other," said Earl Zmijewski, general Manager of the Internet data division at Renesys Corp., which keeps track of how carriers route traffic over the Internet.
It's not the first time this has happened: Now and then, Internet companies indulge in what Zmijewski calls playing "chicken." If they're fighting over a contract, they disconnect each other, and wait to see who blinks first. The number of irate customers each company faces will probably determine who does.
David Schaeffer, chief executive of Washington-based Cogent, said the two companies had a "peering" contract, under which they exchanged traffic from each other's customers, with neither company paying the other for access. But TeliaSonera continuously breached the terms of the contract by not exchanging traffic in certain locations, and refusing to upgrade connections that were saturated, Schaeffer said.
That forced Cogent traffic to take long detours, according to Schaeffer. For instance, it sometimes had to carry data from a Cogent customer in Europe across the Atlantic to the U.S., then hand it over to TeliaSonera, which carried it back across the Atlantic to its European destination.
Cogent cut its direct links to TeliaSonera on March 13. For a while, customers of the two companies were still able to connect indirectly, through intermediaries connected to Cogent and TeliaSonera, but that... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
PlayStation 3 Update Will Bring Interactive Blu-ray
Sony on Thursday said the next firmware update for the PlayStation 3 video-game console will add Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0. The update is due out late this month. Known as BD-Live, the update will offer PS3 players interactive features, such as
downloadable video content, ringtones and games. Beyond BD-Live, the update will make room for photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to a PSP handheld device.
It's all part of Sony's attempts to evolve the PS3 as a home entertainment hub. Regular updates like this one and future-proofed technology make the 10-year life cycle of PS3 possible, according to Scott Steinberg, vice president of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.
"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," Steinberg said. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie."
BD-Live Possibilities
BD-Live offers plenty of possibilities, but Sony said the benefits will vary by movie title. For example, movie studios could deliver bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles and ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones. On the gaming side, interactive movie-based games can pit players sitting in the same room or across the world.
In conjunction with the firmware update, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced two BD-LIVE-enabled titles to be released on April 8 -- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both titles will include exclusive downloadable content that goes beyond what is available on the Blu-ray discs, Sony said. These initial releases preview some of the developments that will soon be available from BD-LIVE. Downloading BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of storage space.
BD-Live aside,... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Verizon, AT&T Are Big Winners in FCC Auction
The Federal Communications Commission auction for the 700-MHz wireless spectrum is over, and the winners are known. One obvious winner is the FCC itself, which exceeded its initial estimate of $10 billion with a $19.59 billion total.
Among the bidders, Verizon Wireless and AT&T won big portions of the available spectrum, which is being vacated as U.S. television stations move to digital transmission.
Google a Big Winner, Too
Verizon took 108 licenses for $9.6 billion, and AT&T bagged 227 for $6.6 billion. Observers say Verizon's purchases will help it narrow a gap in coverage as it competes with AT&T.
One potentially big winner is Google, even though it didn't win any bids. It bid $4.7 billion for the C-block frequencies, which triggered an auction requirement that any third-party compatible device or software must be able to operate on the bandwidth. That was one of the open-network provisions that Google, as head of an alliance of consumer organizations and businesses, was able to have adopted by the FCC.
Verizon, which backed an open-network position shortly before the auction, bought the C-block license.
Dish Network took 168 wireless licenses for $711 million, although it was not immediately apparent what it intends to do with them. Some observers are speculating it might be for a video service of some kind, but the company is prohibited from discussing its plans until it makes the down payment on April 3.
One setback for the FCC was the auction of the upper 700-MHz D block. Earlier this week, the agency separated that block from the rest of the auction and said it will "consider its options for how to license this spectrum," since bids did not meet the $1.3 billion minimum. The D block was established to create a public-private partnership that would guarantee public-safety agencies bandwidth access in emergencies.
Impact on Consumers
The... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Intel To Offer Low-Cost Laptop
Intel said Wednesday that laptops costing $300, initially designed for poor children, would soon be available to U.S. and European consumers, a development that could further push down computer prices.
Computer makers in the United States and Europe will sell a second-generation version of the Intel-designed Classmate PC for $250 to $350, said Lila Ibrahim, general manager of Intel's group for emerging market platforms, during an interview with Reuters.
Laura Didio, an analyst with Yankee Group, called Intel's announcement "a very big deal."
While the machines are intended for children, analysts said their arrival on the market would add momentum to the low-cost computing movement -- and would probably mean that bargain-basement laptops available this year would have more power than previous generations.
"Particularly in a recession year, quality low-cost products are going to move well," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "But the key is for them to be quality."
He said consumers would probably be able to get "a pretty decent" laptop for less than $600 and perhaps for less than $500.
Didio said retailers might throw in another $50 to $100 in rebates or other incentives.
Laptop prices have been under particular pressure since last year, when Asustek Computer of Taiwan introduced the $399 Eee PC, which has flown off store shelves from Asia to North America. The movement toward low-cost computing was also spurred by the XO laptop, the brainchild of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop Per Child Foundation.
The foundation began producing a laptop running on the Linux operating system at a cost of $188 in November. They sold them in the United States and in Canada for $400 through a charity drive that also provided one machine to a poor child in developing countries.
The Eee machine also runs on the Linux operating... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Novell Announces SUSE Linux Enterprise 11
Novell has announced plans for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11. While the actual launch won't happen for another year or so, Novell is highlighting the key themes of the new release to let developers in the open-source community know the feedback the company has gotten from customers and what the new release needs from developers.
Justin Steinman, director of product marketing for Novell's Linux & Open Platform Solutions, told us the "core tenets," such as focusing on mission-critical data-center technologies and "green IT," won't change between releases. There are three areas of critical importance to small and midsize businesses (SMB) on which Enterprise 11 will focus, he told us: interoperability, Unix migration, and virtualization.
Interoperability
Novell has made efforts to build a successful partnership with Microsoft, and Steinman said Enterprise 11 will expand this relationship. "I would suspect that the majority of SMBs have Windows in some shape or form inside their organization," Steinman said, "so one of the things we want to continue to deliver in Enterprise 11 is extending our interoperability leadership in working with Windows. We like to say that SUSE Linux Enterprise is Linux that's been optimized to work with Windows. We think that's a core differentiator and also a core benefit for customers who are trying to make a Linux decision."
One example of Windows support is Novell's plan to include the Mono 2.0 development framework, which allows .NET applications to run on Linux, in Enterprise 11. A Mono migration analysis tool will also be included in the new release; Novell said this tool "helps customers determine the readiness of their .NET applications for migration to Linux."
Unix Migration
Another key theme of Enterprise 11 is Unix migration. "For SMB customers, Unix is an expensive platform that's not very flexible, and you're really tied in to an expensive [Sun] SPARC server," Steinman... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
University Bans Vista SP1 Upgrades as Problems Continue
Microsoft's Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is hitting more bumps in the road and institutions are beginning to weigh in. As one example, the University of Pennsylvania's IT department has reportedly issued a bulletin to faculty and students not to update with SP1, at least for the time being. The department has said it will support users who have Vista with SP1 preinstalled, however.
Major Driver Problems
Drivers are becoming a major issue. One of the reasons Microsoft delayed SP1's release was because of problems with drivers. New reports indicate that, while the actual number of problematic drivers may be small, as Microsoft indicates, their impact is not.
The drivers include those in a common Intel chipset, the 945G Express series, used in PCs from Gateway, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and others. Microsoft has recommended that all drivers be updated before installing SP1.
One central location for SP1 complaints, as well as some favorable comments, is Microsoft's Vista blog.
A commenter called rikki-UK sarcastically described Microsoft as "GENIUS at work" because it released the update two days before a long holiday weekend, thus limiting access to support. According to rikki-UK, the company issued advice to some users to replace an Ethernet card or a router, even though the same hardware worked fine on XP machines.
One user going by the name of bowlman posted Friday that he has had SP1 installed for two days and the "only problems" are that e-mail opens slower, Vista wants to do an error report when it closes, and the documents folder "wants to lock up and takes 10 minutes to close it down."
Exorcist Needed?
"Sometimes," posted a user called Microsoft News Tracker, "I think what Microsoft's Vista operating system really needs is an exorcist" because of the number of "unnatural occurrences plaguing it."
Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Yankee Group, noted... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
SlySoft Offers Blu-ray Copy-Protection Cracker
SlySoft is at it again. The Caribbean firm says it has broken the copy-protection technology used on some Blu-ray discs to prevent consumers and bootleggers from copying movie content. SlySoft is offering a 20 percent discount on its latest version.
Last year SlySoft launched HD-DVD-cracking software designed to let consumers decrypt HD-DVD movie discs and copy them. AnyDVD HD software cracked the Advanced Access System, a specification for managing content stored on HD DVDs.
SlySoft also produces several other copy-protection software tools, including CloneDVD to burn copies of DVDS, Game Jackal Pro, which burns CD games to the hard drive, and Virtual CloneDrive, which is virtual drive software. SlySoft could not immediately be reached for comment.
Focusing on Blu-ray
Now that Blu-ray is the clear winner in the high-definition format battle, SlySoft has turned its attention to the Sony format. The latest version, AnyDVD HD 6.4.0.0, promises to crack Blu-ray copy protection. SlySoft is peddling the program on its Web site for $47.
SlySoft's claims about its software appear to be accurate. The company has a track record for its ability to hack CD and DVD copy protection and let consumers clone the files. But Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, said the program may not work with all Blu-ray discs.
"We don't have the package to know whether this works with a handful of discs or would work with the latest Blu-ray discs with Sony and Fox, but we are doing tests," he said. "We should have more information to report next week."
A Slew of Crackers
"AnyDVD HD comes with the same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD support, including decryption of Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies," the SlySoft Web site says.
Specifically, SlySoft is cracking BD+, a technology Macrovision developed. According to Macrovision, more than 20... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Apple Uses iTunes to Put Fast Safari on Windows PCs
Windows users perfectly happy with their Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers have been surprised to find a new Web browser on their hard drives -- Apple's Safari 3.1. The browser was originally only for Apple's Macintosh computer.
The new browser arrived via Apple's software update feature, which is included in its iTunes software. iTunes boasts impressive penetration on Windows as well as Mac computers. Apple normally uses software update to deliver updates of the QuickTime media player, iPod software and iTunes.
But Apple confirmed Thursday that it is now delivering Safari through iTunes. "We are using software update to make it easy and convenient for both Mac and Windows users to get the latest Safari update from Apple," said Bill Evans, a company spokesperson.
Aggressive Stance
At last June's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported that users were downloading one million copies of iTunes per day, half of them to Windows machines.
Jobs said at the time that he was interested in increasing Safari's market share, which was then at about five percent. "We know how to reach those users," Jobs said.
The new strategy indicates Apple is taking a more aggressive stance to leverage the broad success it has had with its iPod. Apple says the new Safari is 1.9 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2. Safari 3.1 also supports new video and audio tags in HTML 5, and so-called CSS animations -- created through the Cascading Style Sheets Web standard. It also supports CSS Web fonts.
Standards-Compliant
Support for standards, rather than proprietary tags, appears to be in vogue. Microsoft recently said IE 8, its next-generation browser, would shift to favor Web standards over Microsoft's proprietary technologies. There is a "concrete benefit to Web designers if all vendors give priority to interoperability around commonly... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Wells Fargo Offers Online Safe-Deposit Box
If you're security minded, you might keep your important paper documents in a safe-deposit box at your local bank. If those documents are digital, you can keep them in a virtual safe-deposit box so that they're not only secure, but also available from anywhere.
Wells Fargo Bank will soon offer its retail banking customers a personal online safe-deposit box that it calls "a natural extension" of the company's 156-year security legacy.
The Wells Fargo vSafe service is the first online storage solution offered by a financial services company, according to Katherine McGee, senior vice president of Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group.
Like other online storage solutions, vSafe offers accessibility from any computer with an Internet connection. Documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and even media files can be stored. McGee told us that the bank did extensive research with its consumer and small-business customers and honed the product to match their needs. The offering is integrated with the Wells Fargo Online Banking service so that customers can have account statements automatically added each month
"It's secure online storage with an easy-to-use interface built for customers based on their needs," she said. The company offers a set of boilerplate folders to help customers get started quickly; there's also an option to create unique folders and subfolders. McGee said that online forms simplify the procedure of consolidating data from a plethora of sticky notes into one safe place (such as a PDF document). Users can add folders and upload files from any computer.
Security a Priority
With sensitive documents being uploaded and stored, security is naturally a priority to customers. According to McGee, vSafe "offers secure storage, and it's available through the Wells Fargo online banking session, so we leverage all the security we use for online banking," as well as additional measures that encrypt information as it crosses the Internet... Publication date: 2008-03-23more
Next-Generation Computer To Be Unveiled
After seven years in development, Salt Lake City-based ISYS Technologies is ready to introduce its next-generation computer, designed to replace the typical desktop computer with a small, 3.5-inch cube that has the versatility to adapt to a changing computer world without the user having to buy a new computer system.
Created by Jason Sullivan, the Xi3 Processing Control Unit is a new modular computer platform created for the computer's core processing technology that is adaptable for all types of computing.
"This is a computer that will never become obsolete," Sullivan said. "Anything that a typical computer can do, this can do."
The difference, however, is that the Xi3 PCU has no moving parts, no fans and no hard drives that can crash and lose data. It can function as a workstation, a server or desktop computer through a series of interchangeable parts called backplanes -- a circuit board containing sockets into which other circuit boards can be plugged -- that can be interchanged by any user.
The Xi3 processing core allows multiple processing units to be added or subtracted as dictated by application or user demands. Additionally, units can be hooked up to work together with the original cube to increase functionality in a network-like environment, allowing additional processing capability to be added to the processing core or subsystems to satisfy the new processing requirements. The ability to strip out the same units to create additional workstations provides the elusive flexibility to a successful infrastructure.
According to Sullivan, the unit can also be hooked up to multiple monitors so that users can multi-task as needed for both work uses and entertainment purposes.
"If someone wanted to watch a movie while doing work in another program, they can do that, all from one cube instead of having to have multiple systems operating at the same time," Sullivan... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
New Features Coming for Blu-ray Format
The high-definition-video war may be over now that Toshiba has conceded defeat for its ailing HD DVD format, but those interested in buying a high-def Blu-ray player still might want to wait for new features coming in the fall.
Sure, existing Blu-ray machines can play the nearly 500 Blu-ray discs available. They can deliver gorgeous, top-of-the-line 1080p resolution on compatible high-def televisions. But the next crop of Blu-ray players will be compliant with the upcoming Profile 2.0 standard, which adds Internet connectivity to the machines via a feature called BD-Live.
"Imagine being able to download high-definition trailers to current theatrical releases right to your TV, or selecting additional language tracks or other online bonus materials," says Josh Martin, a senior analyst at consulting firm Yankee Group.
Depending on the disc, BD-Live will also let people chat in real time during films, type in their mobile phone numbers for free movie-related ring tones, play online multiplayer games or upload custom-made audio commentary.
Sony has announced two upcoming Blu-ray machines with Profile 2.0 support: the BDP-S350, available this summer for $399, which can be updated to the latest profile over the Internet when it's available; and the BDP-S550 ($499), which will ship with Profile 2.0 in the fall.
"Technology always evolves, and new features are added to platforms continually, whether it's a Blu-ray machine or other consumer electronics products," says Chris Fawcett, vice president of home video at Sony Electronics.
The new Sony players will include extras such as built-in or expandable memory and multiple audio technologies, including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, depending on the model.
The Sony PlayStation 3 ($399) video game system, which also has Blu-ray playback functionality, offers a future-proof solution. Sony says the Internet-connected console can download an update for the Profile 2.0 standard.
For now,... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Microsoft Wants Wireless Consumers, Too
Spurred on by Apple's pursuit of the wireless mass market, Microsoft is redoubling efforts to court mobile-phone consumers. Despite long-standing attempts to widen the appeal of Microsoft's Windows Mobile, the operating system for cell phones is popular mainly with business users looking for a way to view documents, spreadsheets, and corporate e-mail on a handheld device.
Luring the less-business-minded has taken on added urgency in light of Apple's success with the iPhone, introduced in June, 2007. "We've always been going in this direction, but we feel it's time to move in more aggressively now," says Scott Horn, general manager of Microsoft's mobile communications business, though he denies the push has to do with Apple. In 2007, the Windows Mobile share of the U.S. smartphone market slipped to 28 percent, from 30 percent, reflecting inroads by the iPhone, which uses Apple's OS X operating system, according to researchers at IDC.
While Windows Mobile has gained global share and almost doubled shipments, to 11 million units, in 2007, Apple has made remarkable gains too, selling 4 million iPhones in less than half a year on the market. "Apple has gotten more attention in the first six months than Microsoft has gotten in the first five years," says Richard Doherty, director at consultancy Envisioneering Group.
Focus on Mobile Browsing
To make Windows Mobile more appealing to the masses, Microsoft is trying to improve its Web browsing capabilities. On Mar. 17, Microsoft announced it has licensed Adobe Flash Lite, which will let Windows Mobile users view certain Web sites, such as e-commerce and video game pages with animations. Microsoft has also licensed another piece of Adobe software that makes it easier to view e-mail attachments, and it's working on a mobile version of its own Silverlight code, designed to enhance the appearance of mobile Web sites.
The company is... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Nokia Invites Users to Shape Products
A popular video on YouTube shows a so-called concept phone that can bend to fit a user's wrist. The phone, the Nokia Morph, shows how the world's largest mobile phone maker wants to change.
As more people use mobile devices for the Internet, and companies like Apple and Google find more ways to embrace this move, Nokia is rewriting its product development rule book. Instead of working in secrecy, it wants to start sharing.
"For Nokia, this is probably the biggest throw of the dice since they entered the cell phone business," said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, who has followed the company since 1994.
In addition to using video-sharing sites to post futuristic ideas -- like the Nokia Morph concept, which imagines a stretchable, flexible, solar-powered, self-cleaning device which also has a sense of smell -- the company has invited bloggers and tech-savvy media specialists to brainstorm on future mobile products.
"We realized in early 2005 that if we only focused on innovation from within, we were limiting our scope for real breakthroughs," said Nokia's chief technology officer, Bob Iannucci. "We want more wild ideas."
At stake is a share of the next phase of growth in the Internet. Forrester Research expects the number of mobile Internet users to triple over the next five years in Western Europe alone, to 125 million, while Nokia expects its double-digit margins on handsets to shrink.
To make its move into Internet services, Nokia plans to use its large base of customers as consultants.
The market for Internet services is approaching euro 100 billion, or $156 billion, and Nokia is the first big cell phone manufacturer to embrace the Internet media business. Close rivals like Samsung and Sony Ericsson could follow, but they are a couple of years behind.
Change is normal for Nokia. It was founded in 1865... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Digital Certificates Key to iPhone Development
Apple will require iPhone developers to digitally sign their applications. The result is that any application can be traced back to the developer and the digital signature can be used to prove the app has not been altered, according to Dan Dilger at Roughly Drafted on Tuesday. That creates a native application development system that also creates a new kind of software market.
Apple holds the keys to that certificate, and the developers ability to distribute software can be terminated by Apple if they do something questionable in terms of the best interests of the users. "Apple can also vet software as it is submitted, and rapidly respond to user complaints by terminating the distribution and revoking the run rights of signed software. With such a system in place, there's no need for iPhone anti-virus software. Our children will never know why Symantec and Norton ever existed," Mr. Dilger explained.
In quite natural way, the certificate and security system will also help the developers' bottom line. "All iPhone apps will similarly be wrapped by FairPlay, again making it easier for users to buy a legitimate copy than to find a stolen version," Mr. Dilger observed. "This will result in two positive effects: first, developers will be able to price their software lower to entice volume purchases. Second, users buying software will get a better overall experience, with automatic update notifications and records of their purchases."
The mobility of cell phones and their greater exposure to influences outside the home and office makes this new metaphor necessary. "Apple's ability to both give out signing certificates to developers and to revoke those certificates afterward gives it the same kind of control over developers that the DMV holds over drivers," Mr. Dilger noted.
"If drivers faced no threat of losing their license, there would be no way... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Sony Ericsson Says Slowing Sales Will Hurt Income
Sony Ericsson said slowing growth in mobile-phone sales will hurt its sales and income for the current quarter. The joint venture between Sony and Ericsson cited component shortages and a sales slowdown in the world's more mature markets, which some analysts warn are on the verge of saturation.
"This has been more pronounced in the mid- to high-end replacement sector of the market in Europe, where Sony Ericsson has stronger than average market share," said Sony Ericsson President Dick Komiyama.
Slowing Growth Ahead
IDC Senior Research Analyst Ryan Reith said it would be unreasonable to expect the global handset market to maintain the high growth levels it has seen over the past three years. "We expect growth to be in the single digits throughout 2008 and most likely for years to follow," Reith said.
Other industry analysts agree that handset sales growth will be more moderate this year than in the past.
"We expect the growth in sales of mobile devices to end users will decelerate in 2008 and fall to about 10 percent growth as mature markets become more saturated," Garter Research Director Carolina Milanesi said earlier this month. "The mature Western Europe and North America markets are driven by operator contract terms and replacement cycles and will account for just 30 percent of the global mobile-devices market in 2008."
Handset makers had been counting on 3G phone sales to help lift sales in mature markets. But mobile chipmaker Texas Instruments recently scaled back its first-quarter growth estimates because of a decline in demand for the latest 3G handsets.
Targeting New Markets
Up till now Sony Ericsson has enjoyed the most success from sales of its higher-priced Cyber-shot and Walkman models. But as Milanesi pointed out, handset growth over the past several quarters has been driven primarily by sales in emerging markets such as... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Dell Offers New Servers for SMBs
Dell launched two new servers for small and midsize businesses that the company claims perform as much as 51 percent faster than comparable IBM servers. The two new PowerEdge servers offer high-availability features as well as larger memories, and come in rack- or tower-server configurations.
The rack server, the PowerEdge R300, uses the Intel Xeon x5460 quad-core processor. Dell says tests show its performance is as much as 26 percent better than the comparable server from HP, the DL320 G5p, and as much as 51 percent better than the IBM System X 3250 server. The new tower server, the T300, similarly beats comparable HP and IBM systems, according to Dell. (Performance data was published with the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation, or SPEC, a nonprofit organization that sets benchmarks for high-performance computers.)
"The R300 and T300 are the industry's fastest one-socket quad-core servers," a Dell spokesperson told us. "Because of the way we've designed the systems, we've made it possible for a processor typically used in higher-performing two-socket servers to be used in a one-socket server."
Made for SMBs
SMBs often rely on memory-intensive applications, such as Web serving, to run their businesses, and slow performance can hurt productivity. Dell says the R300 and T300 help address this pain point by delivering three times the memory capacity of a typical one-socket server; better memory scalability means they can better handle memory-intensive applications.
"These servers take the performance, memory capacity, and high-availability features previously available only in more expensive, higher-end systems and make them available at a small-business price," the spokesperson said. "Because of these features, the R300 and T300 can help increase uptime and productivity for SMBs. They also help simplify [information technology] for SMBs by helping to reduce cost and complexity, enabling customers to focus more on innovation, productivity, and growing their businesses."
"We're delivering... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
FCC Wireless Spectrum Auction Nets $19.6 Billion
The Federal Communications Commission netted $19.592 billion from its auction of wireless spectrums, including its "crown jewel," the 700-MHz spectrum being abandoned by broadcast television.
The auction for that spectrum, Auction 73, ended Tuesday afternoon, the FCC reported. "There were no bids, withdrawals or proactive activity rule waivers placed in Round 261. Therefore, Auction 73 has closed under the simultaneous stopping rule," a posting on the agency's Web site said. The take for Auction 73 was $4.75 billion.
"The $19.6 billion generated by the auction nearly doubled congressional estimates of $10.2 billion," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. "All other 68 auctions conducted by the FCC in the past 15 years collectively generated a total of only $19.1 billion in receipts. Even with open-platform and aggressive build-out obligations, each of these blocks sold for more than AWS-1 (Advanced Wireless Service) blocks with comparable bandwidth and license areas."
Verizon a Likely Winner
The television spectrum is valuable because it can travel over long distances and penetrate walls and structures. That makes it very valuable to wireless providers. Google succeeded in pushing the FCC to adopt open-access rules for the spectrum if the bidding cleared the $4.6 billion level.
Most analysts believe Google and Verizon were competing for the spectrum, but the FCC will not announce the names of the winners for several weeks yet. Observers believe Google only bid to the point where open-access rules would apply and that Verizon and AT&T have likely acquired licenses to the spectrum.
"When it finally came time to go into the auction, I think they (Google) were pretty firm about wanting to enforce the open-access conditions as much as it could be enforced, but also being firm on not really being interested in becoming a network operator," said Rebecca Arbogast, a principal telecommunications analyst with Stifel Nicolaus. "I think they... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Facebook Offers New Options for Private Information
Facebook rolled out new privacy features on Wednesday to give users more control over who sees the information they share. It made two changes: a standardized privacy interface and new privacy options available through this interface.
"In theory, this is good. But Facebook has had situations in the past where they've announced things that sound good in theory, but in practice have not worked out," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "We have to see how the controls actually work and test them out."
Friends of Friends
Facebook added a "Friends of Friends" privacy option that allows users to share information with more people to whom they are connected through their friends.
"We thought this provided a much-needed option for people whose strongest social connections are not through the networks they've joined, but through the friends they've added," Naomi Gleit, a product manager at Facebook, wrote on the company's blog.
The second new option is the ability to share and restrict information based on specific friends or friend lists. "Now, in addition to messaging and event and group invitations, friend lists can help you communicate by choosing what information you share with certain groups of people."
For example, you can upload your family vacation photo album and share it only with your mom and dad, or only your "Family" friend list. Alternatively, you can restrict loved ones from seeing a photo album that may not be so family-friendly by excluding your "Family" friend list.
Facebook has also redesigned its privacy section to make it simpler and easier to use. "We're always building more ways for you to control your information on Facebook, so stay tuned for more in the future," Gleit promised.
Facebook's Conundrum
Schwartz said Facebook is facing a conundrum. The social-networking site wants to make more information open. But at... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Adobe Says Apple's SDK Blocks Flash on iPhone
Flash on Apple's iPhone has been on and off several times in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, Adobe Systems dampened expectations following a report that it would build a Flash player for the smartphone.
The report, first cited in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, said Adobe had begun work on a Flash player for the iPhone. The Journal cited remarks by Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen, who reportedly made the comments during a conference call with investors. He said Apple's recent release of a software developers kit (SDK) gave his company the tools it needed to create a media player for the popular iPhone.
The Fine Print
According to news reports, Narayen said Adobe had evaluated the SDK and "we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves."
Adobe said Wednesday it has "evaluated the iPhone SDK and can now start to develop a way to bring Flash Player to the iPhone." But it added, "to bring the full capabilities of Flash to the iPhone Web-browsing experience" the company needs to work with Apple for capabilities beyond what the SDK allows.
One of the problems is the SDK's fine print, which is being interpreted by many observers as prohibiting the kind of plug-in capabilities offered by Flash. To use the SDK for those purposes, Adobe would need cooperation and permission from Apple.
Earlier this month, following persistent reports on various Web blogs that Flash on the iPhone was imminent, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the current Flash mobile player is not ready for the iPhone.
He said Flash Lite, designed for mobile devices, is not powerful enough, and regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly on the iPhone. "There's this missing product in the middle," he told the Dow Jones news service.
Developers Looking Elsewhere?
Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with industry... Publication date: 2008-03-20more
Botnet Scams Are Exploding
Two days after actor Heath Ledger died, e-mails began moving across the Internet purportedly carrying a link to a detailed police report divulging "the real reason" behind the actor's death. Ledger had been summarily drafted into the service of a botnet.
Bots are compromised computers controlled by profit-minded crooks. Those e-mails were spread by a network of thousands of bots, called a botnet. Anyone who clicked on the link got instantly absorbed into the fast-spreading Mega-D botnet, says security firm Marshal. Mega-D enriches its operators, mainly by distributing spam for male-enhancement pills.
Largely unnoticed by the public, botnets have come to inundate the Internet. On a typical day, 40 percent of the 800 million computers connected to the Internet are bots engaged in distributing e-mail spam, stealing sensitive data typed at banking and shopping Web sites, bombarding Web sites as part of extortionist denial-of-service attacks, and spreading fresh infections, says Rick Wesson, CEO of Support Intelligence, a San Francisco-based company that tracks and sells threat data.
"It's like a disease you can't even feel," Wesson says. "The mechanisms we use to protect our networks simply are not working."
The botnet problem shows no sign of easing. Security firm Damballa pinpointed 7.3 million unique instances of bots carrying out nefarious activities on an average day in January -- an astronomical leap from a daily average of 333,000 in August 2006. That included botnet-delivered spam, which accounted for 91 percent of all e-mails in early March, up from 64% last June, says e-mail management firm Cloudmark.
The upshot of this deluge is profound, if not immediately obvious, says Adam O'Donnell, Cloudmark's director of emerging technology. Telecoms and Internet service providers must absorb the cost of carrying botnet traffic; they can be expected to pass that expense onto companies and consumers, he says. Meanwhile, tens of millions of... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Net Video Ads: Attention Vs. Annoyance
Frank Harper is well aware that all those free video clips on the Internet come at a price: advertising.
But that doesn't mean he sits idly as short video ads precede many of the dozen or so clips he watches each day at sites like Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.
"For the most part, I just mute the volume," said Harper, 55, who runs a security consulting firm in Sterling, Va. "Or I just look at something else, look at another headline ... or go to another site while the thing is playing."
Marketers and Web sites alike are struggling to bring to the Internet ads that resemble television without turning off viewers the way TV ads often do.
Spending on online video ads represents less than 4 percent of all Internet advertising and just 1 percent of the amount spent on TV, according to eMarketer. But growth is expected -- with the research firm forecasting U.S. spending more than tripling to $4.3 billion in 2011 -- especially as more viewers embrace full-length TV episodes and other video online.
The challenge is finding the right formula -- in the creative approach, the format or the frequency with which the ads appear -- so visitors notice the pitches without getting so annoyed that they never come back.
"Users love free content and advertisers love to fill up every minute and pixel with the messaging, and publishers do have to find that balance," said Geoffrey Coco, an advertising executive with Microsoft, which has a video news partnership with The Associated Press. "There's been a lot of innovation but I don't think we've settled down yet."
The results so far have been mixed -- even when sites force viewers to watch video ads by making them impossible to skip.
Viewers "are grabbing the status bar, trying to click it ahead or further along,... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Card Numbers Stolen During Authorization Process
A large East Coast supermarket chain is the latest victim of a major data breach, with as many as four million credit- and debit-card numbers exposed. Hannaford Bros., based in Maine, announced the "containment of a data intrusion into its computer network" that resulted in the theft of data, but added that "no personal information, such as names and addresses, was accessed or obtained." The company said it is "aware of fewer than 2,000 cases of reported fraud related to this crime."
Hannaford operates 165 stores along the East Coast and, under the name of Sweetbay Supermarket, another 106 stores in Florida. The company is owned by the Delhaize Group of Brussels, Belgium. Also affected by the breach are an unknown number of independent retailers in the Northeast that sell Hannaford products.
According to a statement from Hannaford, "data was illegally accessed from Hannaford's computer systems during the card-authorization transmission process." A statement from Hannaford CEO Ron Hodge said that the stolen data "was limited to credit- and debit-card numbers and expiration dates," not names or addresses, and that the company "doesn't know or keep any personally identifiable information from customers."
Attacks on Data in Transit
"What showed up here was a new trend where criminals are going after data in transit, as opposed to data at rest. I think everybody was caught off-guard by that," Avivah Litan, a security analyst for Gartner, told us.
Payment Card Industry standards from credit-card issuers mandate that retailers take security measures such as protecting stored cardholder data and encrypting the transmission of data across open networks. Despite the breach, Litan said Hannaford could possibly have been in compliance with PCI standards.
"When you swipe a card, it should be encrypted immediately," she said, but often it's not until the data gets to the cash register that encryption happens; in... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Apple's Icarus Effect
Just as those living in shiny houses of self-righteous glass often end up surrounded by shards of their former sanctimony, so Apple Inc. now finds itself the increasingly appealing target of software hackers.
For years, Apple's marketing has consisted of accentuating the positive and ignoring everything else. As hackers pillaged Microsoft's Windows operating system, Apple stressed that its computer platform was relatively virus-free, most notably in that snarky ad campaign, "I'm a PC. I'm a Mac." There was Windows, groaning under the weight of its security apparatus, like some knight of yesteryear packed in heavy armor who, once he fell off his horse, couldn't get up again. And on the other side, there was Apple strutting about, smacking its gloves together and posing for the crowd.
But now Apple is becoming a victim of its own success, and the irony is just too great to miss. Anyone with a mild sense of history is keeping track. The main reason Apple had been left alone by hackers was not by virtue of any superior security technology, the company's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. Software is, after all, eminently hackable. Only sufficient motivation is required. And now that Apple's platforms have become more popular, hackers are getting motivated.
Target: iPhone
Apple sold nearly 7.8 million Mac desktop and laptop computers in 2007. That's a 37 percent gain over the number sold in 2006 and well more than double the 2001 volume. It's little surprise then that reports of Mac viruses have been rising steadily.
Even more than the Mac, the iPhone makes for an attractive target. Apple tried to keep tight control on the iPhone platform, which is also based on the Mac OS. But iPhone-philes had other ideas. Hackers went to town on the iPhone from day one, opening it for service with nondesignated wireless providers... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Consensus Grows on Eventual Microsoft-Yahoo Deal
Microsoft's offer to buy Yahoo will most likely succeed, but it may not be the best use of the company's ample cash reserves, according to a poll of analysts.
The standoff between Microsoft and Yahoo has stretched six weeks since the proposal was announced. Yahoo rejected the offer, which now values the company at $41.4 billion, saying the takeover bid "substantially undervalued" it.
The Reuters poll found that Wall Street brokers who follow either company remain convinced that Microsoft will prevail. All 8 Microsoft analysts surveyed and 14 of 15 Yahoo analysts said they believed that Microsoft would eventually acquire Yahoo.
"Yahoo's options are becoming more limited, and it makes Microsoft's offer look better," said Andy Miedler, an analyst at Edward Jones, who has a "hold" rating on Microsoft.
Twenty-one brokerage companies responded. Seven brokers have analysts who follow both companies, and their votes were counted separately. In total, 33 financial analysts follow Yahoo and 40 analysts track Microsoft.
Analysts at three companies -- Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers -- are restricted by their companies from publishing research on the merger as their investment banking arms are working on behalf of either Microsoft or Yahoo.
There is disagreement, however, over whether Microsoft must raise its half-cash, half-stock bid to succeed. A majority of analysts say they believe that Microsoft need not increase its bid beyond the current $31-per-share offer, although some analysts argue that it may need to improve the bid by making it an all-cash offer.
Twelve said they believed that Microsoft would not alter its bid and succeed, while four said they expected it to keep the price at $31 but make it a more lucrative all-cash offer.
"The change in deal terms to all cash could be the next step in this ongoing mergers and acquisition dance in our view," UBS analysts said... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Student Claims to Have Cracked Smartcard Encryption
A University of Virginia graduate student and two fellow hackers say they have cracked the encryption code used to protect millions of wireless "smartcards" in use across the globe.
With readily available equipment that cost under $1,000, Karsten Nohl, 26, and his two Germany-based partners say they dismantled a tiny chip found inside many smartcards and mapped out its secret security algorithm.
With the cryptographic formula in hand, the hackers were then able to run it through a computer program that tried out every possible key. It broke the encryption after a few hours. If they were to try again, Nohl said, it would take a matter of minutes.
"I don't want to help attackers, but I want to inform people about the vulnerabilities of these cards," said Nohl, a doctoral candidate in computer engineering at U.Va. who is originally from Germany.
Wireless chips, which employ technology known as radio-frequency identification, or RFID, are found inside most modern credit cards, car keys, security keycards and subway passes. The chips send an encoded numeric signal to the reading device, which allows the user to wave their card to gain access to secure buildings, remotely unlock a car, pay for public transportation and much more.
The popular chip that the trio "dissected" is called the MiFare Classic RFID chip and is manufactured by NXP Semiconductors, a Netherlands-based company.
Nohl and his colleagues found that it was fairly easy to crack the RFID chip's code.
The three computer whizzes announced their findings at the Chaos Communications Congress in Berlin, an annual worldwide convention of hackers. They are not releasing the details of how they beat the chip's security code. But, Nohl added, it is possible that criminals might also have done so.
Manuel Albers, director of regional marketing for North and South America for NXP, disputed that Nohl and his compatriots... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Yahoo Releases Rosy Forecast
Yahoo Inc. has released a rosy outlook for the next two years, hoping to give investors a better understanding of why the Internet pioneer isn't willing to sell to Microsoft Corp. unless its suitor raises its bid above $45 billion (EU28.5 billion).
Analysts interpreted Tuesday's unscheduled disclosure of Yahoo's internal projections as a sign that the Sunnyvale-based company's attempts to find an alternative deal to Microsoft's 6 1/2-week-old offer aren't bearing fruit.
With its options narrowing, Yahoo appears determined to remain independent unless Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft boosts its unsolicited bid, originally valued at $44.6 billion (EU28.28 billion), or $31 (EU19.66) per share. Microsoft so far hasn't wavered from the offer, which it has described as fair.
But the two sides signaled they might be ready to negotiate last week when senior executives from Yahoo and Microsoft held their first face-to-face meeting in Silicon Valley. No investment bankers attended that icebreaker.
Stanford Group analyst Clayton Moran called the release of Yahoo's revenue forecasts through 2010 "another step in the public negotiation between these two companies. We believe this deal is turning friendly."
Yahoo's move appeared to hearten investors as the company's shares rose $1.70 (EU1.08), nearly 7 percent, to $27.55 (EU17.47) during Tuesday's afternoon trading.
As the company warned in late January just before Microsoft made its bid, Yahoo has modest growth expectations this year after a streak of declining profits in 2006 and 2007.
Yahoo still anticipates its revenue, after subtracting advertising commissions, to total $5.7 billion (EU3.61 billion) this year, in line with analyst expectations.
But Yahoo assured investors its plans to grab a bigger piece of the online advertising market will kick into high gear after this year, with revenue climbing by about 25 percent in 2009 and 2010. By 2010, Yahoo projects its revenue, after ad commissions, will total about $8.8 billion (EU5.58 billion),... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Vista SP1 Updaters Report Problems, Successes
Rarely has a service pack received as much attention as SP1 for Microsoft's Windows Vista, officially released Tuesday. And while some users are reporting smooth installation and better performance, many are reporting problems.
Vista SP1 was completed in early February, correcting a variety of bugs or performance issues in the Vista operating system. Shortly after its completion, it was shipped to computer makers, beta testers, big customers and subscribers to Microsoft's TechNet and Developer Network services.
The software giant had said the full release of SP1 was delayed because of problems with some hardware-device drivers, and it needed time to provide new drivers or to block systems with bad drivers from installing SP1.
Available Manually
A notice on the Windows Vista blog Tuesday reported that it is now available through Windows Update -- if the user opens Windows Update and selects SP1. But if automatic downloading and installation through Windows Update is preferred, a user will need to wait until mid-April. SP1 is also beginning to be available through retailers.
Regardless of the method to obtain SP1, updaters are reporting both problems and successful fixes. A poster named huddy reported on a bit-tech.net forum that, after installing SP1, his X-F1 sound card caused his computer to crash. "At least neighbors are happy," he reported.
Another user, moshpit, said his post-SP1 computer now "runs butter smooth and has been problem-free," while someone named Akava said there were problems just downloading SP1.
Even the Vista blog has reports of problems. A user named butters286 said that, after the SP1 installation, there's now no sound and the DVD drive doesn't work. A commenter named SeppDietrich said that installing SP1 was not, "in retrospect, my finest decision," calling it "a disaster" with all the Nvidia drivers being exiled to "the Bermuda Triangle" -- that is, vanished. Afterward, SeppDietrich... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Microsoft, Intel Fund Parallel-Computing Research
In an effort to turbocharge progress in mainstream parallel computing, Intel and Microsoft announced funding Tuesday for two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centers. They said the centers are the first joint industry-university efforts of this scale in parallel computing. The software developed will be made available to the public.
Berkeley and Illinois
One center will be at the University of California, Berkeley, and the other at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Intel and Microsoft have committed $20 million over the next five years to fund the centers. UIUC will put up another $8 million, and Berkeley has applied for an additional $7 million from the state of California.
Multicore computer processors are common now, and the number of cores is steadily increasing. Intel research director Andrew Chien noted that Intel has already shown an 80-core research processor, and the centers could develop "dramatic new applications." These new apps could involve visual interfaces, statistical analyses, search functions, mobile applications, computer sensing, and new forms of computer-human interfaces.
Richard Shim, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, said parallel computing for even regular consumers and business users "is the future, and it's only a question of how far out."
He added that the challenge is how to use the powerful, multicore systems available on regular computers. "Hardware has definitely gotten ahead of software," he said.
Expertise Tapped
In evaluating where to locate the centers, Microsoft and Intel said they considered 25 top-tier institutions involved in parallel-computing research. They selected UC Berkeley and UIUC because of "their outstanding reputation in computing" and their specific expertise in parallel computing.
Berkeley's center will be directed by David Patterson, a professor of computer science described by the companies as a pioneering expert in computer architecture. Fourteen members of the UC Berkeley faculty will also be involved as well 50 doctoral students... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Apple Considering 'Free' Access to iTunes Library
Apple is talking with the major record labels about a change in the iTunes Store business model that would give customers free access to the store's complete music library, according to the Financial Times. The catch is that consumers would pay a premium for Apple's iPod and iPhone devices.
The rumored model is akin to the "Comes with Music" deal Nokia inked with Universal Music last December. Apple could not immediately be reached for comment, but the British newspaper reported the negotiations hinged on a dispute over the price Apple would pay for access to the labels' libraries.
"Rumors of Apple getting into the 'all you can eat' music business have been around almost as long as the iPod itself," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch. "The real challenge that Apple would face is taking this from something that appeals to music aficionados to something the mainstream could appreciate."
Paying an iPod Premium
One of the major sticking points with shifting the iTunes Store model, Gartenberg said, is the challenge of formulating price schemes that make sense to consumers, Apple and the record companies.
The Financial Times cites executives familiar with the matter whose research shows consumers would pay a premium of up to $100 for unlimited access to music for the lifetime of the device.
"If it costs $100 more to buy an iPod, but that money buys you access to the entire iTunes music library, then that's going to be an acceptable value proposition to a lot of consumers," Gartenberg said.
A Subscription Model?
However, the Financial Times reports, the "all you can eat" model is not the only one Apple is considering. The company is also reportedly exploring a subscription model, which is more common to the industry. A subscription, the report indicated, would come with a monthly fee of $7 to $8.
"Consumers... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Are Handset Sales Set for a Fall?
On Mar. 10, Texas Instruments, a leading supplier of semiconductors for cell phones, set off shock waves in the multi-billion-dollar mobile industry by lowering its first-quarter growth estimates for sales of wireless chips. TI pinned the blame on weakening demand from a major customer for high-end chips used to power third-generation phones.
Investors made the assumption that the client might be Finnish giant Nokia, which accounts for nearly one-third of TI's wireless chip business. On Mar. 11, investors drove down shares in the world's top handset maker by as much as 4.75 percent. The key question: Did TI's warning signal a broader industry slowdown?
Consumers Curb Spending
Financial analysts clearly are worried. Although part of TI's retrenchment is likely due to a first-quarter inventory correction, there's growing concern that the handset market -- especially for pricey high-end models favored in the U.S. and Western Europe -- may be feeling the effects of economic downturn and slower consumer spending.
Consider Said Nafea, a Parisian shopper in his 30s checking out new handsets at the FNAC electronics emporium on Paris' Champs-Elysees. He has a three-year old Samsung that fits nicely in the front pocket of his jeans. And while he'd like something newer, with more bells and whistles -- especially an Apple iPhone -- he has decided to wait until he can afford it.
Customers like Nafea are what worries experts. The typical pattern in first-quarter mobile-phone sales includes a relatively weak January and February, following fourth-quarter holiday purchases, and then a sharp uptick in March. All indications from sales channels in recent weeks were that everything was going as expected. So, TI's slowing chip orders in March hinted at deeper problems in the market.
Analysts Aren't Surprised
That's why "there was a heck of a lot of drama" after TI's announcement, says Mark McKechnie, an analyst at American... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Iomega Likes New EMC Takeover Bid
Iomega Corp., a data storage company best known for the Zip drive, said Monday it considers a revised $205.5 million takeover offer from EMC Corp. to be superior to a proposed all-stock transaction with a stockholder.
San Diego-based Iomega said EMC's revision to its earlier, unsolicited offer would increase the offering price for Iomega's 54.8 million outstanding shares to as high as $3.75 per share. An offer from EMC that Iomega disclosed a week ago proposed a price of $3.25 per share, or about $178.1 million.
While EMC's offer is nonbinding, Iomega said its board "has determined that the revised acquisition proposal from EMC would reasonably constitute a superior proposal" to an agreement reached in December with other parties.
Under that deal, Iomega agreed to acquire China's ExcelStor Group from a shareholder of the California company in an all-stock deal that would more than double the number of its outstanding shares.
Had that deal closed, Great Wall Technology Co. Ltd. -- an Iomega shareholder and parent firm of ExcelStor -- would have held a majority stake in Iomega, and ExcelStor would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Iomega. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Iomega had considered EMC's initial, lower offer inferior to the other transaction.
With the higher offer, Iomega said will enter into discussions with EMC that could lead to a definitive acquisition proposal.
Dave Farmer, a spokesman for Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC, said in statement, "We're encouraged by Iomega's decision to move ahead with EMC discussions, and look forward to next steps."
EMC's storage services are largely geared toward corporate clients, and acquiring Iomega would expand EMC's business with small businesses and consumers.
Iomega, a 28-year-old company with about 300 employees, is best known for the more than 50 million Zip storage drives and 300 million Zip disks it has sold since 1995.
But Zip products now make... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Thanks to Internet, Starting Your Own Business Never Easier
The prospect of starting out on your own in business should not be a decision made on a whim. And it is usually not. But despite the "allure" of being an entrepreneur, many people never take the plunge.
However, with today's economy, technology and conditions, there has never been an easier time to start your own company. I am amazed every single week at the sheer number of ideas that are floating around out there -- many of which have the makings of a serious business waiting to happen.
I've recently been reading Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More." Anderson makes the point that today's technology allows virtually anyone to be a publisher, distributor or retailer. There are so many goods and services that can be made available today at a profit that one decade ago would have been a failing business model.
There are so many possibilities here, it would be impossible to mention them all. But here are a few ideas:
-- Publishing: In literally minutes, you can have an Internet presence by starting your own blog, an online, interactive newsletter. This kind of online forum is critical to telling your particular story.
-- Advertising: If you have a site with a decent number of visitors, this can be monetized by becoming an advertiser. Google, Microsoft and many others offer ad programs you place on your site and make money every time someone clicks on the ad.
-- Retailing: Launching an online store has never been easier, nor have more options been available. You can let other companies like Amazon.com do most of the work for you, you can have your store hosted on Yahoo Stores, or you can run the entire site yourself with free software on your own server. If you aren't a... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Security Concerns Dog Mobile P2P Payments
More and more vendors are rolling out technology that will allow consumers to use cell phones to do their banking. They're just waiting for customers to start using these technologies. While it will eventually happen, these companies should have some patience, because consumers are still wary about the perceived risks.
A study from Javelin Strategy & Research, a financial-services payment research company, reveals that customers are interested in the idea of mobile P2P banking, but are not yet confident that these technologies are safe to use. James Van Dyke, Javelin's president and founder, says that companies still need to make security a priority.
"A full third of our report is devoted to security simply because we find that industry companies so often get security issues wrong. It's so unbelievably misunderstood," Van Dyke said. "We'd like to see more authentication measures where people are asked to remember key phrases and things like that."
Risky Behavior, Not Technology
Still, Van Dyke said that security concerns were more a matter of perception than actual risk. "What's interesting is that we don't see significant security features going in, but we don't expect to see widespread actual security risks. We expect to see widespread security fears, yet we don't see [mobile P2P banking] as a particularly risky thing to do," he said. One reason the security risks will be lower than for desktop PCs is that there is a wide range of mobile platforms in use rather than one monolithic platform, he added.
He noted that dangers are more likely to arise from behavior by users -- particularly young people -- rather than security flaws. Young people "take undue risks with personal technology," he said. Some reasons for that, he surmised, are that they "typically don't have as many financial assets, and they tend to be haphazard [with... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Peer-to-Peer Networks Go Legit
The technology best known for pirating movies, music and software online is increasingly being adopted by businesses as a cheap way to get video content to customers.
A number of startups are embracing so-called peer-to-peer technology and have convinced some big-name media companies to use them to deliver legal content.
"In 2005 when we met with content owners, 'peer-to-peer' was a dirty word," said Robert Levitan, chief executive of file-sharing company Pando Networks Inc. "In 2007, finally, content owners came and said 'Yeah, we think there's a role for P2P.'"
Levitan was speaking Friday at the first "P2P Market Conference" of the Distributed Computing Industry Association, a trade group with more than 100 members.
Pando is prime example of mainstream acceptance: It's providing the means for NBC to provide DVD-quality downloads of its shows, including "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.
But 90 percent of P2P downloads are still of illegally copied content, according to David Hahn, vice president of product management at SafeNet Inc., which tracks the networks.
Hahn said 12 million to 15 million people are file-sharing across the world at any one time, mainly on the BitTorrent and eDonkey networks. The attraction of file-sharing is not just that it's free -- there's also content available that can't be had by legal means, like TV shows that haven't aired in Europe.
The BitTorrent software was invented and set free on the Net in 2002 by Bram Cohen. He later started a company to profit from the technology. In 2005, BitTorrent Inc. stopped providing links to copyright content in 2005 and now helps studios distribute movies.
Overall, acceptance of P2P technology is higher in Western Europe, where piracy using the technology also happens to be especially rampant, according to SafeNet.
The British Broadcasting Corp. uses P2P technology from Verisign Inc. for its iPlayer, which streams some of its... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
CBS Offers Local Sites News Widgets and Revenue
CBS Television Stations on Monday launched a local ad network with blogger and social-media sites. Dubbed the CBS Local Ad Network, the partnership is the first between a major media company's television stations and localized social-media mavens.
The network initially launched in Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago. CBS will continue to roll out the program over the next several weeks in other major markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
Jonathan Leess, president and general manager of the CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group, is inviting local social-media sites and bloggers to share in the ad revenue. Leess said the network "opens up exciting new avenues for our advertising partners to efficiently extend their reach to valued local audiences while associating themselves with our CBS brands and content."
The Network in Action
CBS-owned stations across the country are syndicating local news widgets to blogs and hyper-local sites in the communities they serve. Each widget will feature top local headlines and images with links to the video and text stories on the CBS station's site. Included in the widget is a companion banner advertisement.
The CBS stations will deliver real-time news feeds to the widget, allowing the content on the local partner sites to update 24 hours a day. CBS stations can offer marketers the ability to reach a local audience while remaining attached to CBS station brand and content, the company said.
Owners of the local sites will receive a portion of the advertising revenue generated by the CBS stations, which will be responsible for selling the ad inside each widget. AT&T, North Texas Honda Dealers and Liberty Mutual Insurance are early adopters of the network. CBS did not say what percentage of the revenue bloggers and social-media sites will receive.
How Much Revenue?
The concept of content on geo-targeted widgets is... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Intel Details Plans for Dunnington, Nehalem Processors
Intel revealed more details Monday about its plans for upcoming microprocessors, including the Dunnington server chip and the much-touted, next-generation Nehalem processor family. The products build on the company's 45nm high-k metal gate manufacturing technology, featuring new chips with four, six, eight or more computing cores.
Dunnington, Tukwila, Nehalem
Intel Senior Vice President Pat Gelsinger described the Dunnington six-core processor for expandable, or multiprocessor, servers. He said Dunnington, available in the second half of this year, will be the first Intel processor with six cores.
Featuring large share caches, Dunnington also offers FlexMigration, which enables a single virtualization pool to support both 65nm and 45nm-based servers. Gelsinger described FlexMigration as "investment protection" for evolving data centers.
He also discussed Tukwila, the code name for the company's new Itanium processor. As the world's first two billion-transistor microprocessor, Gelsinger said it will deliver more than twice the performance of the current Itanium processor. It will have four cores, 30MB total cache, QuickPath Interconnect, dual integrated memory controllers and mainframe-class RAS features.
Nehalem, a scalable microarchitecture for a family of processors, will have anywhere from two to eight cores, and its simultaneous multithreading will enable four- to 16-thread capability. Compared to current-generation Xeon-based systems, Nehalem quadruples the memory bandwidth and it can be utilized on a variety of devices, from notebooks to high-performance servers.
'Visual Computing' Platform
For demanding consumers and visualization professionals, Intel is also promoting what it called "next-generation techniques" for visual computing. The company said its new technologies will enable new levels of performance for such processing-intensive visual tasks as ray tracing for accurate shadow and lighting effects, game-based physics, or human motion in medical imaging. It will also support new levels of interactivity, such as game controllers that can "understand human motion" and that enable users to "become characters in their favorite games."
Intel... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Apple's New Safari Runs Faster, Supports Windows
Apple released a 3.1 version of its Safari Web browser on Tuesday with several improvements. Apple said the new version loads Web pages 1.9 times faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and 1.7 times faster than the open-source Firefox 2 browser. It also said Safari 3.1 runs JavaScript up to six times faster than any other browser, and it is the first to support new Web standards.
Apple said the speed benchmarks were based on VeriTest's iBench Version 5.0 with default settings, running on an iMac 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with Windows XP and 1GB of memory.
For Mac and Windows
The browser is available as a free download at www.apple.com/safari, and works on both Mac OS X and Windows operating systems. For Mac, the browser requires either the Tiger 10.4.11 version of Mac OS X, or Leopard, with at least 256MB of memory on any Intel-based Mac or any Mac with a PowerPC G5, G4 or G3 processor. For Windows XP or Vista, at least 256MB of memory is required and at least a 500-MHz Intel Pentium processor.
Apple Senior Vice President Philip Schiller said Safari 3.1 is "blazingly fast, easy to use" and features an "elegant user interface." Best of all, he added, the newest Safari supports audio, video and animation standards needed for the next generation of Web 2.0 experiences.
In particular, Apple noted that Safari 3.1 is the first browser to support new video and audio tags in HTML 5, as well as the first to support CSS animations. It also supports CSS Web fonts that offer new design choices.
Support for MacBook Air
The interface includes drag-and-drop bookmarks, easy-to-organize tabs, and an integrated Find that shows the number of matches in a page. A built-in RSS reader enables the user to scan and view news and information from feeds.... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
China Blocks Internet News on Tibetan Crackdown
China has succeeded in blocking the flow of news about its crackdown on Tibetan protesters. While China has traditionally exerted strong control over traditional media outlets such as television, radio and newspapers, this week's developments are notable for the country's effective control of YouTube, blogs and other Internet communications.
While Western news outlets are getting information out to the rest of the world, many Chinese remain in the dark. The Wall Street Journal reported that Baidu.com, China's largest search engine, turns up no news in a search for "Tibet" (the fifth most popular search term on Baidu Monday), while searches for "Tibet riot" produce hits to pages that have been removed.
In addition, China's major Internet portals, Sina and Sohu.com, are devoid of news of the uprising and repression. And Chinese Internet video sites Tudou.com, Youku.com and 56.com -- the Chinese equivalents of YouTube -- are similarly vacant.
YouTube Blocked
Of course, YouTube itself has many videos of the protests, but China has blocked the Google-owned site. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company is looking into the reports of blocking.
Observers are not completely sure how China is blocking all the news, the Journal reported. In some cases, entire domains are blocked; in other cases, only certain pages. While editors of state-run media frequently avoid controversial topics, independent Internet companies also cooperate with censorship; they are required to monitor user-supplied content and delete pornography, as well as a list of forbidden topics.
The censorship raises a challenge to the much-vaunted claim that the Internet views censorship as network damage and routes around it -- a claim no less a technology luminary than Bill Gates repeated last month. "I don't see any risk in the world at large that someone will restrict free content flow on the Internet. You cannot control the Internet," the Microsoft... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Supreme Court Opens Door to Microsoft Antitrust Suits
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court's ruling that Novell can proceed with an antitrust suit against Microsoft. The justices declined to hear Microsoft's appeal, with Chief Justice John Roberts recusing himself because he owns Microsoft stock. The court did not offer a reason for declining the case, its standard practice.
The suit dates back to 2004. Novell sued Microsoft, claiming the software giant "deliberately targeted and destroyed" its WordPerfect word-processor and Quattro spreadsheet applications because they are compatible with operating systems besides Windows.
Plaintiffs Could Multiply
Microsoft has reason to be concerned, according to Mark Ostrau, co-chairman of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Group and a partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Groups at Fenwick & West LLP, a Silicon Valley law firm specializing in high technology.
"As soon as you make it possible for people who have ancillary products or applications like WordPerfect to sue based on Microsoft's monopolization of the operating system, it opens up a larger class of potential plaintiffs than Microsoft has had to face before," Ostrau said. "So this case with Novell is a big issue."
Microsoft settled a similar case with Novell in 2004 when it paid $536 million to resolve Novell's claim that Microsoft set out to run its market prospects for the Netware operating system. Ostrau said Microsoft could probably also settle this case.
Killing the Antitrust Weeds
Microsoft may have to look over its shoulder to see what other applications it allegedly crushed as it made market moves to protect its operating system. "Everywhere Microsoft looks it's trying to put all these antitrust issues behind it. But try as it might, new issues keep popping up," Ostrau said.
The European Commission assessed Microsoft a record $1.35 billion antitrust fine just last month because, the watchdog group said, the company wasn't living up... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
EU Adopts DVB-H as Mobile-TV Standard
The European Commission has added the DVB-H mobile-TV specification to the European Union's list of official standards. Tailored to the specific requirements of handheld, battery-powered receivers, DVB-H is an offshoot of the terrestrial DVB-T system already employed by digital-TV broadcasters in Europe.
The EC believes deployment of a single technology across EU nations will give wireless operators the market scale they need to launch mobile-TV services in time for this year's broadcasts of the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympic Games.
The EC "is firmly convinced that 2008 is the right time to create conditions favorable to the rapid takeoff of mobile broadcasting," said EU commissioner Viviane Reding. "Without this certainty and predictability, it will be impossible to invest with confidence in new innovative technologies."
The Next Steps
Spearheaded by Nokia and backed by Motorola, Philips, Sony Ericsson and Samsung, DVB-H is the world's most widely used mobile-TV spec. Services based on the spec are currently between trials and commercial launches in 16 countries. A commercial service is also in the works for Russia.
However, several key steps are still needed to put DVB-H on the high-growth track. Reding said the main patent holders still need "to finalize an agreement over the licensing terms and conditions and the constitution of the patent pool."
Digital-rights management systems based on open technologies also need to be finalized, Reding said. "We also cannot allow commercial launches to be delayed because of legal vacuums or overly burdensome regulation," she added.
A Global Opportunity
Europe's move to embrace DVB-H is a setback for rival technologies such as Qualcomm's competing MediaFLO technology, which has already been embraced by U.S wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless. However, the EC's adoption of DVB-H as a standard is not compulsory, so EU nations still have the option of permitting... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Microsoft Releases Service Pack for Windows Vista
Microsoft Corp. posted a major package of updates and security fixes for its Windows Vista operating system for download starting Tuesday.
People whose PCs run the newest Microsoft operating system can use Microsoft's Windows Update tool or visit its Download Center Web site and download the free Service Pack 1. In some cases, computer users may need to download older updates before they'll be able to install SP1.
Many of the fixes contained in SP1 have already been released as part of regular monthly updates in the year since the operating system went on sale to consumers. Microsoft has said SP1 improves Vista's reliability, security and performance.
Before SP1 was made widely available, Microsoft had determined that a handful of programs will fail in some way after SP1 is installed. On Tuesday, a Windows team blog said PC users with some drivers installed will "temporarily" not be able to get SP1 at all.
Microsoft said SP1 will block several applications from running for "reliability reasons." The list includes BitDefender Antivirus and Internet Security, version 10; Fujitsu's Shock Sensor hard drive protection for rugged laptops; two versions of Jiangmin KV Antivirus software and Check Point Technologies' Zone Alarm Security Suite.
The company said a few programs won't run on SP1, such as Web application design program Iron Speed Designer, while others will stop working well, like The New York Times Reader application.
Certain device drivers from RealTek AC, Intel and Symantec are among those Microsoft said would prevent an upgrade to SP1. The software maker said PC users can seek out updates from most of the makers of those devices to fix the problem.
Industry analysts offered mixed reports on whether Vista SP1 makes a noticeable difference on the way their computers run.
Michael Cherry, of the research group Directions on Microsoft, said that after installing SP1, the time... Publication date: 2008-03-19more
Bush Pushes for Better Cybersecurity
A sudden spike in the number of successful attacks against federal government information systems and databases has led President Bush to propose a multi-billion-dollar response.
The number of incidents reported to the Department of Homeland Security rose by 152 percent last year, to nearly 13,000, according to a new government report. The security breaches, more than 4,000 of which remain under investigation, ranged from the work of random hackers to organized crime and foreign governments, says Tim Bennett, president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance.
The increase and severity of data breaches prompted Bush to recommend a 10 percent increase in cybersecurity funding for the coming fiscal year, to $7.3 billion. That's a 73-percent increase since 2004.
"The president's put a lot of emphasis on this recently," says Robert Jamison, undersecretary for national protection and programs at the Department of Homeland Security. "We're concerned that the threats are real and growing. ... We're more vulnerable as a nation."
Members of Congress and experts in the private sector say the government's new initiative is overdue.
"There are more and more bad guys out there," says Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who chaired a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee hearing this week on government information security risks. In 31 percent of the infiltrations, he says, "agencies do not know who took the information or how much information was taken."
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee with jurisdiction over the issue, says the Bush administration "has not paid nearly enough attention to cybersecurity" until this year. Now, he says, "they're at least trying to move in the right direction."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has made improving cybersecurity one of his top four goals for 2008. "It's the one area in which I feel we've been behind where I would like to be," he told reporters here... Publication date: 2008-03-18more
Microsoft Licenses Flash Lite for Windows Mobile Users
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has said Flash isn't good enough, but Microsoft disagrees. In a move against Apple's iPhone, Microsoft is licensing Flash Lite technology -- even as it promotes its own Silverlight platform as an alternative to Flash.
Adobe Systems announced Monday that Microsoft will license Flash Lite for its Internet Explorer Mobile browser in Windows Mobile phones. The deal also includes licensing of Adobe Reader LE for viewing PDF documents sent as e-mail attachments or made available as Web downloads.
'Vibrant Web Experiences'
John O'Rourke, general manager of the mobile communications business at Microsoft, said bringing Flash Lite to Windows Mobile users will provide the "vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment" that users want from the Web.
The move also provides access to a technology that Apple is refusing for the iPhone. Earlier this month, Jobs told news media that Flash technology is not yet ready for the iPhone. At Apple's shareholder meeting, he said Flash Lite is not powerful enough, and that regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly.
"There's this missing product in the middle," Jobs told Dow Jones news service.
His dissing of Flash disappointed consumers and developers encouraged by blog reports that it was only a matter of time before Flash landed on the revolutionary iPhone.
'Big Win for Flash Lite'
"This is a big win for Flash Lite," said Sean Ryan, an analyst with industry research firm IDC. He added that even though Apple has decided against Flash Lite, the iPhone still offers a high level of entertainment, including playing YouTube videos. He also noted that Apple's recently released software development kit will enable third-party developers to create new applications for the iPhone.
But the bigger problem for video and other full-feature entertainment on the iPhone, he said, is the same as for other devices -- bandwidth. He pointed... Publication date: 2008-03-18more
Print Media Popular Online, But Money Is a Problem
Despite years of hype about the impact of bloggers and the so-called Long Tail on the news business, traditional media sources are increasingly popular online even as their offline businesses continue to go south.
The idea of "The Long Tail" was that a great multiplicity of blogs and citizen journalism sites could match or exceed the value of traditional news gathering. But the reality is "more complex," says the Project for Excellence in Journalism's new report, State of the News Media 2008.
"Looking closely, a clear case for democratization is harder to make," the report said. "Even with so many new sources, more people now consume what old-media newsrooms produce, particularly from print, than before."
Advertising Woes
Indeed, traditional media, derided by some as "mainstream media," represents more of an oligarchy online than in print. According to researcher Matthew Hindman, the top 10 news sites represent 29 percent of all Web traffic but only 19 percent of newspaper circulation.
In the newspaper sector, circulation fell 2.5 percent and overall advertising revenue fell 7 percent in 2007. Even online advertising grew just 20 percent, compared to 30 percent growth in previous years.
"For 2008, the hope is that a collaboration of more than 400 daily papers with Yahoo will generate a kick of as much as 10 percent to 20 percent in online advertising because it will be much easier to buy and place ads under the new arrangement," the report said.
Hope in Innovation
Newspaper Web sites are much improved -- with "a 24/7 diet of breaking news, an array of multimedia features and a wave of redesigns" -- but they have yet to figure out how to adequately monetize the efforts, the report said. The New York Times killed its online paid subscription service, which had 200,000 subscribers, and Rupert Murdoch announced plans to unleash much... Publication date: 2008-03-18more
Apple Launches 802.11n Mobile Base Station
Apple is keeping up with the wireless times. On Monday, the company updated its AirPort Express mobile base station with 802.11n, the latest standard approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The new model delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of the previous model, according to the company. Priced at $99, the AirPort Express can be plugged directly into the wall for wireless Internet connectivity and USB printing at home, or it can be taken on the road and used wherever there is an Internet connection. The AirPort Express features AirTunes, which works with iTunes to let users wirelessly stream iTunes music from a PC or Mac to any room in the house.
No big surprises with this Apple product release, according to Michael Gartenberg, a wireless analyst at JupiterResearch. "Apple has migrated almost all of its wireless efforts over to 802.11n. It makes sense that the AirPort Express would to go there [too], as the ultra-mobile wireless device with the ability to stream music and content using AirTunes," he said. "It made sense for Apple to get that device over to the n specification to match up with the rest of the product line."
A Portable AirPort
The AirPort Express features a single-piece design with portability in mind. The unit weighs 6.7 ounces. PC and Mac users alike can use AirPort Express to share a single DSL or cable broadband connection with up to 10 simultaneous users.
Users can also wirelessly share a printer that is connected to the USB port. The product's advanced security features are designed to safeguard data on networked computers with support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2), 128-bit WEP encryption and a built-in firewall.
Apple now includes 802.11n as standard in its entire line of AirPort base stations and Mac... Publication date: 2008-03-18more
Japanese ISPs To Block Online Pirates
Against the backdrop of Comcast's blocking of the popular peer-to-peer program BitTorrent, a Net neutrality bill in Congress and a Hollywood call for Internet service providers to stop illegal file-sharing, comes this news from Japan: Service providers are set to block Internet service to heavy users of peer-to-peer software.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reports that Japan's four major ISP organizations plan to form a working group with copyright groups representing authors, composers, publishers and software developers to establish guidelines for disconnecting users who download from Winny and other popular P2P programs.
Under the agreement, copyright organizations would identify the IP addresses of users who are downloading their content and provide the information to the ISPs. The providers would then send a warning e-mail. If the downloading continued, the ISP would disconnect the user temporarily, or even cancel the account entirely.
No Privacy Concerns
It is a bold move that ISPs have been cautious about making thus far. Two years ago, a Japanese ISP proposed cutting off users detected using Winny and other P2P software, but backed off after Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry regarded that as illegal Internet snooping.
The current approach is different, says technology blogger George Ou, because copyright holders merely need to download the P2P system, search for their content and obtain a list of IP addresses serving the content.
"This method doesn't involve any of that politically dreaded DPI (deep-packet inspection)," Ou wrote. Indeed, it is now impossible for ISPs to examine the content of P2P transfers, since the latest programs are "already fully encrypted at both the protocol and data level," according to Ou, an outspoken opponent of Net-neutrality legislation.
Bandwidth Problem Solved
If content owners lurk as users on the systems, searching for and downloading their content, they automatically get a list of IP addresses that provided the content.... Publication date: 2008-03-18more
Microsoft CRM Takes on Salesforce.com
Microsoft offered a sneak peek of the newest version of its CRM application, Dynamics AX 2009, at Convergence 2008, a meeting of Microsoft Dynamics users. The release, due in the first half of this year, is aimed at small and midsize businesses with what analysts say is extremely aggressive pricing.
One major focus of the new release is managing compliance obligations, providing what Microsoft calls a "one-stop shop for compliance-related information." AX 2009 also includes enhanced global capabilities (such as multiple language support) that will give international businesses real-time visibility into operations such as overseas inventory of global locations.
Chris Alliegro, lead analyst with Directions on Microsoft (an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy and technology), said that Dynamics offers a big advantage over competing products: a familiar interface. "If you're a Microsoft shop, it's an interface you're already familiar with. Having your CRM functionality visible, accessible, and built into Outlook is a huge selling point for Microsoft."
Salesforce.com: The One To Beat
Alliegro told us that Microsoft is directly challenging Salesforce.com with its new hosted CRM service, which is in beta testing now and should be launched for general sign-up in the middle of this year. All indications are that Microsoft will launch a full-scale attack.
"They're coming at the market very aggressively," particularly in terms of pricing, Alliegro said. One version of the hosted product is expected to be $44 per month per subscriber, and $15 higher for the more enhanced version. (The main differences between the two versions, he said, are storage amount and the ability to support offline synchronizations.) He said that Salesforce.com's similar offerings cost about 50 percent more.
"It's fair to ask if Microsoft can even make money at that price point. That's something they're going to learn. I think that companies getting into... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Bush Pushes Cybersecurity
A sudden spike in the number of successful attacks against federal government information systems and databases has led President Bush to propose a multi-billion-dollar response.
The number of incidents reported to the Department of Homeland Security rose by 152 percent last year, to nearly 13,000, according to a new government report. The security breaches, more than 4,000 of which remain under investigation, ranged from the work of random hackers to organized crime and foreign governments, says Tim Bennett, president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance.
The increase and severity of data breaches prompted Bush to recommend a 10 percent increase in cybersecurity funding for the coming fiscal year, to $7.3 billion. That's a 73-percent increase since 2004.
"The president's put a lot of emphasis on this recently," says Robert Jamison, undersecretary for national protection and programs at the Department of Homeland Security. "We're concerned that the threats are real and growing. ... We're more vulnerable as a nation."
Members of Congress and experts in the private sector say the government's new initiative is overdue.
"There are more and more bad guys out there," says Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who chaired a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee hearing this week on government information security risks. In 31 percent of the infiltrations, he says, "agencies do not know who took the information or how much information was taken."
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee with jurisdiction over the issue, says the Bush administration "has not paid nearly enough attention to cybersecurity" until this year. Now, he says, "they're at least trying to move in the right direction."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has made improving cybersecurity one of his top four goals for 2008. "It's the one area in which I feel we've been behind where I would like to be," he told reporters here... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
February Video Game Sales Up 34 Percent
U.S. video game sales -- including hardware and software -- jumped 34 percent in February to hit $1.33 billion, even with two top-selling consoles in short supply, according to data from market researcher NPD Group.
Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 have been in such high demand stores are having a hard time keeping them in stock. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the company moved up shipments during the holidays and hasn't been able to catch up since.
He added "we should be in good shape" by the time Grand Theft Auto IV, the highly anticipated latest installment of the Rockstar Games franchise, hits store shelves April 29.
The game, which will be available on the Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, is expected to boost sales of both consoles. Pre-orders have been better than expected, according to its publisher, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan, expects the game to sell about 9 million units during the company's fiscal year, which ends in October. Roughly 6 million of this, he added, will be to Xbox 360 owners.
February is normally a slow month for video game publishers coming off holiday highs, and consumers have also been cutting back spending amid economic worries. Still, with "several marquee titles still to come in the front half of the year, the industry is poised to achieve another year of record-breaking sales despite difficult economic conditions," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in an e-mail.
The sales figures surpassed what many analysts were expecting. Game hardware sales rose 19 percent during the month to $480 million, NPD said late Thursday. Of this, the portable Nintendo DS was the best-seller with 587,600 units, followed by the Wii at 432,000. The Xbox 360 sold 254,600 units even amid supply constraints.
"It appears that Wii and DS shortages... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Microsoft To Buy Web Ad Analysis Company
Microsoft Corp. plans to buy Rapt Inc., plugging a hole in its suite of tools for Web publishers and advertisers, the software giant said Friday.
Microsoft did not say what it will pay for the privately held San Francisco company.
Rapt's software and consulting services help Web site publishers tweak how they package and price display-ad space.
Scott Howe, a general manager in Microsoft's advertiser and publisher solutions group, said Rapt's system is similar to the one airlines use to set ticket prices and track available seats.
Microsoft plans to add Rapt's programs to the Web publisher tools it gained when it acquired aQuantive last year for $6 billion.
The move "puts us way ahead of what other offerings are available in the market," Howe said in an interview, likening Microsoft plus Rapt to a jet plane -- and competitors, including Google Inc., to a bicycle.
Microsoft has had hands-on experience as one of Rapt's customers. Tom Chavez, Rapt's chief executive, said in an interview that his company's technology helped boost MSN's ad revenue 15 percent to 20 percent, a typical improvement.
Rapt, which employs about 85 people, plans to remain in California. Microsoft expects the deal to close in the next month or so.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker has bought several companies to fill out its digital ad offerings, including AdECN, a stock market-like exchange where networks representing Web sites buy and sell ad space, and Massive, which inserts ads into video games.
Display advertising hasn't gotten as much attention as search ads, thanks to Google's unparalleled ability to turn search queries into billions of dollars in revenue.
But that may be about to change with Google's first big push this week into display advertising as it closed its $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad services company DoubleClick.
Microsoft, for its part, is waiting for Yahoo Inc. to respond... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Sprint Nextel Fate Source of Speculation
Sprint Nextel Corp.'s plummeting stock price and the expected exodus of millions of subscribers this year have yielded a fresh round of speculation about the company's future.
But analysts disagree whether the nation's third-largest wireless carrier is ripe for a takeover, is likely to begin selling parts of its operation to generate cash and make itself more agile, or will soldier on as-is.
"Any time you have a stock that's down as much as this one is and with management departures and things like that, people start speculating on all kinds of things that the company may or may not do to improve things," said Todd Rethemeier, an analyst with Soleil Securities.
So far neither Sprint nor its prospective suitors will comment on the rumors.
In the meantime, investors seem skeptical of a turnaround: Sprint's shares have lost more than half their value since the beginning of January. They lost 23 cents to close at $5.99 Thursday.
Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kan., has struggled since acquiring Nextel Communications Inc. in August 2005. Two weeks ago, it announced it had lost 683,000 wireless subscribers with annual contracts and expected to lose another 1.2 million in the current quarter and a similar amount in the second quarter of 2008.
A Merrill Lynch analyst speculated this month that Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of No. 4 wireless company T-Mobile, might consider buying Sprint to bulk up and prevent an escalation of flat-rate pricing in the industry.
But the two carriers' technologies are incompatible, a challenge Sprint has already seen enough of in the merger with Nextel.
The Wall Street Journal has surmised that Mexico's Carlos Slim, who operates the dominant wireline and wireless networks in that country, might see Sprint as a way to get into the U.S. wireless market.
"We do note that it still has compelling assets that could... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
FCC Defends Its Complaint Handling
The Federal Communications Commission processes 95 percent of the citizen complaints it receives but does a poor job of tracking how it resolves them, congressional auditors reported Thursday.
The Government Accountability Office said the agency "needs to improve how it collects and analyzes data on complaints received, investigations conducted and enforcement actions taken to better manage its enforcement program."
In response, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said "the GAO put forward valuable recommendations" and that prior to the report's release, the commission had "identified these issues and is already in the process of implementing measures to address them."
Martin also said that since he became chairman, the commission has been responding to 100 percent of consumer complaints and has collected a record amount of fines, forfeitures and consent decree payments.
The GAO analysis examined data encompassing 454,000 complaints between 2003 and 2006.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, said the FCC processed about 95 percent of the complaints it received, opened about 46,000 investigations and closed 39,000.
About 9 percent of the closed investigations resulted in an enforcement action, while 83 percent resulted in no enforcement. The GAO said it could not determine why the investigations were closed without action because "FCC does not systematically collect these data."
The agency did its own analysis and said the vast majority of closures were due to a lack of information or a determination that no violation had occurred.
The report criticized the agency for failing to set performance goals which prevent it from "assuring Congress and other stakeholders that it is meeting its enforcement mission."
The investigation was sought by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee. Markey used the results to push for state enforcement authority over the wireless industry.
"The GAO's report makes clear that any legislation establishing national consumer protection... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Microsoft Licenses Flash Lite Against iPhone and its own Silverlight
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has said Flash isn't good enough, but Microsoft disagrees. In a move against Apple's iPhone, Microsoft is licensing Flash Lite technology -- even as it promotes its own Silverlight platform as an alternative to Flash.
Adobe Systems announced Monday that Microsoft will license Flash Lite for its Internet Explorer Mobile browser in Windows Mobile phones. The deal also includes licensing of Adobe Reader LE for viewing PDF documents sent as e-mail attachments or made available as Web downloads.
'Vibrant Web Experiences'
John O'Rourke, general manager of the mobile communications business at Microsoft, said bringing Flash Lite to Windows Mobile users will provide the "vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment" that users want from the Web.
The move also provides access to a technology that Apple is refusing for the iPhone. Earlier this month, Jobs told news media that Flash technology is not yet ready for the iPhone. At Apple's shareholder meeting, he said Flash Lite is not powerful enough, and that regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly.
"There's this missing product in the middle," Jobs told Dow Jones news service.
His dissing of Flash disappointed consumers and developers encouraged by blog reports that it was only a matter of time before Flash landed on the revolutionary iPhone.
'Big Win for Flash Lite'
"This is a big win for Flash Lite," said Sean Ryan, an analyst with industry research firm IDC. He added that even though Apple has decided against Flash Lite, the iPhone still offers a high level of entertainment, including playing YouTube videos. He also noted that Apple's recently released software development kit will enable third-party developers to create new applications for the iPhone.
But the bigger problem for video and other full-feature entertainment on the iPhone, he said, is the same as for other devices -- bandwidth. He pointed... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Red Hat Will Buy Systems Integrator Amentra
Red Hat will acquire privately held Amentra, a provider of systems-integration services to smooth the transition to service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) projects.
"We are now focused on expanding further into the enterprise," said Red Hat Vice President Craig Muzilla. "The depth of solution-oriented consulting services provided by Amentra will help enterprises begin deploying JBoss Enterprise Middleware products with confidence."
Strong SOA Growth Ahead
The acquisition is intended to complement Red Hat's recently announced Enterprise Acceleration Initiative, which targets the delivery of products, programs and services to help enterprises accelerate IT deployments, particularly in SOA and BPM. It comes amid an accelerating IT drive to adopt SOA, according to the latest survey from Forrester Research.
"A year ago, our data highlighted a general slowness in moving from SOA planning to actual use of SOA," said Forrester Research Vice President Randy Heffner. "This slowness disappeared in 2007's data, with strong growth in current use of SOA across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions."
Even better, "a strong majority of current SOA users plan to do more SOA," Heffner noted. "... more and more SOA users are seeing its role for enabling strategic business transformation."
Heffner pointed out that the most critical aspects of SOA are business-oriented. "SOA technology is merely a foundation for business-oriented restructuring of IT's processes and deliverables," he added.
An Open-Source Middleware Play
Amentra has more than 140 employees at its offices in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Tampa, Richmond and Washington, D.C. When the deal is final, Amentra will function as an independent Red Hat company, with existing customers continuing "to receive the benefit of Amentra's model, as they do today, with the breadth and depth that comes from the many synergies that Red Hat and Amentra bring to each other," said Amentra CEO Matt Ernst.
Red Hat spent $350 million... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
'Spam King' Could Get 26 Years, $625,000 in Fines
They call him the "Spam King." He was one of the world's most prolific e-mail spammers, allegedly responsible for sending millions of spam e-mails. And he plead guilty on Friday to federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and failure to file a tax return. His name is Robert Alan Soloway.
Soloway, 29, was arrested last summer after being indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Seattle. His trial was scheduled to begin in two weeks, but that changed when federal prosecutors dropped 37 counts, including all of the identity-theft cases, in a plea bargain. The charges against Soloway could send him to prison for up to 26 years. He also faces up to $625,000 in fines.
"We believe that there were extensive losses to thousands of victims," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Warma told The Seattle Times. U.S. District Court Judge Marscha Pechman will decide Soloway's fate.
False Promises
According to the indictment, between November 2003 and May 2007, Soloway operated Newport Internet Marketing, which offered "broadcast e-mail" software and services. These consisted of high-volume commercial e-mail messages with false and forged headers, relayed to recipients using botnets (infected computers).
According to prosecutors, Soloway and his company made several false and fraudulent claims about the products and services. Among them was a claim that the addresses used for the bulk e-mail were opt-in.
The Web site promised a satisfaction guarantee with a full refund to customers who purchased the broadcast e-mail product. However, according to the prosecutors, customers who later complained about the goods and services they had purchased or who asked for refunds were threatened with additional financial charges and referral to a collection agency.
Stop Buying Spam-Advertised Goods
Sophos's Security Threat Report research reveals that 95 percent of all e-mail is spam, of which 32 percent contains links to adult or... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
AT&T Continues Rolling Out IP-Based Phone Service
AT&T continues to roll out Internet Protocol-based voice services through its U-verse network, announcing Monday the availability of the service in Sacramento, Calif. This is the fourth market for such a service, following launches in Michigan, Connecticut and Kansas.
The IP voice service fills out the company's triple-play offering with cable TV, high-speed Internet, and now voice on one bill.
AT&T's 'Fiber-Rich Network'
AT&T said its U-verse voice service is a "managed IP-based service that is delivered over AT&T's fiber-rich network, unlike many Voice over IP (VoIP) providers that offer best-effort digital phone services over the public Internet." AT&T said its service provides better sound quality, reliability and calling features.
The advanced features that AT&T is highlighting include a single voice mailbox that can be reached from any phone or PC, and an online management portal so users can manage call preferences, contacts, call history and other preferences.
It also highlighted Call History, for viewing the most recent incoming or outgoing calls online, and Click to Call, which allows the user to dial any number in the Call History by clicking with a mouse or using the U-verse remote TV control. There is also an online Address Book, a Locate Me feature so an incoming call can ring on up to four wireless or landline numbers, and traditional calling features such as screening or blocking.
Focus on Price
Bruce McGregor, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, noted that U-Verse voice was first announced in January, and the company is now rolling it out and adding more services.
He called it a "compelling" offer to customers compared to similar triple-play bundles from other phone and cable companies. AT&T has noted that it has features to differentiate itself from cable, including the AT&T U-bar, with customizable weather, news and traffic information; a YellowPages.com for searching;... Publication date: 2008-03-17more
Google Rolls Out Ad Manager from DoubleClick
Google isn't wasting any time leveraging its newest asset. After officially closing the $3.1 billion DoubleClick acquisition earlier this week, the company rolled out a new product: Google Ad Manager.
Ad Manager is a free hosted ad- and inventory-management tool that publishers can use to sell, schedule, deliver and measure their directly sold and network-based ad inventories. The new tool is currently in beta.
Google Senior Product Manager Rohit Dhawan said the tool helps publishers address the challenge of effectively managing their inventory and ensuring all their clients' ads appear on time. Google Ad Manager is looking for a niche with publishers who have small sales teams.
Different From AdSense
"Google Ad Manager effectively complements the DoubleClick Revenue Center, which is focused on publishers with larger sales teams ... we're committed to the continued development and enhancement of DoubleClick's offerings," Dhawan wrote in the Google blog.
Ad Manager is different from putting AdSense code into a site. The new tool is based on DART, the platform that powers DoubleClick. Ad Manager's tagging process lets publishers spend more time working with their advertisers and less time on their ad-management solution, Dhawan said. By providing detailed inventory forecasts and tracking at a small level, he wrote, Ad Manager helps publishers maximize sell-through rates.
Dozens of publishers have been using Ad Manager successfully in early trials, according to Google. But since the product is still in beta, it is available to publishers by invitation only. DoubleClick customers will not be affected.
Advance Planning
The technology world has been so focused on the regulatory issues surrounding the DoubleClick acquisition that there hasn't been much talk about the products Google might roll out after the merger. Ad Manager is the first of what advertisers may see come out of the DoubleClick integration, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT... Publication date: 2008-03-16more
AT&T Offers Broad Coverage with BlackBerry Pearl 8120
AT&T has become the latest wireless carrier to offer enterprise customers the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 from Research In Motion. The svelte sapphire-blue smartphone, which features a built-in Wi-Fi radio, will give subscribers the broadest domestic and international wireless data coverage of any U.S. carrier, AT&T said.
"The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 combines AT&T's leading domestic and international coverage footprint with its position as the world's leading provider of BlackBerry services to create a compelling global solution for business customers," said AT&T Vice President Michael Woodward.
A Triple Play
Measuring just 4.2x2.4x0.5 inches and tipping the scales at 3.2 ounces, AT&T's Blackberry Pearl is equipped with a 240x260-pixel 65K-color display, a two-megapixel camera/camcorder, a multimedia player, and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot. The Pearl also makes a triple play with EDGE and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) radios and a Bluetooth 2.0 chipset for wirelessly connecting to compatible stereo headsets, car kits, and other accessories.
The smartphone offers RIM's popular BlackBerry e-mail and messaging capabilities along with the company's SureType word-completion software, a built-in spell checker and a user-customized dictionary. The Pearl also offers support for AT&T's Mobile Music subscription and unlimited Push to Talk services. In addition, the Pearl can deliver simultaneous access to both data and voice calls whenever the user is connected to a public hot spot, corporate wireless network or home Wi-Fi network.
RIM's Pearl, which is available to AT&T's business customers for as low as $199, also keeps overseas travelers connected to e-mail, Internet access and other mobile applications through data services in more than 145 countries, AT&T said. It added that Pearl users will be able to make or receive voice calls in more than 200 nations.
Full Steam Ahead
The Pearl's adoption by carriers in more than 20 countries since March 2007 is a strong indication that the popularity of RIM's... Publication date: 2008-03-15more
Google Rolls Out Ad Manager From DoubleClick
Google isn't wasting any time leveraging its newest asset. After officially closing the $3.1 billion DoubleClick acquisition earlier this week, the company rolled out a new product: Google Ad Manager.
Ad Manager is a free hosted ad- and inventory-management tool that publishers can use to sell, schedule, deliver and measure their directly sold and network-based ad inventories. The new tool is currently in beta.
Google Senior Product Manager Rohit Dhawan said the tool helps publishers address the challenge of effectively managing their inventory and ensuring all their clients' ads appear on time. Google Ad Manager is looking for a niche with publishers who have small sales teams.
Different From AdSense
"Google Ad Manager effectively complements the DoubleClick Revenue Center, which is focused on publishers with larger sales teams ... we're committed to the continued development and enhancement of DoubleClick's offerings," Dhawan wrote in the Google blog.
Ad Manager is different from putting AdSense code into a site. The new tool is based on DART, the platform that powers DoubleClick. Ad Manager's tagging process lets publishers spend more time working with their advertisers and less time on their ad-management solution, Dhawan said. By providing detailed inventory forecasts and tracking at a small level, he wrote, Ad Manager helps publishers maximize sell-through rates.
Dozens of publishers have been using Ad Manager successfully in early trials, according to Google. But since the product is still in beta, it is available to publishers by invitation only. DoubleClick customers will not be affected.
Advance Planning
The technology world has been so focused on the regulatory issues surrounding the DoubleClick acquisition that there hasn't been much talk about the products Google might roll out after the merger. Ad Manager is the first of what advertisers may see come out of the DoubleClick integration, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT... Publication date: 2008-03-15more
Bill Gates Asks Congress for More Tech-Worker Visas
Retiring Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates ventured inside the Beltway this week, calling on Congress to issue more visas for high-tech workers, then issuing a call for Federal Communications Commission approval of so-called white-space devices, and finally rhapsodizing on the future of computing to a local technology group.
High-Tech Visas
"It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, and then insist they return home," Gates told the House Science and Technology Committee at a hearing Wednesday. Gates has been a leading proponent of dramatically increasing the number of H-1B temporary visas issued to foreign computer scientists, allowing them to work in the United States.
During Gates' testimony, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) pushed back, saying those foreign experts will take jobs away from Americans. "If we bring [in] more people from the outside, will it not also depress the wages in our own country that people like yourself would have to pay your employees?"
"No," said Gates firmly. "These top people are going to be hired. It's just a question of what country they are hired in. When we bring in these world-class engineers, we create jobs around them. The B and C students are the ones who get those jobs around these top engineers. And if these top engineers are forced to work in India, we will hire the B and C students from India to work around them."
Push for White Space
Then it was off to the Northern Virginia Technology Council, where Gates and Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie made a push for adoption of technology to deliver wireless Internet over white space -- the vacant frequencies that provide buffers between television broadcasts.
"White-space activity today is sort of our last hope to get some good spectrum," Mundie said. "The only way to do it... Publication date: 2008-03-15more
Is the Internet Slowing Down?
Caution -- Heavy Internet traffic ahead. Delays possible.
For months there has been a rising chorus of alarm about the surging growth in the amount of data flying across the Internet. The threat, according to some industry groups, analysts and researchers, stems mainly from the increasing visual richness of online communications and entertainment -- video clips and movies, social networks and multiplayer games.
Moving images, far more than words or sounds, are hefty rivers of digital bits as they traverse the Internet's pipes and gateways, requiring, in industry parlance, more bandwidth. Last year, by one estimate, the video site YouTube, owned by Google, consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet did in 2000.
In a widely cited report published in November, a research firm projected that user demand for the Internet could outpace network capacity by 2011. The title of a debate scheduled next month at a technology conference in Boston sums up the angst: "The End of the Internet?"
But the traffic surge represents more of a challenge than an impending catastrophe. Even those most concerned are not predicting a lights-out Internet crash. An individual user, they say, would experience Internet clogging in the form of sluggish download speeds and frustration with data-heavy services that become much less useful or enjoyable.
"The Internet doesn't collapse, but there would be a growing class of stuff you just can't do online," said Johna Till Johnson, president of Nemertes Research, which predicted the bandwidth crunch by 2011, anticipating that demand would grow by 100 percent or more a year.
Others are less worried -- at least in the short term. Andrew Odlyzko, a professor at the University of Minnesota, estimates that digital traffic on the global network was growing about 50 percent a year, in line with a recent analysis by Cisco Systems, the big... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Oracle's Mobile Sales Assistant for Road Warriors
Sales professionals are the original road warriors, so it makes sense that they should have mobile tools that will keep them up-to-date on customer data and other information that could help them close sales. Oracle's new Mobile Sales Assistant may be a valuable weapon for these warriors.
Mobile Sales Assistant gives customers access to Oracle CRM On Demand by leveraging the BlackBerry wireless platform from Research in Motion. The mobile application is designed to allow sales reps to more efficiently manage appointments, collaborate with colleagues, and connect with customers on the road.
The assistant features a simple interface that makes it possible to manage frequent tasks with a single click such as setting appointments, calling colleagues, text messaging, and even getting driving directions. Automated prompts at the end of calls remind users to enter notes so that important information isn't lost or forgotten.
Java Client
A Java client rather than a browser-based CRM solution, Oracle says Mobile Sales Assistant supports offline usage while leveraging the BlackBerry Enterprise Server's security and push-based architecture. Since it's delivered as a service, small and midsize businesses can benefit from predictable costs and ease of deployment and management.
"We connect a sales professional to CRM data and CRM services and also connect them to other services in the context of their day," Anthony Lye, senior vice president of CRM at Oracle, told us. "We connect them to location services, mapping services, PIM [personal information management] data, and use SMS and Vcard standards for social networking."
Web 2.0 for Sales Pros
The application highlights the growing importance of Web 2.0 to sales professionals. Access to social-networking groups and blogs enables sales professionals to keep up-to-date on news and events that may affect their customers. On its Web site, Oracle calls collaborative applications, social networking, and mobile the "driving forces behind Web... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Report Says Microsoft, Yahoo Discussed Merger
Senior executives from Microsoft and Yahoo powwowed this week to discuss Redmond's $44.6 billion offer to acquire Yahoo, according to The Wall Street Journal. The reported gathering could bring the companies closer to agreement. Executives from the companies had not met to discuss Microsoft's Jan. 31 offer since Yahoo rejected it in February.
Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal reported that Monday's meeting wasn't a negotiation, and no bankers attended. Instead, Yahoo allowed Microsoft to present its vision of a merged company at a location near Yahoo's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters.
Yahoo executives reportedly listened, but further talks were not scheduled. It remains unclear, the Journal reported, whether Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were present at the meeting.
A Well-Timed Talk?
The talks come a week after Yahoo amended its bylaws to extend the deadline for nominating directors to its board from March 14 to 10 days after the public announcement of the date for its annual meeting of stockholders.
The amendment gives stockholders who want to nominate one or more directors, including Microsoft, more time. The extension also lets Yahoo pursue alternatives to a Microsoft takeover.
When Yahoo's board unanimously rejected Microsoft's offer, it said it would not even consider discussing acquisition possibilities unless Microsoft anted up at least $12 billion more. Microsoft will not offer more money, the Journal reported, unless it gets a closer look at Yahoo's books.
That's when talk of a hostile takeover began, and Microsoft seems determined. The company hired Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz, along with Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group, to help it acquire Yahoo.
Meanwhile, Yahoo began holding talks with other potential buyers, including News Corp. and Time Warner. News Corp. said earlier this week that it would not wrestle with Microsoft for Yahoo.
Is Yahoo Worth the Price?
Even at with the... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Verizon Reports P4P Can Slash P2P's Impact on ISPs
With the ongoing debate over Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic as a backdrop, Verizon on Friday released a study that shows new technology can dramatically reduce the impact of peer-to-peer (P2P) systems on Internet service providers.
Yale University and Pando Networks worked with Verizon and Telefonica to test so-called P4P technology, which localizes P2P downloads. The results: the impact of P2P on Verizon's network was reduced 50 percent.
Current versions of P2P systems speed up downloads of large files by breaking the files into small bits and distributing them among users. When a BitTorrent user requests a file, machines all over the world respond by each sending off a little chunk of the file. But the software doesn't check where the machines are located.
Localizing Traffic
P4P works by favoring machines closer to the requesting user, which has an outsize impact on network efficiency because P2P packets represent a huge amount of the traffic that passes over an ISP's network. Verizon senior technologist Douglas Pasko reported that 58 percent of P2P traffic remained local with P4P, compared to six percent with plain P2P.
On average, P4P cuts the number of hops traffic takes to a destination from an average 5.5 hops to a mere 0.89 hops, Pasko said. That means not only substantial cost savings to Verizon but also much faster downloads for users. Pasko said users of Verizon's all-fiber Fios network downloaded movies twice as fast as normally, and in some cases six times as fast.
So will other ISPs jump on the P4P bandwagon to cut costs and deliver improved performance?
It's not likely, said Cynthia Brumfield, president of Emerging Media Dynamics, in a telephone interview. "You have to really be able to allow outside platforms to know something about your subscribers," she said. To implement P4P, Verizon communicated this information with select... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
SaaS Data Storage Partnership Announced
Iron Mountain Digital and N-able Technologies are working together to provide backup and archiving services using software as a service (SaaS) technology. The alliance will help SMBs to monitor and remotely manage server-data backup and recovery.
N-able provides SaaS platforms that provide managed service providers (MSPs) with remote monitoring, management, and desktop support technology. In this co-marketing relationship with Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of storage giant Iron Mountain, the two companies will introduce channel partners to the other's services to educate the market on the benefits to SMBs of using managed services for backup and storage.
"We monitor and manage devices," looking at the network and its assets, and monitoring how much backup space is available, explained Elias Diamantopoulos, chief operating officer of N-Able. Iron Mountain's services, which address both immediate backup needs and offline backup, will be integrated into the N-able platform.
That hasn't happened yet, but will soon. The theory, Diamantopoulos said, is that corporations will identify the data to be retained and create retention policies. N-able software will monitor how much storage is available for the backups, and then key data will be automatically moved offline and archived via Iron Mountain Digital.
"The positioning is that end users can enable software to ensure that their networks and devices are managed and protected properly, and the content equivalently is managed and protected properly with Iron Mountain software," he said.
Outsourcing Trend
The partnership highlights the growing trend of SMBs to outsource as a way to save money, while getting a predictable amount for budgeting IT expenditures.
"All these products can be delivered in a way that's cost-effective for SMBs. Once it's cost-effective for them, why not outsource it? You don't have to manage the day-to-day maintenance and management of the system," Diamantopoulos said.
Outsourcing also helps ensure that IT... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
iPod Touch: The Future of Handheld Devices
Some see the iPod touch as just an iPhone without the phone. Others see it as a taste of things to come: Truly portable tablet computers that deliver features only Apple can bring to the table.
Apple's touch screen iPod is about to take a serious leap forward in capabilities come June when the App Store launches and third party developers can start offering their programs for the palm-size computer. It appears that Apple will be doing little to limit the applications developers can release, which means the iPod touch will be limited only by coder's imaginations.
Even Apple refers to the super-slim touch screen iPod as a "mobile Wi-Fi platform," and not as a media player, making a clear distinction between the touch and its other iPod products.
Right now, the iPod touch offers a subset of the features found on its cousin the iPhone. It doesn't include a cell phone, and Bluetooth is clearly missing, too. While Apple won't add cell phone features to the touch, it may well roll in Bluetooth at some point, which could potentially open the door to a wide range of wireless peripherals like keyboards, mice, and stereo headsets.
BusinessWeek pointed out that one feature missing from the touch is an e-book reader like Amazon.com's Kindle. The touch's current display size is fine for Web surfing and email, but it might be a bit small for reading books, which means if Apple is considering e-book support, it might also be considering a larger screen version of the device -- which could be the birth of a true Apple table-like computer.
E-book support could also lead to a new feature at the iTunes Store: Electronic versions of books, magazines, and other periodicals. "All that's needed are willing content suppliers for the iTunes Store, which could become a central distribution... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
No Flips, No Folds -- Just a Phone
It looks a bit like a child's toy, a walkie-talkie circa 1975, a cheap plastic throwback to the good old days when telephones were made for talking.
But to Spice Ltd., a telecommunications company in the world's fastest-growing phone market, this new product embodies the latest, greatest innovation in cell phone technology today: a handset priced at less than $20.
Spice, which is based in Noida, India, unveiled what it is branding "the People's Phone" at a wireless industry conference in Barcelona last month. The handset is an anomaly among mobile phones today: The number keys are big and bold. It is chunky and has no color screen -- in fact, it has no screen at all. Nothing about it flips, folds or slides. It is, as Spice's chairman, Bhupendra Kumar Modi, described it, "just a phone."
Yet if sales unfold according to Modi's plan, Spice could sell as many of the People's Phone as Apple sells of its iPhone, which sits at the other end of the coolness -- and price -- spectrum, with a price tag of $399 in the United States and more in some other
markets. Both companies are aiming for sales of 10 million phones in their first year, which would be about a 1 percent share of the global market in 2008.
"There is a massive need for these phones," said Arun Kapoor, chief executive of Spice. "We are targeting an area from Iraq to Indonesia, and that area has a population of 2.5 billion."
India alone could keep the company in rupees. With more than 7 million handsets sold each month, the country accounts for more mobile phone sales than any other. Combine that with the fact that only 17 percent of the population now uses a mobile phone, and the potential is huge, analysts agree.
For now,... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Is the Web Slowing Down?
Caution -- Heavy Internet traffic ahead. Delays possible.
For months there has been a rising chorus of alarm about the surging growth in the amount of data flying across the Internet. The threat, according to some industry groups, analysts and researchers, stems mainly from the increasing visual richness of online communications and entertainment -- video clips and movies, social networks and multiplayer games.
Moving images, far more than words or sounds, are hefty rivers of digital bits as they traverse the Internet's pipes and gateways, requiring, in industry parlance, more bandwidth. Last year, by one estimate, the video site YouTube, owned by Google, consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet did in 2000.
In a widely cited report published in November, a research firm projected that user demand for the Internet could outpace network capacity by 2011. The title of a debate scheduled next month at a technology conference in Boston sums up the angst: "The End of the Internet?"
But the traffic surge represents more of a challenge than an impending catastrophe. Even those most concerned are not predicting a lights-out Internet crash. An individual user, they say, would experience Internet clogging in the form of sluggish download speeds and frustration with data-heavy services that become much less useful or enjoyable.
"The Internet doesn't collapse, but there would be a growing class of stuff you just can't do online," said Johna Till Johnson, president of Nemertes Research, which predicted the bandwidth crunch by 2011, anticipating that demand would grow by 100 percent or more a year.
Others are less worried -- at least in the short term. Andrew Odlyzko, a professor at the University of Minnesota, estimates that digital traffic on the global network was growing about 50 percent a year, in line with a recent analysis by Cisco Systems, the big... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
New Sales Program Pays Facebook Members
Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout so far has proven to be a better place for promoting fun and games than peddling products.
But a new application aims to inject more commerce into the social playground by paying Facebook members who help merchants sell to their friends.
The program, called Market Lodge, revolves around the notion that consumers are more likely to buy merchandise or services recommended by someone they know and trust.
Market Lodge, made by a startup called bSocial Networks Inc., will pay Facebook members a 10 percent commission on all sales made on their recommendations.
Facebook tried to capitalize on the bonds of friendship last year by introducing a marketing system that includes broadcasting product endorsements among people who know each other.
The strategy hasn't paid off yet, largely because many of Facebook's users rebelled against a feature called "Beacon" that tracked and shared information about their purchases and other actions made on other Web sites.
Spurred by the backlash, Palo Alto-based Facebook now allows its users to turn off Beacon.
Conifer, Colo.-based bSocial is betting that Facebook's roughly 67 million users will be more receptive to an approach that dangles a financial incentive for participating.
Facebook members who decide to use Market Lodge can customize their own stores, selecting from more than 1,200 products sold by about 50 different merchants.
Once the personal store is set up, Facebook users can then invite others in their network to check out the stuff they're recommending. Market Lodge users can make purchases from their own stores and still qualify for the 10 percent sales commission.
All the inventory, order processing and delivery arrangements are handled by the merchants -- just as they would be for any other sale.
"We think this could be very lucrative for Facebook's members," said bSocial co-founder Sue Spielman.
More than 100 people have signed up for Market... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Acer To Launch 6-Speaker Movie Laptop
Acer Inc., the Taiwanese computer maker that bought Gateway last year, said on Tuesday that it now aims to take laptop users as close as they can get to the high-definition home theater experience.
The top model of the new "Gemstone blue" line of laptops has a screen with the same resolution as an a top-of-the-line HDTV, at 1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels, and will have six speakers, including a subwoofer, for so-called "5.1" surround sound.
The computer will go sale next month in the U.S. for $1,999. A model with three speakers and a smaller screen (but still HD resolution) will cost $1,699. Both will have built-in Blu-ray disc drives.
The computer industry has long had its set of standard screen resolutions, while the consumer electronics industry has standardized on different ones. Acer's Blue line effectively adopts the consumer-electronics standard, which means that many movies and all HD TV shows will fill the screen, without black bars.
Acer said the laptops would be the first with 1,920-by-1,080 screens, and the top model is the first laptop with six speakers.
The $1,999 model has an 18.4-inch screen, placing it in the "desktop replacement" category of heavy laptops that aren't meant for more than occasional travel.
Even with six speakers, the laptop isn't capable of true surround sound, since that requires speakers on either side of the listener at ear level. Some current laptops use two speakers to simulate the enveloping experience of surround sound. Acer's laptop will do the same, but the simulation is better with six speakers than with two, said Acer senior vice president Jim Wong.
At the presentation in New York, Acer president Gianfranco Lanci said the company plans to keep the Gateway and eMachines brands it acquired last year and use them to meet its goal of selling 300 million units worldwide this... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Gates Seeks More High-Tech Visas
More investment in math and science education and a more liberal policy toward skilled foreign workers are crucial if America is to avoid losing its competitive edge in the world, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told Congress Wednesday.
The shortage of scientists and engineers is so acute that "we must do both: reform our education system and our immigration policies. If we don't American companies simply will not have the talent to innovate and compete," Gates said in testimony to the House Science Committee.
Gates got a good reception from the committee, which was holding the hearing to mark the 50th anniversary of the panel's founding following the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. "We are on the cusp of another Sputnik moment," said committee chairman Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. "I fear that our country has coasted on the investment made in the last 50 years."
Gates outlined four goals he said the country must pursue: improving educational opportunities in science and technology, revamping the visa system for highly skilled workers, increasing federal funding for basic scientific research and providing incentives for private-sector research and development.
The toughest sell was the position of Gates, and others in high-tech industries, that Congress raise the current cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, nonimmigrant visas that allow employers to hire foreign nationals with specific skills. The program also allows another 20,000 visas for foreign nationals receiving masters or doctoral degrees from U.S. universities.
Current limits, he said have led to a "serious disruption" in the flow of talented science, technology, engineering and math graduates to U.S. companies. Gates said Microsoft and other firms have been forced to locate staff in countries more open to skilled foreign workers . Last year, Microsoft was unable to obtain H-1B visas for one-third of the qualified foreign-born job candidates it wanted... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
AOL Acquires No. 3 Social Network Bebo
Can AOL return from near-oblivion by entering the hot social-networking arena? Once the darling of Wall Street but more recently known as the burying ground for Netscape, Time Warner's AOL is throwing its hat in the ring with an $850 million acquisition of Bebo.
Social networking is dominated by MySpace, owned by News Corp., and Facebook, which has a minority investment from Microsoft. AOL says Bebo -- which stands for "blog early, blog often" -- is the No. 3 social network in the U.S. and No. 1 in Ireland and New Zealand.
But No. 3 is a long way from No. 1. News Corp. estimates MySpace's value at $15 billion, and Microsoft's $240 million investment in Facebook last year gave founder Mark Zuckerberg's company a $10 billion value. The $850 million value for Bebo barely registers in those elevations.
Building on Platform-A
AOL is betting Bebo will be the cornerstone of its resurgence as an advertising-based company. "Bebo is the perfect complement to AOL's personal-communications network and puts us in a leading position in social media," said AOL CEO Randy Falco.
Falco said AOL was attracted to Bebo's success and its potential for further growth; its vision of a "truly social web"; and the "monetization opportunities that leverage Platform-A across our combined global audience."
AOL spent $1 billion acquiring a portfolio of online advertising companies, including ADTECH, buy.at, Lightningcast, Quigo, TACODA and Third Screen Media, to create its Platform-A advertising system.
Executive Departures
The Bebo purchase comes just a day after AOL announced the departure of Curt Viebranz as head of Platform-A. Viebranz came to AOL as part of its purchase of TACODA and is being replaced by Linda Clarizio, president of Advertising.com, an advertising network that forms a key part of Platform-A. Two other Platform-A executives departed in the past month.
Noting the executive shake-up, John... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Microsoft To Buy Virtual PC Manager Kidaro
Microsoft said it will acquire Israel-based Kidaro, which has developed desktop virtualization products for enterprise applications. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Managing desktops across a large business can be complex, Microsoft executives said. Issues such as application compatibility, mobility and business continuity can be addressed with virtual PC technologies, said Shanen Boettcher, general manager of Microsoft's Windows product management team. "Kidaro's seamless user interface and management capabilities allow enterprises to more easily use and manage virtual PCs," he added.
Aiding Vista Migrations
Kidaro's Managed Workspace product allows enterprise data and applications to run within a 'transparent virtual machine wrapper' built upon Microsoft Virtual PC, noted Patrick O'Rourke, senior product manager at Microsoft's Windows Server Group. "The wrapper provides enterprise-class management, deployment and a clean user experience," he said.
In addition to taking on Kidaro's three founders with the deal, Microsoft intends to retain Kidaro's overseas R&D team, which makes "sense since Microsoft already has an R&D center in Israel," O'Rourke said. Kidaro's products will be melded into future updates of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for software assurance "under the name Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization," O'Rourke added.
The acquired products are expected to enable Microsoft's software-assurance customers with enhanced subscription to accelerate Windows Vista migrations. Moreover, enterprise managers will be able to apply IT policies in a locked-down mode that still gives end users access to the underlying host operating system. In addition, companies will be able to reduce IT investments by delivering desktop PC virtual images that are independent of hardware or local desktop configurations, Microsoft said.
Future Opportunities
Despite Microsoft's announcement, Gartner Vice President Michael Silver said there hasn't been much adoption of PC virtualization in enterprises.
"Today, virtual machines are used by developers, help desk, and technical sales people, but not by the mainstream desktop user," Silver noted.... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Zoho Launches Web-Based HR Freeware
Running your small business just got a little easier. Zoho, which already offers a host of free software-as-a-service applications, has launched a beta of Zoho People, a human-resources management tool.
Aimed at small and midsize businesses, Zoho People offers a range of HR functions that include everything from defining organizational structure to recruiting new workers. It's designed for companies with more than 30 employees -- the size at which keeping tabs on employees in ad hoc ways (such as Excel spreadsheets) becomes unmanageable, according to a blog on the Zoho site.
Zoho already offers a suite of free Web 2.0 tools that compete with big-name Web applications, such as Google Apps. At the Zoho Web site, small-business owners can find integrated word processing, presentation, meeting and project-management tools. Most are free, though the company does offer some fee-based versions (for example, the Zoho CRM solution is free only for the first three users; after that, it costs $12 per month).
Made for Non-Geeks
Like the other Zoho applications, Zoho People is user friendly rather than tech-centric. For example, there are 28 premade forms (such as expense reports), but if you need to add or change some of a form's fields, you don't have to call in a programmer; instead, you can open another tool, Zoho Creator, and customize the form simply by dragging and dropping.
HR managers can restrict access to forms and customization tools. So employees can find the forms they need and update personal information, but not gain access to compensation or other private data. In addition to forms, Zoho People has modules for recruitment, checklists, organization, self-service, and roles and permissions. Some of them are available only to an administrator, who can set access parameters for different modules.
Safeguarding Your Data
Though convenient, Web applications such as Zoho raise the... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Patent Suit Challenges Apple iTunes Store and iPod
On Wednesday, ZapMedia Services filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple. But this time it's not over the iPhone. The Atlanta-based company alleges Apple's iTunes Store and iPod music players infringe on its patented methods for distributing digital media over the Internet.
ZapMedia Services sued Apple in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue known for its friendly stance toward plaintiffs. ZapMedia Services claims the lawsuit comes after multiple attempts to resolve its concerns with Apple over infringement of ZapMedia Services' patents.
"The complaint alleges that ZapMedia Services' property is being exploited in a manner which is unlawful, and by law ZapMedia Services is therefore entitled to a reasonable royalty on Apple's revenues related to the infringement," said Steven G. Hill, of Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, LLP, ZapMedia lead litigation counsel.
Two Patents Granted
Here's the story as ZapMedia Services tells it: Beginning in the late 1990s, ZapMedia, the predecessor of ZapMedia Services, created a digital media platform. As part of its strategy, ZapMedia developed a system by which it could provide hardware, software and content to consumers to allow them to gain control over their digital media assets.
In 1999, ZapMedia applied for two patents, each of which is entitled "System and method for distributing media assets to user devices via a portal synchronized by said user devices." One of the patents was granted in March 2006. The other was granted Tuesday.
In the course of its efforts, ZapMedia Services said it met with many major technology and media companies around the globe, including Apple, to describe its vision in great detail. Without asking ZapMedia Services for permission, the company claimed, Apple unveiled its own system. Apple announced its iPod MP3 player with an integrated iTunes software application in October 2001 and its iTunes Store in April 2003.
ZapMedia Services said it... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Movie Association Opposes Net-Neutrality Bill
The Motion Picture Association of America opposed Net-neutrality legislation pending in Congress this week. Speaking at the Hollywood trade show ShoWest, MPAA chief Dan Glickman called a bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) nothing more than "government regulation of the Internet."
Neutrality legislation "would impede our ability to respond to consumers in innovative ways, and it would impair the ability of broadband providers to address the serious and rampant piracy problems occurring over their networks today," Glickman said.
Glickman emphasized that Hollywood's current business model depends on post-release revenue streams: DVD sales and rentals and, to a modest extent, legal online downloads. "The future of the theater, unimpeded theatrical production and a vibrant aftermarket all depend on an Internet that remains free from government regulation. So we are all in this together," he said.
The Real 'Information Economy'
In an interesting appropriation of terminology, Glickman said Hollywood is the real "information economy that will create new jobs and new opportunities for the future."
"Technology increasingly is making new worlds of consumer-centric innovation possible, and it is handing us the opportunity to deal the first real body blow to online piracy, to begin to reach toward the day when we might be able to take it off the table and debug the system. It simply cannot be the policy of this country to say no to that," Glickman said.
"Today MPAA and all of our studios are standing up in opposition to broad-based government regulation of the Internet. We are opposing so-called Net neutrality government action," he said. "And in the process, we are standing up for our customers, for our economy and for the ability of content producers to continue to create great movies for the future."
Misrepresenting Markey
While he didn't mention them by name, Glickman was clearly referring to Comcast's blocking of Internet traffic... Publication date: 2008-03-14more
Electronic Arts Launches Hostile Battle for Take-Two
Like a real-life financial video game, Electronic Arts has mounted a hostile takeover battle for Take-Two Interactive Software. The Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said Thursday that a wholly-owned subsidiary has commenced a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Take-Two for $26 a share in cash.
EA said the offer, valued at about $2 billion, represents a 64 percent premium over Take-Two's closing price on Feb. 15. The offer expires April 11.
Rejected Previous Offer
The New York-based Take-Two previously rejected an unsolicited buyout bid from EA, saying it was too low and ill-timed. One factor in the timing is that Grant Theft Auto IV is due out soon.
Take-Two is the publisher of the hit Grand Theft Auto video games. It has reportedly sold more than 65 million copies, becoming one of the most popular games, but it has also received heavy criticism for its use of crime and graphic violence.
Other bidders have approached Take-Two, it said, although it has not revealed details. A hostile bid, which was once rare in the technology business but is becoming more common, goes around a company's board of directors by appealing directly to shareholders.
Take-Two has experienced conflict between its board and shareholders on other occasions, such as the revolt by shareholders last year who threw out the management and many of the board members, and brought in ZelnickMedia Corp. to run the company.
EA's 'Label' Model
EA CEO John Riccitiello said the latest offer was "the best way" for Take-Two shareholders to "maximize the value of their investment," while adding additional intellectual properties to his company's portfolio. He said EA is prepared to "welcome Take-Two's talented creative teams to the great development organization we've built at EA."
In an open letter posted on the company's Web site, Riccitiello said that, as development costs rise in the games industry,... Publication date: 2008-03-14more